Strange Thought about Anti-Gun Mindset

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Not missing the point.
I know what you're saying, I just think that asserting that the bow and arrow is as, if not more deadly is fallacious.
As they say, the devil is in the details.
The most advanced, most powerful hand-held bow and arrow (that I know of, I am no expert) is, all things considered, roughly equivalent in killing power to a .30-30, at best a medium-power cartridge (depending on where you end the power scale. .300 WM? .50 BMG? 20mm Lahti?).
You are correct in the proposition that noise bears a lot of the fear of firearm hoplophobia, but it's silly to use a false statement to back that up.
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Here's the comparison to consider so that we don't argue the details:

Quality bow vs. Big black semi-auto .22lr pistol

Now, consider your average emotional anti-gun person. Which weapon would they be more hysterical over? What's the reason for the difference in reaction?

My hypothesis is the noise is the reason. They're conditioned to fear the sharp sound of the explosion.

Being able to conceal the .22lr pistol is irrelevant. If the anti walks into your house and sees the .22lr pistol next to the bow, the fear will be greater for the pistol.
 
Nolo, what's a "hand held bow"? Do you mean crossbow as a parallel to hand gun? Technically, all firearms that don't require a mount are "hand held" be they a pistol, rifle, etc.
 
jakemccoy said:
If the anti walks into your house and sees the .22lr pistol next to the bow, the fear will be greater for the pistol.
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If the guy's proficient with a bow, I'd MUCH rather be shot with a .22lr from a pistol than take a broad head tipped arrow through the chest at close range. The wound channel would be MUCH more devastating. :what:

Same goes for a crossbow bolt with a broad head tip.
 
Bogie, if you fallow all the safety rulls with saws, you are just as safe using them as you are using a gun.
 
Man I think you really are on to something. The more I think about it, the less inclined I am to disagree with you...

Think about horror movies - most any will do - the most frightening parts are often when a loud crash, or a quick blaring of the orchestra, or whatever accompanies a visual image that, on it's own, wouldn't be that scary. As for me, at least, I'm going to be more startled by the noise than the image, probably 9 times out of 10...

Which really does make alot of sense when you apply that to guns...
 
Interesting to think about.

I have a neighbor a few houses down who :fire:hates:fire: guns, shooting, etc.

Let me have a skunk problem and let me try to shoot them and this neighbor has a fit. I've spoken to her and told her "if you ever hear a gun go off, I am aiming at something totally safe and am pointing the gun into the ground, or into my woods - I never aim toward your house."

The other day I took four shots out back with my 500 Magnum and I could hear her yell "HEY" through my Pro-Ears amplified earmuffs.

However, all that being said, let it be 4th of July and she is sending up all kinds of rockets, mortars, lighting firecrackers, etc. WHICH ARE ALL ILLEGAL TO PUT INTO OPERATION IN MY STATE (you can buy them, you just need a pyrotechnics license to use them, that's all). Anything I'm doing with ANY of my guns is COMPLETELY LEGAL!

Go figure!
 
I still cry when it thunders :)
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LOL. :D Thanks for that, it's been a long day.


I'm with bogie on the saw thing. They do freak me out a little. Just heard too many bad stories. In fact, when I was talking to a few of my friends/coworkers who said they were scared of guns, the first thing that popped into my head what that I knew a lot more people who'd been hurt with saws than with guns. That actually seemed to make sense to one of them, but the others are hopeless.
 
Here's the comparison to consider so that we don't argue the details:

Quality bow vs. Big black semi-auto .22lr pistol

Now, consider your average emotional anti-gun person. Which weapon would they be more hysterical over? What's the reason for the difference in reaction?

My hypothesis is the noise is the reason. They're conditioned to fear the sharp sound of the explosion.

Being able to conceal the .22lr pistol is irrelevant. If the anti walks into your house and sees the .22lr pistol next to the bow, the fear will be greater for the pistol.
Click to expand...
Yep, I got it.
And that is a (roughly) fair comparison.
However, when you made the earlier statement about the ENTIRE spectrum of both types of weapons. Firearms span a much larger power range than bows and arrows.
I agree with the argument, I become concerned when you use support that allows an anti to sneak in there and divert the conversation away from the real topic.
Gotta have watertight arguments.
That's my point.
Yours is quite valid, and I got it.
 
