how lucky we still are

Status
Not open for further replies.

fiver

Well-Known Member
Man..
I was having a p.m. discussion with a friend in the Netherlands about accurate powders when he mentioned he couldn't just pick up a pound and give it a try.
I thought about that for a minute.
and asked.
they are regulated to 3Kg of powder on hand at any one time.
think about that....
6.5 lbs of powder is all they are allowed to have on the shelf in their house.
now my first reaction to that was, how would they know?
but he is generally on top of things and he is regulated and he just said 'they'll know".

which brought back a memory about another interweb friend that mentioned he had to go buy some factory ammo that afternoon.
I for sure knew he reloaded and cast his own bullets.
so once again I asked
his response was.
the police sent him a letter telling him that he was behind in the mount of ammo he needed to purchase to keep his club membership open.
a club membership allowed him to own several of the guns he had and if he lost the membership he would lose the privilege of owning those fire-arms.

we moan and groan about not being able to get this or get that and the price is going up blah blah.
but fail to see exactly where all of this is slowly leading us.
now I don't want this to be a political discussion but I would like everyone to take a moment and think about how good we do have it right now compared to just about every single other place on this planet.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
We do have it good compared to others but I prefer to think of it has bad they have it.
I am always amazed at the shooters on the various forums from their nations. The work they do to be able to own, much less fire, a gun is immense. I can't even begin to imagine the expense.

The concept of being required to demonstrate a specific "need" for owning a gun is baffling to most of us. It certainly is to me.

Thanks for opening our eyes to what others go thru to simply enjoy things we take for granted.
 

Ian

Notorious member
I think about it a lot, and where we are slowly being led, pushed, and dragged.
 

KHornet

Well-Known Member
I had a house guest via Rotary form South Africa a couple of years ago. He was a PhD from the U of Pretoria. He related that he could have only 5 weapons, one of which could be a handgun. We did not discuss quantities of ammo allowed, and wish I had.
When we have states like California, Colorado, and New York, with their current stringent laws regarding magazine capacities, etc. etc.etc. it is easy to see how without strong 2nd amendment support by the NRA, we also could be heading down the road of some of the European countries.
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
I see no way to keep this from being political, it's all politics. As an example: How good we have it? Top story on this mornings TV news was obummers top two goals for 2016.

1> Executive Action on gun control.
2> Close Gitmo.

I don't know that this thread is bad here but how good we have (or had) it is certainly all politics.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
it is political in a way but it's also about our lack of,,, well, our apathy would be a better term maybe.
I know I'm somewhat preaching to the choir, and things should certainly be a whole lot easier and better than they are.

but I travel around the country quite a bit for work and I see how others have things where they live.
for instance I bought a fishing license in Texas recently and received about 15 void deer tags which I was assured was normal.
I asked about where to hunt and was informed that you/I could try and draw a tag for public land or you could get a garage full of deer on your own property.
where I live I can buy a tag at the gas station and go hunting in 20 different places within 45 minutes.
seeing someone open their truck door and their pistol wedged in the seats or the door or just on the dash board is not a cause for concern here.
whereas a text message to your buddy about him meeting you to borrow a handgun in Cal. could lead to 50 cops being present and waiting for the [legal] deal to go down.

I remember the first time I was told I passed my back round check after purchasing a gun, and thinking back round check? what back round check?
maybe I'm just a little confused today but after spending a little time thinking about stuff I just wonder how WE got to where we are while they got to where they are.
I can see we are sure trying to get led to the same place.
 

Ian

Notorious member
UN Rio Agenda 21.

Z.O.G.

Read up and what you see around you will make a lot more sense.


There's almost no public land in Texas. That's because most of Texas was acquired by individuals like Davy Crockett and central European immigrant families through Mexican land grants in the early 1800's and has been privately owned ever since. Mexico couldn't get their own citizens to populate it and maintain enough presence, so they made sweet land deals to anyone who would come claim a chunk (under certain conditions, of course, like the requirement to become a Mexican citizen, learn the language, etc which really didn't happen much). Those who fought against Santa Anna's famous coup were technically fighting for Mexican confederation. When the dust settled, we pretty much determined Mexico wasn't fit to govern themselves, much less the Tejas territory, so the settlers who had made it their home picked up the pieces and became an independent republic. Read the Texas Declaration of Independence and it's pretty well laid out what happened and why. Lots of blood spilled over this land mass, and not many willing to give it up for "public use". I'm amazed that the Big Bend national park ever came to be, considering how many private landowners there were who had to be bought out. The Rosillos family still maintains a huge range in the north end of the park, they wouldn't sell. The concept of "private property" is strong with us. You wanna hunt, befriend a Texan (not hard to do), buy a chunk , or rent a piece from someone who has. We have lots of property tax revenue because of the private ownership of 95% of the state, and because of this we don't have a state income tax, either. Some good, some bad, but that's the way the cookie crumbled.
 
