Yeah that's a lot of words just to say "I don't get the point so I'm going to lash out at the people who do"
No actually I get the point very clearly.
Without the tongue in cheek I will address each point.
What would be gained by referring to slugs as anything other than what they are? It will not change their appearance or terminal performance one bit. They will still bear a striking resemblance to bullets. They have gained enough traction that they are not going away.
Don’t mention moderators is going to accomplish what? They are ubiquitous to the air gunning world. They are legal. So why would you not mention them? As long as they cannot be easily adapted to firearms, Those Who May Not Be Named will pay them scant attention because they are being used on nonregulated items.
Don’t tell anybody about air gunning. This is the one that really perplexed me. Are we ashamed of our hobby? Is it not safer than firearms? Do we not have organized competitions, clubs and national organizations for the sport? FFA and 4H both have active air gun programs for youths depending on location.
What really had me confused is the theory that we are better off dealing with people who know little about our hobby. Do you think that we are opposed by anyone who actually has a fundamental knowledge of our sport and our equipment? Do we believe that existing restrictions on firearms were enacted by people who know and understand powder burners?
The answer to both questions is no. Emphatic NO.
I have introduced many people to modern high power air guns and not one, not one single one came away with a negative opinion of them. The vast majority of those people had never used a firearm. Not all took up the hobby, but all left with a positive opinion of our hobby.
Without properly introducing and educating new shooters how do you propose we grow the sport?
Why grow the sport? Many reasons exist. Growth Is what makes advances in technology possible. Larger markets drive innovation. Numbers, big numbers of us will be better able to defend our sport than small numbers. Numbers is what makes the NRA so powerful. They have no magic power of persuasion. They have money that is generated by numbers. They have voters, lots and lots of voters and that is where their power lies and how they have kept the antis at bay.
You want to put a basket over the lamp that is air gunning to dim the light, good luck. YouTube will negate any amount of silence you can muster all by itself. Then there are all the websites from manufacturers that promote their innovations, performance accuracy etc, and the reviewers, the hunting channels etc and it is all out in the public domain for god, neophytes and the dreaded ones who we are not allowed to name To consume. Because all this is out there our sport grows and develops bringing the numbers needed to defend our sport.
What I find the most interesting aspect is we are on a forum where we openly discuss air guns ranging from sub 12’s to massive air rifles that can cleanly take big game. We discuss the power, accuracy, single shots to semi autos, pellets to massive slugs weighing 500+ gr.
We have a forum for hunting, harvesting (killing) pests and game animals alike. We even discuss moderators openly. Yet we have members who are active posting here on all manner of subjects telling us we need to rename items, don’t mention others, refuse to share knowledge of our sport in an effort to somehow protect us from ourselves. All of that is right here in this thread.
Now if the fact that they contribute to all manner of subjects on a public forum that anyone can view and still espouse keeping a low profile does not smack of irony then nothing else does.
I refuse to hide what I love. I will share it with any person who I think will benefit from participating or will become an asset to our sport. I will openly and honestly answer any question about airgunning in the most positive way I can. I will defend what we do because I have great respect for the sport and those who share it with me.
What I won’t do is shade my answers and or feign ignorance to avoid a tough question or situation. I am part of an honorable and respectable sport and see no reason or benefit in acting like I need to hide anything about it.
Your opinion obviously differs from mine and I respect that. We cannot all see things the same. If you read this, thank you for taking the time to read it. I was not lashing out at anyone. I may have chosen a poor way to convey my thoughts and positions but felt the issue deserved differing opinions to be shared.
