The Mexican Wedding
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Leedavisone
Member
It is very possible that the pistolas are legal. Then again, maybe not. In Mexico, it is perfectly legal to own pistols and rifles of non-military caliber, and there are no laws in Durango that prohibit shooting in the air. I have spent a number of fun nights with some chili farming friends of mine in Chihuahua, spotlighting rabbits. That said, I still wince when I see 1911's in the hand of a carefree and casual Durangista. I'll just bet that those guys were the local Policia.
"El Guapo... what will you do if she does not open her flower to you?"
"El Guapo... what will you do if she does not open her flower to you?"
If you think a Mexican wedding is filled with gun fire, you should attend a Mexican family reunion, it sounds like the Knob Creek machine gun shoot and there's usually at least 1 fatal shooting.
And can we PLEASE stop the myth that a bullet fired straight up will come down with lethal force? Mathematics shows it won't, scientific and non scientific tests shows it won't, and real world experience shows it won't.
There's not a single test that shows it will. A round fired at an angle near enough to vertical to cause the bullet to lose it's ballistic trajectory will only fall at terminal velocity. The same speed as if it were dropped from a tall building. And they tend to fall on their sides. Commonly this is about 70 MPH, fast enough to give you a lump, and maybe break the skin on your scalp if you don't have much hair, but far short of killing or even causing a bad wound.
Stray bullets that kill or cause severe wounds were fired at an angle, enough of an angle to allow the bullet to maintain it's ballistic trajectory. Fact. Period. End of discussion. If you wish to dispute this then cite scientific tests to prove your case, not police statistics of wounded or killed bystanders, because you DON'T know the angle it was fired at.
And can we PLEASE stop the myth that a bullet fired straight up will come down with lethal force? Mathematics shows it won't, scientific and non scientific tests shows it won't, and real world experience shows it won't.
There's not a single test that shows it will. A round fired at an angle near enough to vertical to cause the bullet to lose it's ballistic trajectory will only fall at terminal velocity. The same speed as if it were dropped from a tall building. And they tend to fall on their sides. Commonly this is about 70 MPH, fast enough to give you a lump, and maybe break the skin on your scalp if you don't have much hair, but far short of killing or even causing a bad wound.
Stray bullets that kill or cause severe wounds were fired at an angle, enough of an angle to allow the bullet to maintain it's ballistic trajectory. Fact. Period. End of discussion. If you wish to dispute this then cite scientific tests to prove your case, not police statistics of wounded or killed bystanders, because you DON'T know the angle it was fired at.
Wes Janson
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Right, and they were all paying so much attention to making sure that they were firing straight up at a 90 degree angle that they forgot about the whole Rule 2 thing. 
Sorry, but no. Look at the Google search link posted. Watch the news on the 5th of July. I don't care if it's supposedly "non-lethal", because it's bloody obvious that people DO get injured and killed all the time by it. I'm sure it does great things for their hearing, too.
Firing weapons up into the air is stupidity, plain and simple. You can make up whatever excuses you want for it, but as far as I'm concerned it's one of those things that rightfully deserves to be illegal. And let's not forget the ammunition it gives to anti-gun groups to be used against us.
Sorry, but no. Look at the Google search link posted. Watch the news on the 5th of July. I don't care if it's supposedly "non-lethal", because it's bloody obvious that people DO get injured and killed all the time by it. I'm sure it does great things for their hearing, too.
Firing weapons up into the air is stupidity, plain and simple. You can make up whatever excuses you want for it, but as far as I'm concerned it's one of those things that rightfully deserves to be illegal. And let's not forget the ammunition it gives to anti-gun groups to be used against us.
someone wrote 'if ecessive people died from this practice, it would cease!'
okay, another common wedding practice is to get drunk off your hind end then drive home. Seems to me both that and shooting your gun in the air are about the same level of risk. You can probably do it safely a bunch, but eventually some little kid or whatnot is going to die. Also just like alcohol, guns can be enjoyed responsibly. The cure for drunk driving isn't banning booze, it is catching someone doing it, then throwing the book at them. Same with stupid gun stuff that endangers others, don't blame guns, blame morons, and when you catch em doing it, lock em up.
