question from a novice
 

Hi, I' m a creative writing student doing a story that involves a hunter. If anyone could give me a very short lesson, it would really help me get the details right.

My question is, what are the variations in re-loading? Do people ever use single shot guns any more or is that just in the movies? Are there different regulations for how many shells go in the magazine, depending on what you are hunting (e.g. deer, bear, birds, etc)?

My story is kind of Stephen King-ish -- total fiction -- it concerns a hunter in the Adirondacks who begins hunting down hikers and people. What kind of gun might he use, based on the area? How many shots could he fire before re-loading?

Thanks so much for any help you can give! If it ever gets published I will keep you in the credits.

RE: question from a novice
 

I may be off base here. But we, the shooting community does not need any more steriotypes caused by fictionous movies or books.

Why not write a nice book about a hunter using his gun to save some lost children from an angry black bear mother with cubs. Or better, use your writing skills to help educate people about guns and our history, on how it helped to make our country. A right that was fought for and paid for by thousands. Another idea is write a book based on stories that often downplayed where a gun in the house helped save a family from violent offenders that are let out on parole. All good ideas. American Rifleman has several of these true stories every month.

By the way this is a page that concerns reloading our own ammo with various powders, and bullets, not reloading the gun.

I doubt you will get much help here.

RE: question from a novice
 

We actually agree on something this time bigcountry.

RE: question from a novice
 

Actually we agree on lots of things as long as it has nothing to do with Savages, Short Mags, and New Cartidges.:D

RE: question from a novice
 

Oh, and the 30-30. Forgot also the .22 caliber thing. Thats about it.

RE: question from a novice
 

Not all new cartridges. I have an interest in the 358 RUM, 500 S&W, and even though its not that new anymore the 260 Rem and 7mm STW.

RE: question from a novice
 

or, I could write about a couple of hunters who take themselves a little too seriously...

RE: question from a novice
 

What is too serious? Some people could think that you take writing too seriously. Some may think its useless entertainment. But your going to univerisity for it. Pretty serious. You are on a page where shooting and hunting is a lifestyle. For most of us, our lives revolve around it. From the off road truck we buy, to where we choose to live to the way we think. It is people like yourself, that we have to join a group like the NRA to make sure we keep our lifestyle because you think we take it too seriously. We shouldn' t have to keep defending ourselfs from attacks like the Million Mom March, Handguns Inc., etc. But if we didn' t defend ourselves and take it too seriously, we would be like a communist country like China, where we wouldn' t have that right. You think its not a serious issue, look at the attacks from frivialous lawsuits to all 50 states where antiguners are always testing the waters.

If you think I am alone, why not go post that question on the deer hunting forum and see how many people take it seriously. In fact, go to any of these forums, and see how much help you can get for your little story.

RE: question from a novice
 

look, no one has a problem with hunters using guns for sport. some people want to get rid of guns because they end up being used by criminals. i don' t rwally know much about the NRA, but if gun users want to protect their rights, they should -- and maybe they are, i really don' t know -- but they should help keep guns from falling into the hands of criminals. that' s how they get a bad rap.

as for entertainment, Hollywood would probaby shrivel up and die if it couldn' t bust out the big artillery. guns get plenty of favorable attention in the movies, from the good guys as well as the bad. so, i don' t hear you on that one.

and as for my " little story," it doesn' t present guns in a negative light, or even necessarily the hunter. not that it would matter to you, but it' s about the clash between spoiled, consumer-crazy kids from suburbia and a guy (our hunter) who believes he is protecting the true fabric of America.

so i guess you' re right, i do take it seriously.

RE: question from a novice
 

Where have you been the last 10 years? PETA, HCI, greenpeace and now even the U.N. would like all guns banned. You might want to talk to someone in Austrailia or Great Britain and see how gun bans start. I am sure they could enlighten you. But as far as taking issues involving my constitutional rights too seriously then yes, you are damn skippy I do.

RE: question from a novice
 

i' ve met a few people from Great Britain and Australia. For better or worse, the rate of violent crime is less than 1% of what it is here.

and, a lot of people - not me, as i' m not a lawyer - will argue with you that owning a gun is a constitutional right...

RE: question from a novice
 

Ok, now I am getting upset. You obviously haven' t been over to England lately. You know they have over 10X hot burglarys in UK than here in the US. A hot burglary is what most familys consider thier worst nightmare. Thats where people come into your house while you are asleep to rob it. Wonder why. Not everyone was on board with these rules over in England, but was easily pushed on them. Here we the people have a tad more control over our goverments.