Hi Jakemccoy,

My uncle used to tell stories of when he was involved in something called a 'snatch mission' he would often carry a bow. His claim was there was nothing that would lower the enemy's morale like waking up in the morning and finding their sentries with an arrow through his throat.

It may or may not be true but the moral would pretty much say noise is not a factor.

Selena
 
A better comparison would be a cross bow vs a single shot rimfire rifle. I think the fear factor would not be very much different. Slightly more fear of the rifle by the average gun ignorant person. But I personally would be more afraid of the person carrying the crossbow. Why? because I think the crossbow guy is more likely to be some kind of whackjob.
 
Hmm, General Custer might disagree with that.
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When compared alongside modern firearms, bows are woefully ineffective weapons.
Take a 9x19mm carbine.
This is probably the least effective combat firearm one might find.
With ball ammo, it can reach to 200 meters.
This the the MAXIMUM effective range of the longbow (considered to be the most effective non-mechanical bow), and even then, only in volley fire and with great skill.
Even modern compound bows cannot greatly exceed the overall numbers of a 9x19mm carbine.
To put it simply:
Bows < Firearms
Can you find firearms that are much less effective than bows?
Yes.
But even a .22LR pistol has advantages, such as ease of use and accuracy.
With hollowpoint defensive ammo, it even rivals the killing power of most bows.
 
My uncle used to tell stories of when he was involved in something called a 'snatch mission' he would often carry a bow. His claim was there was nothing that would lower the enemy's morale like waking up in the morning and finding their sentries with an arrow through his throat.

It may or may not be true but the moral would pretty much say noise is not a factor.
Click to expand...
It seems like there may be a difference between the views of trained soldiers in a combat situation and people who have rarely or never been around guns.

Kids shoot bows and arrows at summer camp. They operate in a simple manner and it's easy to see that if someone doesn't perform specific actions it isn't going to do anything. Most people with limited exposure to guns don't know exactly how they operate. They just know that they're loud and they recoil a lot and there are lots of stories in the media about how dangerous they are. You don't read much about "bow and arrow violence" these days though, so it's just sort of an interesting piece of sporting equipment. It seems like there would be a range of relative scariness from long bows to crossbows though, just as there is from, say, antique revolvers to EBRs
 
I like your reasoning, but sadly no, the main abhorrence of guns in any culture is the compact power that guns provide and either the power hungry politicians that want ALL the power, or the blind, inept citizens that want the power hungry politicians to have all the power, providing paths to tyranny.

neviander :D
 
I'd put money on the anti's going the same route with suppressors as they have with so many other characteristics of firearms. .50's are too big. But .22 pocket pistols are too concealable. Scoped rifles are too accurate, but cheap guns aren't accurate enough. So in that vein, suppressors make guns too quiet, too stealthy, too covert.

The lack of noise will not convert anti's. Nor will archery, especially if shooters turn to the bow for defense after the anti's get their way. Then they won't be anti-gun anymore, but anti-archery.
 
I think anytime in history when people build large cities, the city dwellers eventually become terrified of weapons and start to imagine themselves superior to those that would contemplate self defense.

We have reached a point in time when unprecedented percentages of populations are now city dwellers. That's going to have an impact.
 
Those saying bows are not very deadly have never hunted with them. Trust me, I would rather be shot once with a .22LR than once with a broadhead tipped arrow.
 
Hi Nolo,

When compared alongside modern firearms, bows are woefully ineffective weapons.
Click to expand...

I hate blanket statements. Effectiveness depends on situation and terrain. In a situation where you have say twenty or thirty armed hostiles and you must depend on stealth for your survival, the bow, the javelin or the knife is far superior. Again quoting my late uncle, there are no useless weapons, only fighters without imagination.

Selena
 
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