What I am going to describe has been happening to land owners close to interstates or towns for a long time but the problem is spreading to dirt road country and no road country. Farmers are getting bullet holes in their barns. Above ground deisel tanks are getting punctured with the contents leaking out. People putting out hay rolls are hearing bullets whizz by when among the cattle. This problem seemed to be limited to the farmers near a highway, just outside of a town or close to an interstate. I don't talk to many people anymore but I am hearing from friends that this is starting to happen on the places where there are no roads. People in these kinds of areas have pretty much always allowed people to shoot on their land, they would be asked to shoot away from cattle, barns, and tractors and all will was fine. Some of these people are getting a bit stressed over some townies not following good manners when trespassing on farmland. These places are the land of gun owners, and a few people are turning rural gun owners against other gun owners. If you know anyone who was behave this way lets put this kind of things to a stop. It does not help your rights any at all and is just plain stupid. I know in the deep rural areas you might not see anything in a 360 degree circle but sometimes people forget how far a rifle bullet will carry and they might not realize just over that hill at the far end of the field they have been shooting at is a barn, a herd, a deisel tank or a barn. This can also create some animosity towards townies as well as visiting gun owners.
I am afraid it is just part of a trend toward more violence in this society. I watched a video I took out from the library the other day, James Cameron's Avatar. A good film but even this clean-rated film had scenes of realistic violence that I found disturbing. And I also find it unsettling when films use violence and other methods to manipulate my emotions. Manipulating emotions is obviously part of all literature and film but there's a big difference between the old classic films and today's videos, where everything has to be "over the top." Why? It's not necessary to tell a good story with impact. The upshot is that the generations growing up watch lots of violent stuff and tend to act it all out. Maybe that's what's going on. Whatever is happening I agree with you Jon, it is a very disturbing trend. Have they caught anyone who is doing this? Who are they?
The farmers that I know are saying it is younger people when they have caught a glimpse of them. No one has been caught, these are fairly remote places where people tend know know each other and they didn't recognise them. It just plain destruction of property and endangering cattle and people.
Mr. Scribble, I agree with your rant in principle (I was flamed for a similar one about violent video games about a year ago), but I think the situation, in all likelihood, has a lot more to do with "reckless discharge of a gun" than intentional violence. As John pointed out, a lot of people don't realize how far a rifle bullet can go.
This is the kind of place this has spread to. In this picture there is one house and one barn. The roads you see are dirt. There is wheat grown on some of the land here, the rest is cattle grazing and open land. People have to go a bit out of their way to get to places like this. It has to be strange hearing a bullet whizz by in places like this. If it is happening in places like this it has to be happening in less remote areas.
Things like this can be seen in quite a few places in America today as well. Makes gun owners look bad.
I haven't had a bullet whiz past me, but I been 125 yards away from a hwy and had a poacher fire in my direction.....just about messed myself....
I'm in the Bronx. Every July 4th or any other holiday that provides an "excuse," some kids with nothing better to do fire off some rounds in a schoolyard that's less than a block away. You can hear the gunshots at night. But I think this is only part of the problem, when the government is turning this country into a 1984-style police state: http://www.infowars.com/alex-jones-rant-dhs-tsa-invading-america/ I don't know what the answer is to curb reckless shooting, but more government "solutions" to "keep us safe" would just make things worse, IMHO.
By the way, Jon, best wishes to you and all my fellow grateful EDCers for a happy and wonderful holiday season.
The question in my mind is why do these idiots have access to firearms in the first place. I appreciate that I don't fully understand USA gun laws but I would assume checks ( psychological or otherwise) would be rigarous. I also find it hard to believe that any responsible person with access to firearms wouldn't know the distance a bullet would fly. It just boils down to idiots who have been brought up by idiots and the diminishing personal responsibility throughout the world. Just my opinion. No offence intended to any of the forum users
We have the same problem in the water business. Every couple of years somebody in the area gets one of their water tanks shot. Although it's still vandalism that costs thousands to fix, at least the shooters can be resonably sure nobody is inside the tanks they are shooting at. But I have to wonder what kind of moron shoots at a building. Our water intake building has a couple holes in it from some potshots. If anybody had been inside at the time, the holes are at the perfect height for a head shot. Of course they never stop to think that "I didn't mean to" can't bring back the dead. I love shooting and there's nothing more enjoyable than turning a bunch of junk into swiss cheese. There's plenty of junk around for the purpose, why bother with destruction of other people's good property.