waiting until the drunk driver kills someone or the random shooter kills someone is too late
okay, another common wedding practice is to get drunk off your hind end then drive home. Seems to me both that and shooting your gun in the air are about the same level of risk. You can probably do it safely a bunch, but eventually some little kid or whatnot is going to die. Also just like alcohol, guns can be enjoyed responsibly. The cure for drunk driving isn't banning booze, it is catching someone doing it, then throwing the book at them. Same with stupid gun stuff that endangers others, don't blame guns, blame morons, and when you catch em doing it, lock em up.
waiting until the drunk driver kills someone or the random shooter kills someone is too late
TheDisturbed1
Member
a while back ('round here sumwhere)... a camper fired a shot into the air (like, 30-06)to keep bears away and he continued walking but the bullet came down right through the top of his head... It CAN be fatal, and then it CAN be minor... I'm sure the poor dude had some sorry skeletons in his closet...
I agree that the actions of these folks at this wedding were irresponsible, very much so. Yet that does not justify making generalized statements, ones that can bolster the anti-gunners in their quest to chip awaybat our rights piece by piece, like the following statement:
Going by the sentiment of such a statement it would therefore:
1) be illegal to hunt ducks, geese, crows, pheasants, quail and mnay other birds that are taken while on the wing.
2) be illegal to shoot sporting clays, trap or skeet
3) quite possibly become illegal to hunt treed racoons, squirrels, bobcats, or mountain lions because if you missed it is likely your bullet would go up into the air
4) be illegal to fire at someone firing at you from above in a tall building, in a helicopter (one never knows in today's world) , and so forth.
5) become illegal to shoot uphill at any time because heavens forbid the bullet went over the top of the hill
Some are valid concerns, a couple of others probably far fetched, but then again the other folks - those who hate that you have guns - they use whatever ammo they can.
All the best,
Glenn B
Going by the sentiment of such a statement it would therefore:
1) be illegal to hunt ducks, geese, crows, pheasants, quail and mnay other birds that are taken while on the wing.
2) be illegal to shoot sporting clays, trap or skeet
3) quite possibly become illegal to hunt treed racoons, squirrels, bobcats, or mountain lions because if you missed it is likely your bullet would go up into the air
4) be illegal to fire at someone firing at you from above in a tall building, in a helicopter (one never knows in today's world) , and so forth.
5) become illegal to shoot uphill at any time because heavens forbid the bullet went over the top of the hill
Some are valid concerns, a couple of others probably far fetched, but then again the other folks - those who hate that you have guns - they use whatever ammo they can.
All the best,
Glenn B
Wes Janson
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Do you do any of those things in an urban environment? And would you do any of them with a centerfire rifle or pistol cartridge? Being hit by a pellet or two of birdshot from several hundred yards is considerably different than being hit by a 230 gr FMJ traveling at several hundred FPS.
One should try to avoid missing, but again, I ask: are you shooting at squirrels and treed racoons in the middle of a subdivision?
Get back to me when that one becomes a concern in the real world.
Sorry, but no. There's no way I can condone irresponsible and dangerous behavior, nor fail to call it out for what it is. If we want to help our image, the way to do it is to show the public that we're serious about safety and the Four Rules. Dumping a mag through a Kalashnikov up into the air in the middle of a city is stupid, wrong, and should be illegal. Period. End of discussion.
Neo-Luddite
Member
Amazing disregard for safety. One step removed from the general in 'The Wild Bunch' when he first tries out the machinegun in the town square.
I'm just too culturally insensitive I guess--I don't 'get it'.
I'm just too culturally insensitive I guess--I don't 'get it'.
SSN Vet
Member
what goes up.....
must come down....
IMO.....this is hugely irresponsible.....and reflects ignorance and carelessness
bird shot out of a 12 ga. on New Years Eve. is another subject.
must come down....
IMO.....this is hugely irresponsible.....and reflects ignorance and carelessness
bird shot out of a 12 ga. on New Years Eve. is another subject.
Wes,
That is right -don't condone bad behavior, but I think also that you should not try to generalize that shooting into the air is aways bad behavior, and that is exactly what you did in your first statement. Now you have honed it down considerably by asking if I do the things I mentioned in an urban environment. My point was yu made a general statement, now you realize that you need to narrow it down, and you did so. The antis though will harp on statements like the general one though, and use it to show where even gun folks believe any shooting into the air should be illegal. That was my point; I certainly never condoned the jerks at this wedding who fired into the air, or the other jerks who did not seek cover once the firing started.
