SpudFiles

No, it's my opinion because I honestly believe that it is highly unfair for people to have to live in a social society where you are practically forced to have a gun just to feel safe.
It's an unnecessary pressure in many ways - on money, safety and morality.

In a country like that, I'd feel a slave to firearms.
In the UK, although I don't get to use them except rarely, I feel safe enough without worrying about a gun, or being concerned about there almost as many guns as people in the country, and I'm quite happy that way.

Besides, I can have enough fun with my launchers - they may only match up to moderately powered handguns, but the ammo costs a lot less.

Ragnarok wrote:No, it's my opinion because I honestly believe that it is highly unfair for people to have to live in a social society where you are practically forced to have a gun just to feel safe.
It's an unnecessary pressure in many ways - on money, safety and morality.

In a country like that, I'd feel a slave to firearms.
In the UK, although I don't get to use them except rarely, I feel safe enough without worrying about a gun, or being concerned about there almost as many guns as people in the country, and I'm quite happy that way.

I don't own a gun and I feel perfectly safe. I would like to have a gun just because they are fun and beautiful pieces of engineering, but I've never felt any pressure to have one.

I was going to smuggle a pair of knuckedusters into the UK a few years as I did fear for my personal safety for a little while with older kids constantly bullying me. As that has died down, I don't ever feel threatened enough to feel the need to use a weapon against individuals, however around the area of Portsmouth where I live (Fareham, Gosport, Portchester ECT) we do have a good amount of violent crimes, so I would feel safer with a knife in my pocket, but I do feel that if a chav or two pick on me, I could stick up for myself enough to get a few crucial punches in before I leg it home.

I do understand why you got a $500 dollar fine as Knucks' as their main use is to injure other people., and I can imagine that being hit in the face with a lump of brass would leave a pretty mark. As others have stated, all other "improvised" weapons have a primary use, such as being used in sports, but wielding any object with the intent to harm can get a person arrested around here, and we do hear of cases in the local paper where drunk kids get nicked for running around with golf clubs, even though they didn't hit anyone.

clide wrote:I would like to have a gun just because they are fun and beautiful pieces of engineering, but I've never felt any pressure to have one.

They are certainly interesting engineering, but some of them are just plain ugly.

I get a lot more out of building my own "engineering" than I ever did firing the rifles at Army Cadets. Partly because whatever fire it from, you can never make a 5.56x45 round kick decently - and you only ever get to fire at paper targets. All that raw kinetic power, just wasted...
But sleeping with a rifle is an odd experience I am unlikely to forget.

Ragnarok wrote:I get a lot more out of building my own "engineering" than I ever did firing the rifles at Army Cadets. Partly because whatever fire it from, you can never make a 5.56x45 round kick decently - and you only ever get to fire at paper targets. All that raw kinetic power, just wasted...
But sleeping with a rifle is an odd experience I am unlikely to forget.

i do ccf at my school and someone in my year does air cadets which is raf version of what you did, when i was on ccf capm a few weeks ago we saw some army cadets.

and sleeping with a rifle... hmm thats slightly strange i'm guessing you did it when out on an exercise or something?

I agree with Ragnarok that build a custom gun is a bit more satifying that wasting a guns power on paper targets at a shooting range.

I have an air rifle (Ok...not a "real" gun") and i feel that shooting a pneumatic gun is way more fun that shooting a shop bought weapon that isn't all that amazing to shoot, as a tiny lead pellet has no recoil at all, when a AA battery will jerk the gun around a fair amount depending on the gun.

Infernal Maveric wrote:I agree with Ragnarok that build a custom gun is a bit more satifying that wasting a guns power on paper targets at a shooting range.

I have an air rifle (Ok...not a "real" gun") and i feel that shooting a pneumatic gun is way more fun that shooting a shop bought weapon that isn't all that amazing to shoot, as a tiny lead pellet has no recoil at all, when a AA battery will jerk the gun around a fair amount depending on the gun.

yup my phat cannon at 80psi give a fair bit of recoil shooting a heavy AA, well more than a sucky .22 rifle.

ALIHISGREAT wrote:and sleeping with a rifle... hmm thats slightly strange i'm guessing you did it when out on an exercise or something?

Out on an exercise, because you can't keep it anywhere other than in your sleeping bag for safety reasons.
You still have to check it over fully when you wake up regardless.

And I do remember what the ATC is. There was a heavy rivalry between the ACF and the ATC in my town, and in the end, performance was usually based on the number of Cadets that got dragged out to the Remembrance Sunday parade.
(Coincidentally, this year the 11th falls on the Sunday, so the parade will take place on the actual date - 89 years after the war ended. Expect to see a very major deal made of things in 11 years - hell, I'll be 30 then...)

Also important, but less so, was the number of cadets that could actually march in time, so there was a lot of hiding the recruits in the middle of the squad, surrounding them with taller experienced cadets that knew what they were doing, and could also hiss "Get in time" out of the side of their mouth without being too obvious.

i have to march this sunday, the whole of the ccf at our school has to do it and my year only joined this year... so we are not exactly perfect but it will be easier with the band playing on sunday i guess.

Did you have to name your rifle?

ShowNoMercy wrote:Did you have to name your rifle?

ermm no? we don't have our and only one squad marches with rifles i think its hard enough for us cadets to march, let alone with rifles!

Ha, I wish. There's a lot more pressure on the parade.
Usually, if you're doing well that helps focus you and keep you doing well, but if you screw up, you'll suffer a momentary panic, and it'll take longer to recover.
However, you'll forget the screwing up quite quickly.

What you don't forget is the war veteran 6 rows ahead of you having a heart attack from the stress and falling over half dead, while you have to stand to attention for a quarter of an hour while the St John's Ambulance attempt to revive him.
I think he eventually survived against expectations (usually, when they've used the defrib. that many times, it's not a good sign), but it did put something of a damper on the day, wandering into the church knowing that the guy was being rushed to hospital.

Hopefully though you won't have that problem.

EDIT:
@SNM: No, I didn't have to name the rifle. However there were plenty of jokes about cocking levers, open breeches, and firing off weapons available to make up for it.

that is unlucky how old was the veteran? i think they have an ambulance at our parade because pretty much every year at least one cadet faints, hopefully it won't be me... its a good job i'm hard 8)

I advise drinking a large amount before you start, but make sure you find the mid point between fainting and pissing yourself. Both are quite embarrassing.

I believe he may well have been a WWII vet, I don't know much more than that.

Only a half hour at attention? Thats nothing, try three hours and come back to me