Has anyone had this advice given to them?

[tnieto2004]

This weekend I was out on some property (200 acres) plinking with a few guns .. My girlfriends uncle was there and decided to walk the property with me.. I grabbed my 10/22 and also had a SKS with me in case we saw some hogs .. We didn't see much and decided to shoot a few rounds with the 10/22 .. We were down near a little catfish pond very far away from any home .. There was a stump with a hill behind it to stop any stray bullets .. I was about to take aim and her uncle stopped me and told me that I should never shoot level .. I asked for some clarification and he told me I should shoot up at the top of the tree's .. I have been shooting for over 15 years and have always practiced safe shooting (As far as I know) so I understand knowing what is beyond your target but this really confused me .. Being the respectful person I am, I said "oh, I see what you mean" .. I handed him the gun and he started shooting at limbs at the tops of tree's .. I really didn't feel right shooting a SKS up into the air (Slim chance to hit someone but a chance none the less) so I decided I'd wait till I was alone to shoot it .. I got back to the house and was really wondering if the advice I had been given held any validity .. I didn't want to be disrespectful and argue with him so I swallowed my pride and let it go .. I don't know how much he has been around guns .. I know he hunts deer every year but I also know that he is VERY against someone carrying a gun on them (He doesn't know that I carry when I am around him) .. So much that he actually asked me to NOT take a pistol with me when I was going to stay the night in a tent (I was going by myself) .. Anyways, has anyone ever given or been given the advice to shoot in the air? I have honestly never heard that until this weekend..

 

[kd7nqb]

sounds like BS in fact in the air seems MORE DANGEROUS

 

[fast eddie]

With all due respect to your girlfriend's uncle, he's an idiot.

 

[TexasRifleman]

Anyways, has anyone ever given or been given the advice to shoot in the air?

Nah, of course not. You are spot on right in your reasons not to do that.

As we learn all the time, owning a gun or even spending a lifetime hunting doesn't mean that you've learned anything along the way.

 

[tnieto2004]

And in all honesty I didn't ask this question to make him look bad or show what dumb advice I have been given .. It is just that he is about 20 years older than me and always talks about all the hunting and fishing he does so I actually second guessed myself ..

 

[Officers'Wife]

Anyways, has anyone ever given or been given the advice to shoot in the air? I have honestly never heard that until this weekend..

I was told what would happen to me if I ever shot above horizon. It wasn't pretty.

 

[Flak_Jakett]

Not just no, but heck no. A pet peeve of mine is when someone tries to instruct me on something they really have no idea about. This pet peeve has caused a lot of conflict in my life, because no one likes to be told they are full of feces. I have to say though that this guy's eyes must be brown and he probably has bad breath.

The only safe way to plink with a rifle is to absolutely know what is behind your target. Shooting level with a backstop is the optimal for plinking. How can you be sure of what is behind your target if you are shooting up in the air? The law of gravity says what goes up must come down. You have no real idea where those bullets are going to land.

A stump with a hill behind it to stop any stray bullets that was far away from any home seems to me to be a prime shooting spot. Of course, if it is your first time using that spot I would suggest walking that area frist to make nothing is actually around or near the spot where you are going to shoot.

Don't second guess yourself. You should have voiced your opinion tactifully if that is the way you wished to. You probably would have earned some respect from the man. Then again, I always seemed to cause conflict. Nothing wrong with conflict in my opinion. Some people need to be put in their place.

 

[yesit'sloaded]

I have heard from a few old timers that it is better to carry a gun pointed up on your shoulder than pointing down so that if it goes off it can't ricochet and hit someone else in the hunting party, or if you fall it won't jam the muzzle full of dirt. Never heard anything about actually shooting it like that. Always was taught that was a bad idea.

 

[littledoc]

...I know he hunts deer every year...

Flying deer?

 

[RonE]

Remember your hunter safety course? Be sure of your target, be sure of your backstop? People get killed or injured almost every year because jerks fire into the air on July 4th and Dec 31st.

 

[revjen45]

Learned to shoot a rifle from a retired Army Major. He said never shoot into the air with a rifle. That's what shotguns are for.

 

[RNB65]

With all due respect to your girlfriend's uncle, he's an idiot.

Well said! For safety and legal liability sake, I strongly suggest that you never shoot with this gentleman again.

