Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveinGermany
AIRGUN SHOOTING CLUBS AND SUPPLIERS
I first went shooting at about 13 with my father, using shotguns to take game for the table. Discipline, weapon handling & safety were drilled into us (my brother & myself) constantly, by my father.
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Good to hear from someone with a bit of experience who knows what he's talking about. The absolute key as you pointed out is experience at a young age and good supervision to get across the safety aspects.
I do agree with Kestrel about airguns being almost part of a kid's toybox years ago, at least that's the way it seemed to me and the link you posted seems to agree:
The "Airgun" was the gun most of todays shooting enthusiasts cut their teeth on. Although once considered a "toy" they have come a long way since those days and can no longer be put into that category.
MY brother had handguns for competitive shooting till the idiocy surrounding Dunblane scuppered that, and my partner has always had shotguns for clay pigeon and game shooting, so I am comfortable with the thought of guns and get very annoyed at some of the hysteria generated by the media and others, especially when it leads to kneejerk laws, no amount of which will legislate away incidents like the Derrick Bird shootings in Cumbria.
I was interested in the following from the link you posted:
A person commits an offence if, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse (the proof whereof lies on him) he has with him in a public place
(1) a loaded shotgun
(b) an airgun (whether loaded or not)
(c) any other firearm (whether loaded or not) together with ammunition suitable for use in that firearm, or
(d) an imitation firearm.
It seems you can carry an empty shotgun in the street but not an empty airgun. Bizarre! Or is the above badly worded and an unloaded shotgun comes under (c) above?
Anyway Dave thanks for that post.