well...chiming in from Canada here...where we make California gun laws look like Christmas.
before I add anything further - I'll say this is the best gun conversation I've read EVER...and shock of shocks it's by mostly gun owners.
My son and I went to the range. A guy at the office (not a cop) has a large collection of guns, mostly restricted and he has permits for them and some interesting grandfathered permits. He brought a model of a glock I'm not sure which model . A .38 special....big long barrel looked like something Clint Eastwood would shoot (easily the funnest of the three) and an AR with scope and laser sight...how easy did that make things.
We had a blast. Very safe at the range. There's a range safety officer there, he clears all weapons before we can go to inspect targets, he gave everyone there a pre-shoot pep talk about 5 minutes long..basic safety stuff.
some points:
-shooting straight with a hand gun is tricky. I don't know our distance but I was hitting the body but usually not where I thought it would go. Even head shots were tough.
-glocks have no safety......eeek.
-there was a competition shooter there and he was stooopid good.
-Hollywood mybuster alert - shooting with one hand like in the movies is VERY hard.
-the AR I shot is completely disabled in Canada. The mag can't hold more than 5 rounds (there's a bolt welded in the magazine preventing it) it's single shot. Not even semi-auto. In theory it shouldn't be a restricted weapon except for it's looks. There are much more powerful hunting rifles out there.
Finally when we were done - my son (15) asked what the range safety officers thought of American's and their gun culture. He was quite positive. "99% of them know MORE than enough to own, carry, conceal, clean, shoot, and be around guns. In some states it's almost like us and hockey - we're born wearing skates/holding sticks. They're fathers and mothers take them out and get them shooting young. How to hold, care for, and be safe with firearms. It's the ease at which that misguided 1% can get their hands on them that is the concern. And, that same 1% in Canada or any other country will find a way to get their hands on one"
it was an interesting take.
Please carry on.
great gun talk.
He almost convinced me to take the course. It's 350$ here and a full weekend 8hrs Sat and Sun, for the restricted firearms permit. In class, and range.
ytse