As a person that spends a great deal of time over in UK, Europe, Asia and Australia, I can tell you, you are full of it. There are places in Western London that I think rival the streets of Cherry Hill in Baltimore. And Austrailia, like they really had a crime problem to begin with.

Grow up and go out and live life instead of reading other people interpitation of it in books.

RE: question from a novice
 

Actually, I was in England in January. Haven' t been to Australia, but I have been to New Zealand, as well as Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, France, Italy, Belgium...I' ve also lived in New York, Los Angeles, Boston...so, at this point, I' ve been out in the world a little bit, and I think I' m as grown up as I' ll ever be.

Hey, I love this country - but facts are facts - the violent crime rate (especially murder) in the U.S. is much higher than any of the developed nations in Europe or Asia. It' s just a fact. You' re not responsible for it; neither am I, nor are guns themselves. I' m not even saying I' m for gun control, or anything like that.

But try to understand where people are coming from. I don' t support the NRA, either, but I can understand how guns help us keep a check on the government (in theory).

RE: question from a novice
 

Sounds like we discovered a rotten apple in our bunch!!

RE: question from a novice
 

writer500:

You have your interpreted your " facts" incorrectly.

What you are doing is irresponsible and is ambivalent to lawful gun owners.

Could you provide by posting on this board links to other published pieces you have written?

RE: question from a novice
 

check inside your head for those rotten apples, pal.

as for the facts, i don' t write about crime statistics, I write fiction. But here is a link - I just did a search on " international crime statistics."

http://www.interpol.int/Public/Stati...wnloadList.asp

As you can see, England (a much smaller country, of course) had 850 murders in 2001; the U.S. had over 15,000. Go ahead and look. Obviously the size of the population makes a difference, but trust me, the U.S. violent crime rate is higher than any other developed nation.

RE: question from a novice
 

i didn;t notice at first but they list population, too, at the top. So, England had about 52 million people in 2001, compared with 284 million in the US. So, the U.S. murder rate is about three times that of England if you work it out. We blow them away in every category - rape, serious assault - except, as your friend pointed out earlier, theft.

RE: question from a novice
 

Ok, so what was the rate before they outlawed guns? No or little change. You can' t compare us to England. We are different culture. And frankly after spending so much time over there for work, I don' t want to be like England.

For us to adopt these violent crime statistics, it take more than gun control. I like our american culture. We are agressive. We are proud and We take what we want. As a friend of mine in Hastings told me, " We don' t have any rights over here, and never did, it was just smoke and mirrors" .

I would rather have gunfights in the middle of the street than to give up my freedom. America worked so hard to get this freedom from, you guess it, and now is so quick to give it away. For safety. I am a biker you see. So I see this on several levels. We are the most interesting and inovating culture on the planet. If you been all over Asia as you claim then you see the effects of rote memory learning. Is that the culture you like. Or over in UK and Europe, thier relaxed work days. And laziness. No stress. I about pull my hair out when deal with Spain. 6 hour work days, You can' t get work done in 6 hours. Is that what you want?

Again, if you have been to these countries, get off that double decker bus and out of the Strand area, learn the culture. Unfortanely, I am forced to learn it, for work. And after learning, don' t want any part of it.

Why don' t you just go away.

RE: question from a novice
 

Darn another anti-gunner falling through the cracks and getting onto this site. I will repeat what others have said above. Find some other subject matter for your book punk. Another favor please get a UK or Australian green card where things are safer for the general public. Heckl they allow disgruntled Islamic fundamentalists in they' ll probably allow the likes of you in .

RE: question from a novice
 

writer500
Have you ever thought about writing a story that has a woman killing people with a salad fork???

RE: question from a novice
 

writer500-

First off, I do think that you posted your initial question simply as a request for knowledge and research for something with which you were not familiar.

You have to understand, though, that this is an issue to which we' re all VERY sensitive. Popular culture and media (news and entertainment) are in a constant mode of political correctness and are, either directly or inadvertantly, attacking our Second Amendment. It is a RIGHT.

Hunting and fishing, to most of us, is truly a way of life - as has been previously mentioned. It' s a philosophy and for many damn near a religion. Unfortunately, it' s a philosophy and way of life that is not respected by supposedly open-minded folks that play such a large role in the national discussion on this issue - most notably politicians. This is the problem when you have decision-makers working to decide things about something that they have no knowledge. Walking a cornrow and having a pheasant explosively flush at your feet... sitting on stand for hours in the crisp fall air and seeing a handsome buck cautiously step just out of range... watching that trout sip in a fly that you have tied and delicately cast out into a gentle stream - these are the ultimate thrills that we enjoy - and these are the gun-owners who are DRASTICALLY underrepresented in popular discussion. To those who would take away guns - you won' t solve a thing. Criminals will still be criminals, and law-abiding citizens will be the only ones hurt by having a way of life trampled on.

