• StorminNorman@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Australian here, I’m literally less than ten metres away from 2 rifles and a shotgun. Used for pest control, which is mostly eaten cos rabbit and goat is delicious. Haven’t been bold enough to eat a fox yet. But yeah, they’re there. Have been visited by the cops a couple of times over the years to make sure they’re appropriately stored. Hell, you can even get a handgun here. The kicker is, you have to be a member of a gun club, regularly compete in competitions through said gun club, and the gun has to be stored at said gun club (although it can be transported from gun club to another venue for competition). So, yeah, they’re out there, but they’re heavily controlled. And we actually had an Olympic shotgun shooter get in shit a while back cos his gun was improperly stored in his car between competition and home. Nobody wants what happened in Port Arthur to happen ever again. Kids fucking died. That’s fucked. How America didn’t do something after Sandy Hook absolutely blows my mind…

    • BlueÆther@no.lastname.nz
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      1 year ago

      I hear you, I have 5 rifles about the same distance, locked in a safe. The bolts and ammo are both in seperate lock boxes and not stored with the firearms; the keys to all are not store with any normal keys.

      I think Australia has about 15-20 firearms pr 100 people and New Zealand about 25-30 (depending on where you get the stats from), compare that to the US where it’s above 150.

      The whole culture around firearms is screwed there - you have senators posing for Christmas card photos with the whole family posing with a small arsenal of military firearms, or a guy guys caught on camera (clearly carrying side arms) saying “I feel threatened”, in a power pose/alpha-male stance, while advancing on some other guy in a mall.

      From here, on the outside, the whole US feels quite fucked; and it’s not just gun violence…

      • CameronDev@programming.dev
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        1 year ago

        The weird one for me is archery equipment. No licence, no checks, no storage requirement. And sure, you cant go on much of a spree, it still seems a bit odd that anyone can buy one. Crossbows are restricted though.

      • StorminNorman@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Amazingly, there’s more than one state in Australia, and they all have variances… As it is, I’m too tired to look into it and I was told this 10yrs ago, and I know requirements have change in this time so I acquiesce.

        • slazer2au@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          All good mate. Not calling you out or anything it is a complex topic and Qld is where I am so that is what I follow.

    • Dimand@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I’m not an expert in this stuff but my whole life I have been told to avoid eating mammals that primarily eat meat. Eating a fox just seems wrong, especially when there are so many good to eat rabbits.

      • StorminNorman@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Carnivores generally taste like shit. As it is, foxes are omnivores, leaning more towards vegetarianism. I’m still gonna give it a miss though.

    • Zippy@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Curious here. Just moved to a large acreage and have some 5 bears and about 10 wolfs that pose a risk to my dogs mainly. I grew up with guns so comfortable around them but had not really used one in twenty years. Now the laws require them locked up at all times but I literally need access in seconds. Have a few times have had to scare of the bears but it is the wolves that are my biggest concerns.

      I can’t really lock them up or more to the point is that they would have near zero value locked up. I can’t imagine most farmers lock them up. What is the general idea around this?

      Edit. Coyotes not wolfs.

      • StorminNorman@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Guns aren’t the only things that deter wolves and bears. Sure, they do a great job at it, but they aren’t the only tool you can employ.

        • Zippy@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Well I am deploying other options but not working that well. Just more curious what the ranch type guy that is using a rifle weekly if not daily does. Seperate lock up are not practical when you need them rapidly and at random times. I personally am for heavy gun regulation. Hand guns seem completely unneeded except for certain jobs and having more than say three rifles does not seem necessary. But in a farm or ranch situation, having them easily accessible is pretty important.

            • Zippy@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              They might not have 5 bears and 10 Coyotes in a small area. Not sure what you are getting at? I suspect some of them, particularly the ones with cattle and large area often travel around with rifles. They are a bit of a necessity but I don’t suspect your much of an expert in that field. Looking for those that actually have more dangerous animals around they are dealing with daily or weekly.

              • StorminNorman@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Australia has predators, you donkey. And let’s look at the rest of the world. They have farmers and bears and wolves too. Many of them lock away their guns. At the risk of repeating myself, there are other options besides guns for the very specific use case you provided. I know you just want to hear what you think is right, but you’re asking the wrong person if you think I’m gonna do that.

                • Zippy@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  I thought about poison but too likely a dog might get into it. Live traps are next best bet then they can be taken somewhere and shot safely. For bears the live traps are quite large so not so easy. Mind you not so worried about the bears. They run from even if small dogs. I am more concerned in the event where you need immediate access such as an attack. The Coyotes will come right up to the house but lucky the dogs have not been around or inside. They are crafty buggers so you pretty much need to be ready right then if you want to shoot them. Might just have to hunt them. We live right next to town and I know they have killed a few pets to date.

                  I suspect many with real wild animal issues do not lock their guns away although they may tell people they do. Curious how many people don’t.

                  • StorminNorman@lemmy.world
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                    1 year ago

                    This may surprise you, but farmers, shepherds etc, all defended their animals just fine before the invention of guns. You’re also making a lot of assumptions about others. But I guess that’s okay in your mind cos it validates your fears. Maybe look into changing that.

                    And to be clear, I’m not anti gun. Like I said, I am near a handful of them. But your commenting on a 4 day old post the way you are just screams “please validate my tiny dick energy”…