The gun-happy culture terrifies me!! Shoot first, ask later.
Here in the UK no-one owns guns so we don't feel the insane need to defend ourselves (except the old fashioned way with your forehead!!!)
Canada has the same "right to bear arms" as the US does but they have comparable gun-death figures to the UK. What went wrong in the US? From where did this gun culture arise?
Sorry if If I'm generalising
Steve

I know how you feel, because I feel the same way. I don't have a problem with people owning guns responsibly. I guess that's just an American way of thinking. What I have a huge problem with is the insane number of deaths by gun shot in the US every year. I don't understand it. I don't get it. I wrote about this somewhere else on this board. I don't know the answer, but it will require A LOT of soul searching amongst all of us Americans to answer this -- why do we Americans feel so free to shoot and kill one another? I don't know. Canadians don't kill each other with guns and they have the guns to do it.

Oracle:
Jeez- how many people have you done this to? How many have you killed?

Awful personal question for two people who just met.

(;

But, if you must know... My only killing has come in the form of a silhoutte at the pistol range. In which case, I have killed 30+.

(:

How about we talk about it over a Glen Morainge 12 YO?

The gun-happy culture terrifies me!! Shoot first, ask later.
Here in the UK no-one owns guns so we don't feel the insane need to defend ourselves (except the old fashioned way with your forehead!!!)
Canada has the same "right to bear arms" as the US does but they have comparable gun-death figures to the UK. What went wrong in the US? From where did this gun culture arise?
Sorry if If I'm generalising
Steve

Gun-happy is generalizing, but that's alright. Are you serious about what went wrong in the US? The reason our forfathers felt that we needed this right was because it gave us a great advantage against the British, everyone owned a gun and was willing to use it to defend their own home, town, state, or nation! This is where it arose and it is effective.
If I didn't have a splitting headache for the second day in a row, I could give a better accounting for us gun crazy folk, but right now I'll just be happy getting the spelling right.



KRW

Awful personal question for two people who just met

Sorry pal - I should have put a smiley wink at the end of the question - I was trying to be playful!!

Myself, I killed dozens yesterday!!! Half Life 2 - a work of art :p

If I didn't have a splitting headache for the second day in a row, I could give a better accounting for us gun crazy folk

Headache? Same here - way too much xmas cheer and I'm back to work in an hours time - only for 4 hours for a rota. God knows why, all the Dr's surgeries are closed so there's no-one going to be bringing in prescriptions for filling. The madness!!!!!

Steve

Sorry pal - I should have put a smiley wink at the end of the question - I was trying to be playful!!

Myself, I killed dozens yesterday!!! Half Life 2 - a work of art :p

Recently I have put Half Life on the shelf for Doom III. It is very dark and scary at times.

Many areas have no lights and you have to use your flashlight. Things pop out much quicker and in a scarier fashion with only a flashlight. My one pet peeve is that I wish you could use the flashlight and carry your pistol at the same time. In real life you can, so it seems absurd that a Marine in this effed-up place would have to switch his flashlight for a gun!

My buddy is into Halo 2, but I haven't seen it yet.

-Rip

Blimey - you guys know your guns. How come you have such a knowledge? Is it the norm for people from the US to be informed about guns? Does almost everyone own one?
I've never even held a gun much less fired one. They're banned here in the UK

Steve

It's true many Americans own guns (I do myself), and the National Rifle Association numbers in the millions (I'm a member myself). But I suspect this board has an unusual ratio of gun-owners--firearms experts simply because of the kind of character Jack is. But most of us are pretty nice folks. Why, just last week, I let a skel look at me wrong =three times= before I cut him down. Guess I'm getting soft...

Just a tiny thing. When it comes to firearms, Dr. Wilson is not Stephen Hunter.In Gateways he uses a Casull in .454 with results similar to a sabot tank round. Why not go with the S & W in .500. With 2600 foot lbs of muzzle exit velocity vs. 1800 for the Casull, it would at least be a little more realistic.

Actually, he uses a Ruger Super Redhawk chambered in .454 Casull, which is a slightly longer -- .100 inch -- version of the 45-Colt which was introduced in 1873.

The .500 Smith & Wesson wasn't available when the book was written.

Muzzle velocity is measured in Feet Per Second, (FPS) not foot pounds. What you mean is Muzzle Energy, the formula for which is: Mass X Velocity squared, divided by 450400. Mass is expressed in grains of bullet weight.

Ken V.

Blimey - you guys know your guns. How come you have such a knowledge?

Many of us here are shooting enthusiasts. As far as I know, I'm the only real gun "Whacko" who regularly posts on this board. (I think Biggles is more of an enthusiast. ) My current collection numbers, 36 handguns, 20 rifles and 11 shotguns.

Is it the norm for people from the US to be informed about guns? Does almost everyone own one?

No, it's not the norm. The last I recall, there are about 80 million gun owners in the U.S., out of a total population of 280 million. But as far as guns themselves are concerned, there are more guns in this country than there are people.

I've never even held a gun much less fired one. They're banned here in the UK

From what I understand, ANY form of self defense is banned in the UK.

Ken V.

Jeez- how many people have you done this to? How many have you killed?

Speaking for myself, NONE. I'm an axe murderer by profession, guns are merely a hobby.

Ken V.