"You don't NEED a 50 caliber rifle"

A few of us met up yesterday to shoot stuff.

It was nice to be able to bring something to the party - my Enfield No. 4 is at the top; #2 Son's SKS is next to the bottom.  This picture was taken early; there were probably three times this many when everyone showed up.  But #2 Son finally got to shoot his SKS.

With the help of the other attendees, they exhausted the 300 rounds of steel jacketed ammo that we couldn't shoot at the local indoor range.  Looking at the impact craters left on a scrap of steel we used as a target, I can see why.  The steel looked like the surface of the moon.

ASM826 and friend Dan organized the meetup, and hosted it at their local range.  The facilities were quite nice, with a 200 yard rifle range among the amenities we enjoyed.  You can see targets here at 50, 100, and 200 yards.

It was a blogshoot, and so of course there was a guest of honor.  .30-06 made him jump 5 feet in the air.

Sean Sorrentino really out did himself as Community Organizer, bringing blogger Knitebane and Bob from Templar Custom.  Bob manufactures custom automatic weapons and suppressors, and brought some of his creations that he generously let us shoot.  One of the most interesting was one where you could replace the barrel, without changing the point of impact (tested at 200 yards).

That's Sean shooting full automatic .50 Beowulf.  ASM826 caught the ejected brass in mid-air.  This was entirely overwhelming to shoot in a handheld weapon on full automatic.  Here's the cartridge next to a .45 ACP for scale.  As you can see, it's basically a latter day version of the .50-90 Buffalo cartridge.  This on full automatic would be handy if you were cornered by a runaway dump truck.

Which brings me to the point of the post.  Everyone there knew more about guns and was a better shot than I, as my journey to the land of Gun Nuttery is still hardly begun.  So I tend to look at things from a philosophical perspective.  The get together was a celebration of freedom.  Individual people from all over the place getting together to see interesting things, test their skill, perhaps improve their skill a little, and enjoy comradery out in the winter sunshine.  There was less risk to all involved than if we'd gone to a Real Ale festival.

And yet we still hear the objection that is the title to this post.  There are polite answers: in the last year, I've collected six guns here at Camp Borepatch.  I've shot a number of new types of ammo that I hadn't shot before, including two different flavors of fifty caliber.  I've gotten my Georgia Weapons Carry License.  I haven't committed any crimes with these guns, or even created a nuisance.  So why on earth should I be prohibited from doing this?

There are impolite answers to the objection, too: go to Hell, you statist prick busybody. It's none of your stinking business what I do as long as it doesn't harm you.  And being afraid because you're a wuss isn't "harm".  After all, we don't restrict african americans or homosexuals because someone might be made uncomfortable around them, that would be simple bigotry.  And so with us, and our harmless shooting get togethers.

Freedom is an odd thing.  It encourages diversity and non-conformance, as people do their own thing despite the possibly disapproving glances of the Blue Noses.  But even more, Freedom is a virtuous cycle, as some of those Blue Noses see in that diversity something that challenges their own assumptions about society, that makes them think, and sometimes even makes them change their minds.  Something that causes them to embrace diversity, in celebration of the harmless exercise of the human spirit.  And so the pool of diversity increases.

You know, I've been down that very road myself over the last few years.  And so to people whose first reaction to our outing is captured in the post title let me just say come on in - the water's fine.

Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.

- John F. Kennedy

UPDATE 31 December 2011 17:44: Made some corrections per Sean Sorrentino.