As for the real world thing of shooting at someone above, it is quite real world - maybe not the helicopter in the USA, but certainly shooting at bad guys overhead in buildings or in towers and the like. As I pointed out in my own post, some of the examples were far fetched - but that would not stop the antis from making an issue out of them as they do use whatever ammo they can to shoot down our gun rights.
All the best,
GB
All the best,
Glenn B
That is right -don't condone bad behavior, but I think also that you should not try to generalize that shooting into the air is aways bad behavior, and that is exactly what you did in your first statement. Now you have honed it down considerably by asking if I do the things I mentioned in an urban environment. My point was yu made a general statement, now you realize that you need to narrow it down, and you did so. The antis though will harp on statements like the general one though, and use it to show where even gun folks believe any shooting into the air should be illegal. That was my point; I certainly never condoned the jerks at this wedding who fired into the air, or the other jerks who did not seek cover once the firing started.
As for the real world thing of shooting at someone above, it is quite real world - maybe not the helicopter in the USA, but certainly shooting at bad guys overhead in buildings or in towers and the like. As I pointed out in my own post, some of the examples were far fetched - but that would not stop the antis from making an issue out of them as they do use whatever ammo they can to shoot down our gun rights.
All the best,
GB
All the best,
Glenn B
RTFM
member
Hopefully some came back down in to the group and we'll have a few less WB's to worry about on our boarders.
I REFUSE TO PRESS #1 FOR ENGLISH!
I REFUSE TO PRESS #1 FOR ENGLISH!
Wes Janson
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hankdatank1362
Member
Dude!!!
Although it was pretty funny, someone might find that tasteless.
Personally, I don't, but you know how it is.
jaysouth
Member
From the appearance of the participants, the clothing worn and vehicles in attendance, this was the wedding of a very wealthy family in that part of the world. From my personal experience in Durango, anyone who can afford a new vehicle (there are no payment schemes, you pay cash) enjoys gun ownership and daily close and personal carry of handguns.
Discharging weapons in the air during a celebration is a common practice in many third world locations. If there are casualties, look upon it as after the fact birth control.
Discharging weapons in the air during a celebration is a common practice in many third world locations. If there are casualties, look upon it as after the fact birth control.
Orthonym
Member
Now, some here may call me a tight-@ss Gringo, but I do think that if one wants to make a celebratory loud noise with a revolver on the occasion of the change of the year, or a national holiday, or something, he should fire said revolver *downwards* into a stack of soaking-wet newspapers, out in the yard, behind the trees, where nobody can see what he's doing. He should not wear ear protection, so as to get the full sensory experience and because the .45 Colt is a low-pressure cartridge, and should be surprised by, and then resigned to, the fact that his ears will ring for several days afterward.
If anybody asks how I know this, I'll not answer.
If anybody asks how I know this, I'll not answer.
atblis
Member
Wow
I say if you're going to do it, do it right!
I say if you're going to do it, do it right!
RTFM
member
It's no joke sir. It's what I believe. From the top of my head to the soles of my feet.
This is MY COUNTRY.
Prepare to repel all borders.
They have F'd up their own country, what make them think I want them here in mine?
They breed, then leach off my hard earned money thinking that they are entitled to it because they are the disenfranchised.
The less that make it here alive, the less we have to unwillingly support.
Legionnaire
Contributing Member
[Monty Python]"Let's not bicker an' argue over who killed who ... This is supposed to be a happy occasion!"[/Monty Python]
Agreed, shooting up in the air with a rifle or pistol simply to make noise is stupid and irresponsible. It should be, and it is illegal in most cities. If you injure someone with irresponsible gun use, then you should face the penalty of law.
But I never said that the people in the video were making sure to fire straight up. They are morons, plain and simple.
I simply stated a proven fact, that a round fired at an angle that causes the bullet to lose it's ballistic trajectory will NOT come to earth with enough force to cause more than a very minor wound. Dispute that with fact and logic if you can, but leave the emotional pandering for those that buy into that kind of thing.
You can provide google links, media stories, wiki articles and police reports to your hearts content, but until you can show me hard proof that a bullet traveling at terminal velocity can cause a serious wound, you're no better than the Brady bunch with their cries of "bullet hoses" and "shooting down airplanes". You're spouting out emotion and calling it fact. And that sir, should also be illegal.
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