[at-l] Gun story

[saunterer@jimbullard.org (saunterer@jimbullard.org)]

At 09:17 AM 12/14/01 -0600, Phil Heffington wrote:
>...clip...
>My favorite story about using firemarms for protection is from a
>Reader's Digest, if I remember correctly, from about 20 years ago.
>Seems some convict had escaped from a prison in Tennessee ...clip...
>  There
>are only two kinds of guy toters, the ones who know what they're doing,
>and the one's who don't.  Both of them scare me.

This thread has gotten kind of far afield from the tragic stupidity of the 
so-called hunting accident.

FWIW I too am nervous around anyone carrying a gun.  Why?  Because they are 
in control of a deadly weapon and I can never know for sure if 1) they are 
knowledgeable of gun safety 2) they will not make some error of 
judgement.  I've met people in the woods (just hiking, not hunting) who 
were packing large caliber side arms.  When I asked why the answer was 
"bears".  My usual response is that the bears won't attack you and if you 
did shoot one you'd be arrested for hunting out of season.

The bottom line to why these guys (it's always a guy) had a side arm was 
fear.  They were afraid of what big bad things might get them out there in 
the woods.  As I said anyone carrying a gun makes me nervous but these are 
the guys that really scare me.  The gun gives them a false sense of comfort 
as they venture forth but if they are startled they may well react in a 
deadly and tragic way because deep down they are scared.  At least with 
hunters there is a better than even chance that they aren't going to do 
something stupid.  With professional gun toters (cops, soldiers, etc.) the 
odds are probably significantly better yet.  The guy who thinks he needs a 
gun for safety though, I don't want to be within a country mile of him.

sAunTerer