I encourage you to look up the NRA for the loudest voice from our perspective - www.nra.org. Unfortunately, the voice of law-abiding gun owners and hunters is not immediately available through your TV.

Like I said before, I think you started this thread in a genuine search for knowledge. But hopefully somewhere in this you will see why we take it seriously. Because it is.

RE: question from a novice
 

I smell a troll[:@]

RE: question from a novice
 

first off, thanks to grizzlybear for being the first to hold off on the paranoid, hostile stuff. to be honest, i love this country as much as any of you and sitting here, in a big city, your voices are refreshing - if a little on the hostile side. i respect the poetry of your way of life, as very nicely articulated by grizzly.

understand that we in the big cities hear more about crime and people getting shot as opposed to the fresh air and the beauty of the hunt. as for my being on the big double decker bus, i will reiterate that i have seen a few things...i;ve been to rural cambodia and spent a night stranded on the border of cambodia and vietnam, in what used to be a prison. if you think much has changed in thirty years...let' s just say i can imagine what it was like during real hostilities.

as for the woman with the salad fork, it sounds hilarious, send me more.

RE: question from a novice
 

and by the way i completely agree that outlawing guns would not disarm criminals.

any suggestions??

RE: question from a novice
 

So you are now comparing the culture of cambodia and US????? Did they have gunbans there???

RE: question from a novice
 

no, genius, i did not make that comparison in any way. and no, there is no gun ban which is why some people walk around with ouzis.

RE: question from a novice
 

Uzi, genius. Let me tell you how gun control works. The Republic of South Korea has a ban on guns. However there are plenty of guns in Korea. Who has them? The criminals. Looking at crime statistics that are released by the government one would think crime to be relatively low. Try walking down the street with your eyes open sometime and see all the strongarming going on. Robbery in broad daylight is a common occurance as well as kidnapping and murder. It just doesn' t get reported. How are you going to defend yourself when someone walks into your shop with a gun and demands your money? Chopsticks aren' t going to do you any good.

BTW, I doubt there are many uzi' s in Cambodia. AK variants and SKS' s are the norm.

RE: question from a novice
 

the chopsticks comment was funny - nice one.

you' re right on all counts, except your characterization of South Korea. I have several South Korean friends (all from Seoul) who laughed at the idea that people are just being snatched off the streets.

I have no real knowledge of guns - which is why I came and asked my question of you all - so I' m sure you' re right re: Cambodia.

RE: question from a novice
 

Well junior your South Korean friends are either lying to save face which is common among the Koreans and other asians, or they have been leading sheltered lives. I spent 4 years there and I have seen it happen. Oh, I am also married to a Korean and she knows it happens too.

RE: question from a novice
 

writer500,

You are highly unlikely to receive the information that you requested in your first post from the members of this forum. I would encourage you to pursue your " research" elsewhere, like a library or other reference resource, especially if you are wanting to pursue verifiable references for the " authentic" gun violence scenarios you may choose to dream up. No thanks on the offer of being listed in your " credits" section.

Furthermore, I am not interested in either attempting to sway a " set" mind or in providing you any potential fodder for your story by participating in this pro-gun vs. anti-gun dialogue you are floating here.

Good luck (sic) on your violence novel.

The End.

EKM
--- It took guns to get freedom!

RE: question from a novice
 

Hey writer500:

I AM NOT YOUR PAL!!!

RE: question from a novice
 

I' m a big fan of Louis L' Amour partially because he has a very good knowledge of his subject matter and a command of the language they used, partly because he lived the life of many of his subjects. He was believable and credible because he didn' t come across as an idiot when he would discuss his firearms and situations. For instance, he wasn' t going to put a ' 73 Winchester in the hands of a man in 1824. (or an Ouzi in the hands of a Cambodian)

I suggest you put your creative juices into writing about something you know about. (Like agitating guys on a Hunting BB.)
If you can' t find a subject worth writing on live life for a while longer, then write.

RE: question from a novice
 

Well, I did score genius scores in mathimatics 15 years ago, but to say I am a genius, I don' t think so. I have a masters in engineering. But no, I disagree. I don' t think suggests genius' s. But I appreciate the compliment. Now you are probably not too smart.