Last edited:

L1A1Rocker

Active Member
I asked about where to hunt and was informed that you/I could try and draw a tag for public land or you could get a garage full of deer on your own property.

There is very little public land in TX. There are a couple of small National Forrest, but those are closed to hunting. Those that don't have their own land to hunt on usually rent a "lease" for a year.
 
F

freebullet

Guest
It's not just guns either. I have a bil in Germany. He married a German woman and they live there. He has a very difficult time finding work with reasonable pay. Doesn't make enough to be a gun club member let alone own a gun/supplies for such. He was an American Airman. They are a resource for the government to farm.
They don't have entire industries we do in the states. His car must be inspected frequently and, there are a host of issues seemingly fixable that will get it taken off the road permanently.
I buy powder at minimum of 8 lb a time. Haven't bought a 1lb bottle since my third powder purchase. I took them to the range and it was hilarious to teach an adult German woman to shoot for the first time. She had never been exposed to anything like that before. Really sad, we are polar opposites.
I've watched the unconstitutional laws pass, come, go ,get expanded on, & be repealed depending on where you live. I don't go to places where my way of life is criminal. I'm payed well to deal with a few situations where freedom is not welcome but, to spend time, money, or support for such places is not something I do when possible.
Our schools are lost & I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before insanity reigns free here. Look where we're at now. It doesn't matter who you vote for we will have more government & more & more. Those cookies historically always crumble. Greed & corruption will not make us free. Now who's up for picking up some Syrian refugees?
We are quite fortunate to have public hunting grounds all over our state. Some unique opportunities too. You have to get an hour away from the cities though. Leases and paid hunting are the things that kill private land opportunities. I've been able to get archery hunting access on the edges of our city but, more and more private lands get tied up.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
rent a lease? foreign words to my ears.[seriously]
i'll just look out my window and decide which direction to go that day.
I can see why people get weirded out out here.
there is so much open space without a house every hundred yards and the ability to just go and do whatever you want pretty much wherever you want makes it worth the extra effort, time, and expense I have to endure to live here.
I don't pay a fee to use the local range, and if I did I'd just drive another mile and shoot there instead.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
We do have it pretty good as far as gun rights. If it were not for the work of thousands
of individuals, fighting for our gun rights, we would have a lot fewer. Since 1988 when
Fla passed "shall issue", states have been rolling back concealed weapons laws, many which
date back to the early 1800s when they were written to keep people from carrying Bowie
knives. I have seen editorials in major newspapers of the day railing against the deadly
knives that people carried. We are quite fortunate to have, in 41 states, entirely turned
around the laws and now have objective standards for easy issuance of a CCW permit - OR
in 7 states, which Kansas is one, any adult who can legally own a handgun may carry it
concealed with no permit. We are gaining ground on our rights, and the current efforts
to restrict them seem to be going nowhere. IMO, the CCW breakthrough has debunked
essentially all of the horror stories which used to be the basis for a lot of gun restrictions.
Many people today at least know someone who has a permit and is a normal person, making
it more difficult to sell the idea that only crazy people would want to go armed.

Of course, there are still 9 states where gun rights are anywhere between moderately and
severely restricted. As someone else said, I won't live there and avoid going to those states
as much as possible.

3 kilos of powder would sure be a severe limitation......... As would 5 guns. I visited a
Brit living and running a B&B in France a few years back. He was a shooter that I met on
the other casting site. He had a few rifles and a prized Python that were all legal in France.
Unfortunately, his mother got too frail and he had to move back to England to care for her,
and the guns went down the road.
I know people in the former soviet states and a very few are able to own shotguns. One
wealthy factory manager had problems with street thugs and got a CCW permit in Ukraine.
I showed him my permit and he showed me his and his gun, a PPK clone of unfamiliar
manufacture. I was shocked to find that it was UNRIFLED. Keeps the useful range short
enough that the government is happy. Can't have folks owning handguns that will hit
beyond 5-10 ft in the hands of civilians, ya know.

Yep, it is better here.
 

Todd M

Craftsman of metals...always learning.
We do live in a Blessed nation. Founded under God. Yes many are running hard from Him but this nation is still Blessed I believe. We all get caught up in the disappointments and everything we see going down the drain but it's good to sit back and be thankful for what we still have.
Thanks Lamar.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Wow, politics and religion. I like it!

I've been involved in frequent "discussions" with leftists on gun rights, private property rights, religious freedom, gov't policies and the latest- student rights (entitlements). Someone mentioned preaching to the choir here. Unless you talk to the other side, you have no idea. It's staggering to hear the ideas others have regarding our Constitution and rights, to say nothing of their ideas on taxation (it's great as long as someone else pays), what qualifies as "work", why they should be able to do any number of harmful things while at the same time they want to stop others from doing what those people want to do. It's an age of idiocy, and our nation is headed downhill fast.

Nuff said for now.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.