Originally Posted by Jerseygirl

Phew...thank god I lived in a low crime state.

Originally Posted by mrken30

We just have a baseball bat with a few nails.

Originally Posted by Lion in Winter

Fear and guns don't mix at all.

Originally Posted by uk_grenada

I guess this could also go in wtf america :-)

Friends in texas put up signs - usually a toy gun and ‘we dont call 911’ to let burglars know the homeowner will kill any intruder.

Originally Posted by uk_grenada

Me too, part of the year. Are ireland any good now? Or is it like wales, where the people who couldnt get into real teams congregate :-) [Its true about wales, but which ireland is this?]

Just for the others : all weapons must be carried concealed unlike the us
Personal defense pistols are legally owned but rarely in the uk, if you have a reason, i cant discuss further but im sure the relevant info is google-able somewhere.

Offensive weapons has no meaning in this context, they arent if they are legally owned and used legitimately, as a chef uses a knife.

Any calibre of single shot guns of any length are allowed, i have a friend who does long distance pistol with a 300 win mag pistol, just not magazine fed or revolver fullbore pistols [not where i winter...].

Legally in the uk if you are safe with a firearm, you can have 100, IF you have sufficient security AND a reason, but collecting, dealing, hunting abroad are all legitimate reasons, im not sure how a friend justified a beautifully african scene engraved holland and holland 500 nitro express elephant double rifle [very light, shotgun like, a mere £2k, imagine the price if it was a 12 bore] but there arent many elephants left in surrey and its on his ticket. I will say that if you fire it prone on the zero range at Bisley, your elbows leave the ground and the world stops rotating beneath you.

A dealer ticket is the way to go for collectors or amateur dealers, obtainable if you have the stsnding, sponsorship etc, plus aforesaid security, then you dont have to go through hoops to buy/sell so long as you maintain records and report info as required.

The police do occasionally check and personally i welcome it.

There is no requirement to use a range to keep guns, actually i know CPO’s have mixed views, as it can make a club a target for theft, safer to have the guns in smaller nos in different places, so long as we have the required cabinets etc.

However how many legal guns are used in crime? We know dont we. Shotguns are more of an issue in that regard imho.

Originally Posted by macliam

I agree with you about shotguns - they're more available and require less skill (particularly when illegally sawn off) - but even then, there are hardly any >3 round shotguns in circulation in the UK......

Originally Posted by spouse of scouse

No, they don't. My ex-husband had a .22 rifle, this was in the days when it was relatively easy to get a gun licence in Australia. All you needed was a letter from a farmer stating that they'd given you permission to shoot kangaroos on his/her land.

When we went on a driving holiday around Australia, he took his rifle and kept it on a ledge above the bed in the caravan. We were asleep one night in the Nullarbor desert when our caravan door started rattling. Our bed was directly in front of the door - my ex reached up, grabbed his rifle and fired a shot through the door. It was the wind...

There are many reasons why I made him my ex, but that one's as good as any.

Originally Posted by Lion in Winter

They are called burglaries, "home invasions" notwithstanding. It is not normal to kill them, nor for them to kill you, nor for the feeling to be that one must armed at all times "just in case". I have lived in urban gang areas and everywhere else, and never had either the need nor the desire to carry a gun.

Originally Posted by dc koop

I don't "carry" a gun. I keep it in a place in the house where it could be accessed and loaded quickly. It's a Smith and Wesson 357 Magnum 7 shot guaranteed to stop any intruder/ invader in his tracks

The other gun is a pop gun a .22 caliber which I use for shooting empty beer cans in the woods up in the mountains

I've never been burgled myself and they're rare but it's an upscale neighborhood and a target for burglars. Two or three years ago when Governor Brown decided to let a lot of short timers out of prison due to overcrowding we were warned by the police that our neighbourhood could be a target for burglars but it didn't happen. On two occasions a couple of houses were burgled by a group of about 8 gang bangers from Compton, Los Angeles. They were identified as member of the Crips. If you don't think they would either attack you or even worse if you caught them in your home then you don't know much about the Crips.

Originally Posted by mrken30

There were 8 intruders and you only have 7 shots. Is that a problem?