I think the peer pressure approach is a good way to keep friends in line with each other. The downside to that approach, is if I know someone who is so careless/reckless that they are a danger to themselves and/or others, I avoid them completely. Not only do I want to remain alive, but I don't want to be part of a guilty party that's shooting up someone else's private property -- or worse. I also don't appreciate those with a cavalier approach to displaying their guns or proclaiming their rights. To be clear, the incident to which I am referring is a picture I saw on MSN news of a man slinging his AR-15 outside of a presidential rally (I think it was in Arizona) back in 2008. I understand people trying to make a statement and I don't have anything against people's rights, but I found this unnecessarily provocative and damaging to gun owners nationwide. The simple fact is, most people are scared/nervous about seeing guns in public. Right or wrong, that's just the way it is. In fact, whenever I see someone handling a firearm in public, I go on "alert", despite being familiar with and owning guns, even carrying concealed (legally) from time to time. Again, I point out that the photo to which I was referring was on a mass media news outlet, not some obscure website. It was right on display for (presumably) millions of MSN users. I just feel that if you want to educate others in public or get the undecided masses to see your point of view, pass out fliers or man an info booth -- don't shove a "scary looking black rifle" in someone's face. The only people that helps is the anti-gun crowd. Hmmm, as I write this, I'm thinking that perhaps the person with the AR is a member of the anti-gun crowd and that was the reaction they were intending... Anyway, rant over.
On the contrary...it can be quite UN-rigarous (depending on the state). In NH, all you have to do is be 18 and pass a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)...which takes just minutes. With that done, you can buy any long gun, any handgun, any quantity of ammo. Want to carry concealed? Fill out a short form, include 3 personal references, submit it to your local police dept with $10, and (usually) pick up your permit within 14 days. Not saying this is a good or bad system....just the way it is.
Interesting I didn't realise it would be that easy. I guess those farmers better get some body armour then (joking)
There were a couple instances around the same time with reports of guns at presidential events. But most of the stories were severely slanted to portray the individuals involved as some kind of crazed loonies. Of course, once you know a few things the media forgot to mention, it's a whole different story. The person carrying the handgun was at an event several blocks away from where the precident was going to be speaking and the event was held several hours before the president arrived. And the coverage of the gentleman with the rifle was carefully edited to avoid showing the fact that the man was black so as not to conflict with the voice overs of the news people claiming it was white racists threatening the president. It's all well and good to not unecessarily stir up the gun fearing public. But the sheepishness of most people varies widely throughout the country. Yes, in some areas the mere sight of a weapon causes panic. In other areas, it's a fairly common sight and doesn't elicit a reaction from anybody. Both the incidents mentioned occurred in Arizona, where the laws support open carry and it's not uncommon to see weapons being carried. The problem was the attitude of the national media who brought their gun panic with them. Of course, if you're holding a rally to get media attention for your position, then that's not necessarily a bad thing. But for all the media uproar, these individuals were good examples of well behaved gun owners. They peacably carried their arms in accordance with all local laws and did not respond unacceptably even when provoked by union agitators. The response of the "crazed gunmen" to the provocation was to call the police and wait for them to respond. Like the vast, vast majority of responsible gun owners, they just want to preserve their rights to self defense when needed. But at the same time, I'm sure they pray to never have such a need in their entire lives, also just like the rest of the responsible majority of gun owners. Strangely enough, the first time I recalled seeing media reporters questioning why police were not arresting armed individuals was many years ago on Fox News. They were covering some protests over a scheduled execution here in Texas. There was a large contingent of Black Panthers marching in the area, all armed with assault rifles and just being followed by just a few officers many yards away. The local reporters had to explain that this is not NYC or Washington DC, gun laws in Texas are different and people also respond differently. I don't think the Black Panthers had thought of that when they started the demostration. I suspect they were trying to start a disturbance but didn't account for the fact that the local Huntsville citizens don't go into a panic at the mere sight of a gun. It's what you do with it that the local population is going to react to. Heck, the people I visit that live in close proximity to the prison are all armed at home and the first reaction to the rare prison break is to make sure the gun is ready to go and easily accessible.
If this is kids just not knowing better a might mandatory shooter safety course required for licensing become necessary? Used to, you could rely on Dad and the other adults to let you know VERY QUICKLY how to use and respect a firearm for its potential. for some I know, but this isn't something you want kids learning trial and error.
more trouble then it is worth, if you act unsafe in a gun shop they have a right to refuse to sell you a weapon. Most gun shop owners are brutaly honest(ymmv) and have no problem telling you to leave.
It is a shame it is happening to those people as well. I was thinking it was farmers property and signs mainly.