Right now beside me I have my South Korean freind Cho Sihyung who is telling me that this guy (writer500) is full of it, and don' t know what he is talking about.

RE: question from a novice
 

Isn' t it always like a liberal to view people that own guns or belong to the gun culture as somewhat less intelligent then themselves. They know everything including how to run your life and don' t hesitate in telling someone that.

RE: question from a novice
 

writer, I completely agree with all the above other members who responded to your inquiry..We DON' t need any more fictitious " hunters" out shooting humans.

As to the above, I must inform you that it is NOT possible to keep guns out of the hands of criminals... In many countries, criminals are the ONLY people who have them. It is only possible to punish those who misuse firarms after the fact.

Holding people accountable for their actions is the American way, IT IS NOT imposing prior restraints on anyone, which is a concept anathema to liberty!!!! As a matter of fact, there are people who think radio, movies, TV, and yes, literature, (for those not too stupid to read!!) full of violence is at least partly responsible for a lot of the real violence that occurs in our country today.

I am sorry, but you have come to the wrong place for help in your endeavor, methinks!!

Despite what you may think, armed crime in this country has seen a significant decline since 1990. And the U.S. DOES NOT have a greater level of gun violence than any other country! Just check out Liberia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Rwanda, for instance!! And there' s a hell of a lot of armed violence in Northern Ireland, and the people are prohibited from defending themselves there!![>:]

RE: question from a novice
 

it is true, zacko, i guess i have discovered a new talent - i can get a bunch of fart-blowers pissed off just by telling the simple truth.

superfly or whatever your handle is, you are clearly no genius, math or otherwise. let' s get real here.

i guess there might be an intelligence problem here. i know because none of you appears to read simple English very well (except grizzlybear). I have said several times that I' m not anti-guns, and it was me that pointed out that outlawing guns would only disarm law-abiding citizens. And, there is no question that violent crime is much higher in places like Rwanda - which is why I said the U.S. has the highest among HIGHLY DEVELOPED NATIONS. read the fine print, pal.

Obviously you all should run a site on world culture, since you know everything there is to know about England, Australia, Korea, etc. I have been to some of these places - and no, not on a tour bus you fools - your version of things is totally paranoid and inaccurate. I have lived in Asia myself, in Taiwan; South Korea is one of the economic " little tigers" and does not have nearly the kinds of crime and chaos you' re talking about; maybe here and there, like anyplace, but there is no comparison between Seoul and, say, Cambodia, or even Thailand.

anything else? i' m starting to enjoy this. i got my research answers a couple days ago.

RE: question from a novice
 

My quote holds so true....I believe our little pantywaist is trying to impress us with his marvelous intelegencia.

RE: question from a novice
 

Ok, get it right. I really hope you are not going to be a writer. I don' t see any future in it for you. First you say I am a genius. Which I clearly explain that I am not. I work with some of the finest scientist, but I am not so I know what genius' s are. Then you tell me I am not. I don' t know much about you liberals. But you have pick one side or the other. Your not making much sense. Then you say superfly. You seem to have issues being able to look up a post and read a handle. No Earnest Hemingway here. By the way, I know he was a little fruity, but I bet he know the answers you are seeking. You know why, common knowledge. You don' t have it obviously.

Now, speaking of being an idiot. You didn' t even know this was page dealing with reloading of bullets. Only knowledge you have is what you saw on TV. So this set the tone of what we thought of your intelligence. By the way, how is it possible for you to do all this traveling be so ignorant is the area of guns. Anyway, it figures. Anybody that has been around and met the people you say you have, I would have thought be a tad smarter on this subject.

I am a fiber optic engineer and have been for a decade dealing with propagation of light going thru the subterrestial systems at 3 terrabits. The reason I travel so much is I have to be at these cable heads in coastal areas like Porthcurno, England, and Sidney, Aust., Tokoyo, Japan, and etc. So when you do this, you get an up close and personal feel for these people instead of you taking the 5 cent tour like liberals like yourself take.

Listen, your not going to get any answers here. Everybody tried to educate you, but you refuse or you are not capable of learning anything unless its said by Hillary Clinton. Why should we conform to your views when all you know is what you see on TV or read? You said it yourself in your initial post. Also, how do you know what intelligence I have in the mathimatics field. That statement also shows how worldly you are.

RE: question from a novice
 

superfly, you amaze me. when i called you a genius the first time, it was in total sarcasm.

even your rock headed buddies figured that one out.

RE: question from a novice
 

" superfly" , I like that. Was always a wrestling fan in the 80s. So your an internet tough guy? I wonder if you would be so bold face to face? Doubt it.