Duck Hunting at an End in Australia

Animal rights folks down under are trying to make sure this duck season that’s wrapping up is their last.  I used to think that shooters were under a much greater threat from extinction than hunters were, but I think that’s changed a lot in the last decade.  I would now say hunters are in far more danger.

For the shooting community, the 1994 assault weapons ban was a huge wake up call.  We saw further attempts to get more and more firearms, including commonly owned firearms like the M1 Carbine, M1 Garand, and even Ruger 10/22 added to the ban.  It became pretty hard to deny there was an active effort to ban guns slowly, until they could get all or most.  Divide and conquer.

Hunters haven’t had that awakening yet, and their numbers are dwindling.  If anything, I’ve noticed hunters are far more willing to side with the animal rights whakos when it comes to forms of hunting that they don’t engage in or approve of.  Witness dove hunting in Michigan.

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Knight Rifles Closing Down

In these times of outrageous gun sales, there are some parts of the industry that aren’t doing too well.  The Outdoor Wire reports that Knight Rifles, maker of in-line muzzle loaders, is shutting its doors.  Market forces at work, but I think it’s a bit unfortunate.   As the number of hunters decline, leaving the field through death, age or illness, they will begin to sell off their equipment. With fewer younger hunters to take up the supply, a surplus will be the result, which means we don’t need as many manufacturers of hunting equipment, including rifles.

I think the future of the shooting sports is in three places: pistols, practical rifles, and air guns.  Anything you don’t need a huge range for probably has a future.   They aren’t building 600 yard ranges in suburban areas these days, or even many rural ones.  But you can set up a pistol or air gun range just about anywhere.

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Some Progress in Illinois

Days of our Trailers reports that House Bill 182, which appears to carve out exceptions for having a concealed firearm on private property that you’ve been invited to, has passed the House and is now headed to the Governor.  That’s an exception even Pennsylvania doesn’t have.  Technically speaking, you need a License to Carry to have a concealed handgun in someone else’s home as a guest, though there is an exception for domiciles.

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Jersey Gun Sales Up

You know when the political and economic climate are bad enough for people in New Jersey to start the process of trying to buy more guns, things aren’t good.  But they are definitely buying, and it looks like another South Jersey shop is out of ammo.  (Although they only mention being out of .380 & .32, perhaps they have some other calibers in stock.  It might be worth checking out.)

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Keeping with the Meme

Marko shares the five most embarrassing albums on his iPod.  Let’s see here, and go through that which I am not proud.  Not much really, but let’s go ahead anyway:

  1. Not one, but two Meatloaf albums.
  2. Duran Duran’s Greatest Hits.
  3. At least one Elton John album.
  4. Two operas by Gilbert and Sullivan (H.M.S. Pinafore and the Pirates of Penzance, and I know the lyrics to just about all the songs)
  5. I have a Hanson album.  But it’s not the Hanson you’re probably thinking.

UPDATE: Tam and I seem to share at least one of our top five.

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Quote of the Day

Thanks to Instapundit for this great article by P.J. O’Rourke:

Forty years ago the pimply kid down the block, using $3,500 in saved-up soda-jerking money, procured might and main beyond the wildest dreams of Genghis Khan, whose hordes went forth to pillage mounted upon less oomph than is in a modern leaf blower.

It is an excellent story on American’s relationship with the automobile, which is now turning into the worst story of America’s relationship with its dysfunctional government.

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