 

[HankB]

There was a stump with a hill behind it to stop any stray bullets .. I was about to take aim and her uncle stopped me and told me that I should never shoot level .. I asked for some clarification and he told me I should shoot up at the top of the tree's ..

YOU had a hill for a backstop - good.

Your girlfriend's uncle is a fool - and a dangerous fool at that. Shooting up into the air is dangerous, since you do not know where the bullet is going to come down. Unless the shot is exactly straight up, the bullet will travel a ballistic path, and come back with deadly force.

Again, your girlfriend's uncle is a dangerous fool.

. . . he actually asked me to NOT take a pistol with me when I was going to stay the night in a tent (I was going by myself)

Since you said you carry, that suggests you're at least 21 . . . so . . . what business of his is it, especially if you're going by yourself?!?

If he ever invites you to go shooting or hunting with him, I strongly suggest you decline - and if it were me, I'd tell him why in no uncertain terms.

 

[frankie_the_yankee]

The uncle's "advice" was idiotic and dangerous.

If it was my 200 acre property, I would never shoot into the air. Unless it is very long and narrow and you were shooting along the length of it, 200 acres is not big enough. And I would never let anyone else do it either.

I don't care who they were or what they told me or if they were 100 years older than me. On my property, it ain't gonna happen.

 

[JKimball]

...I know he hunts deer every year...

Flying deer?

It's a special season that only lasts Dec. 24 - Dec. 25.

 

[Kimber1911_06238]

I'd much rather have a hill or stump for a backstop than air. I think his reasoning is seriously flawed and extremely dangerous. What is the danger of shooting level with a backstop? I can think of a million reasons why you wouldn't want to shoot in the air. HAVING NO IDEA WHERE THE BULLET WILL LAND is the first that comes to mind

 

[sacp81170a]

What is the danger of shooting level with a backstop?

None. Virtually all of the thousands of rounds I've put downrange at targets have been "level at the backstop". Are all the instructors at Gunsite, Front Sight, Thunder Ranch, etc. teaching unsafe practice techniques? I think not...

 

[DumDum]

You sound like a conscientious person. Respectful of your elders.
You even chose a plinking target with a backstop hillside.
I've done less when plinking, I admit.
That's excellent, and you've done your part. Now do yourself a favor,
honestly, and never go a-field with this guy again while he's armed.
Avid hunter? Big problems with those who carry?
Never shoot level?! Instead, shoot at treetops?
Huh?
If you can say for sure that this guy wasn't having
you on, he's trouble. If he was, he's trouble.
I'm guessing you saw or heard some other questionable things that day.
And no, to answer your question, no one who had any sense at all would offer the advice he gave you. You did good.

 

[tnieto2004]

There were a few red flags during the weekend but that one is the one who really stood out.. I should have said something but to be quite honest, I will most likely never be shooting with him again.. He also said to me that he had only fired a handgun one time that he mainly had experience with rifles.. While that is not a negative thing, It somewhat made me wonder exactly how much "experience" he had with firearms.. I listened and then made my own judgment call.. He has his own deer lease and in three years of dating my girlfriend this is the first and most likely last time I will shoot guns with him.. He is a nice guy and we get along great for the most part but that doesn't mean he is knowledgeable when it comes to firearms .. And YES, I meant that I carry a handgun legally.. He still thinks it is crazy to have a loaded gun on your person.. My reasoning is that with little experience with guns, it WOULD be scary to carry one without fully understanding and respecting the responsibility that comes with it .. Thanks for the input guys, I got up this morning and sat in a blind watching deer and thought to myself, "I can't be wrong on this one"

 

[TexasRifleman]

Hey, its a guy with land for hunting and shooting
Maybe he will let you go out there alone and shoot.

That's as good as winning the lottery these days!

 

[JWarren]

I've been around guns all my life-- and being in a rural community where neighbors still talk to one another regularly, you hear a LOT of "rules-of-thumb," "wives-tales," and the like.

Some make sense. Some are idiotic. The advice you got falls into the latter category.

In all my life, I have NEVER heard anyone say that-- even those twins I used to know that took turns firing an arrow straight up between themselves to see who would "chicken out" first.



My advice if you want to continue dating this girl and/or stay on good terms with the family:

Smile and nod. Let it go in one ear and out the other. Be polite with him. I highly doubt he believes that there is anything you could teach HIM at this point. Over time, however, that will change and the relationship will perhaps become one of equal footing. Right now, however, he probably doesn't see it that way just by the nature of age differences, newness of the aquaintance, and not knowing as much about you.

-- John

 

[Officers'Wife]

Hi Texas,

Hey, its a guy with land for hunting and shooting
Maybe he will let you go out there alone and shoot.

That's as good as winning the lottery these days!

Perhaps, but keep in mind he is leasing the land and doesn't own it. Just for giggles and grins let's look at the area. 200 acres would be a quarter section plus 40 acres - say a rectangle 1/4 mile on one side and 5/16 ths of a mile on the other. While I have little experience or knowledge of the various calibers I'm going to guess that very few rifle rounds have a range of less than 550 yards @ a 45 degree angle. Which means the ball is landing on a neighbors' property. Should the neighbor or his wife or kid, or dog or cat or horse or cow or goat or his automobile be hit... the owner is going to find himself in court moa palo! And when the lawyers are done with him he will file counter-suit on the leasee and guest thereof just as fast if not faster.

It's hitting the lottery all right... For the attorneys.

Selena

 

[RoadkingLarry]

This is what can happen if you are not sure of your backstop.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=070908_1_A13_hOneo15632

2 Noble cops charged in boy's death


By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press
9/8/2007

One of them, shooting at a snake, also hit the 5-year-old, authorities say.


NORMAN -- Two police officers were charged Friday with second-degree manslaughter for their roles in an accidental shooting in which a bullet intended for a snake struck and killed a 5-year-old.

Paul Bradley Rogers, who fired the shot, and Robert Shawn Richardson, who was Rogers' supervising officer at the scene of the Aug. 3 shooting, could face four years in prison if convicted.

"I take no pleasure in this decision," District Attorney Greg Mashburn said. "Although this event was accidental, with reasonable care and caution, the death of a child could have been avoided."

Rogers, 34, fired his .357-caliber handgun at a snake in a birdhouse outside a home in Noble, just outside Norman. He thought it was a rattlesnake, but it turned out to be a harmless black rat snake that is often mistaken for a dangerous snake, city officials have said.

The bullet killed the snake but also struck Austin Gabriel Haley, who was standing on a fishing dock with his grandfather at a pond in a wooded area near the house, authorities said.

Mashburn
said the child's death was caused by the "culpable negligence" of the two Noble police officers.

"I conclude that these officers failed to do something that a reasonably careful person would do, by firing a weapon at a nonpoisonous snake that was stuck in a birdhouse without knowing what lay behind their location," he said.

Susan Knight, Richardson's attorney, said Friday that she was surprised that Mashburn decided to file felony charges against the two.

"These officers have families, and no one wants to minimize the grief that the family of this child is experiencing, but at the same time, these officers have families, too, and they're devastated that this tragic accident occurred," she said.

"They're going to have to live with this for the rest of their lives, as well."

The boy's parents and grandparents, who were at Mashburn's news conference, said they supported his decision.

"Just because they wear a uniform doesn't mean they're above the law," said the child's grandmother, Cheryl Tracy. "If they just used their brains, our grandson would not have been shot."

The boy's father said he would like to see Rogers and Richardson permanently removed from the force.

"What we would like to see is these individuals not be officers in the future, with possibly some jail time," Jack Haley said.

Rogers, who had been on the police force for about a month, and Richardson, 29, who has been on the force for more than five years, have been on administrative leave since the shooting and were expected to surrender to authorities next week.

The city was still conducting its own investigation, which will determine the employment status of the men.

Officers initially tried to remove the snake from the birdhouse with a yard tool and a police baton but were unsuccessful.

Rogers then knelt on the ground, yelled, "Fire in the hole!" and fired two shots up toward the snake, according to a report by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

The first shot grazed the snake and came close to the boy. The second killed the snake and hit the boy in the head.

 

[Justin]

That man is a danger to himself and everyone around him.

 

[cnorman18]

Bad idea

I was taught (1) never shoot in the air; (1) never shoot at water; and (3) never shoot at ANYTHING if you don't know what's behind it.

My dad (who taught me all that) once passed up a perfect shot at a 12- or 14-point buck because he wasn't sure where everyone in the hunting party was. No trophy is worth taking a chance on putting a hole in somebody.