First of all, let’s hold a few truths to be self-evident: the folks who read this blog are possessed of keen wit, superior intelligence, and fine judgment. After all, you are voluntarily, of your own free will, reading this blog, so that proves my point; the defense calls no further witnesses. To borrow a notion from Lake Woebegone, among the readers of this blog, all the women are pretty, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average. So the topic of this blog is specifically not addressed at my regular readers.
Nevertheless, because evil, stupid, criminal, chemically deranged, or mentally ill people occasionally do horrific things with guns, and then the media waxes on excessively about the Evils of Guns (notice that they do not wax on excessively about the problem of evil, stupid, criminal, chemical deranged or mentally ill people, as if somehow the inanimate guns rather than the people who actually commit the acts were responsible), in the United States we live in a culture where some folks who are unfamiliar with projectile launchers can get pretty twitchy about them.
As I write this, two incidents come to mind, both of which I personally witnessed. The first I offer as evidence of some folks’ mental state when it comes to guns. I was shooting in the side yard, testing an airgun, when some college kids in a car, apparently lost, came up our dead-end road. As they pulled into a neighbor’s driveway to turn around, I heard one of the young women say, “Oooh, he has a gun!” in a tone that suggested she was concerned. I continued shooting, made no reaction, and they drove off. But I was mildly offended. Did she think that because I had an airgun I was somehow a threat to her safety? If I were trimming limbs with a chainsaw, would she be equally concerned? (Hey, hasn’t she seen The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Be afraid, be very afraid!)
The second I offer as evidence that some folks’ attitudes about guns are based on ignorance. A few years ago, the good folks at www.airgunsofarizona.com were kind enough to fly me to Phoenix to attend the NRA show there. It was a wonderful show, and in a large room there, a collection of airgun vendors had set up an airgun shooting venue with tables, chairs, and guns on one side of the room, and pellet traps and targets on the other side. It was an excellent setup, well organized and well run. As I was visiting the room, a family arrived with perhaps at 10-year-old girl. One of the parents asked, “Would you like to try shooting an airgun?” No, said the girl emphatically, I don’t like guns. Then, if I recall correctly, one of the guys from Airguns of Arizona said, “Why you just try a couple of shots, and if you don’t like it, you can just quit?” The girl agreed, and in a twinkling of an eye, the next problem they had was that she didn’t want to stop shooting. She had gone through two or three magazines of pellets, and was holding up the line! The point being that some people think they don’t like guns, but that is simply a cultural attitude and not based on real experience.
So, by now I bet you are wondering where I am going with all this. Okay, here’s the point: every once in a while I will notice on one of the forums that an airgunner has gotten into a problem with one of his or her neighbors over shooting the back yard. What follows are Uncle Jock’s tips for getting along with the neighbors with your airguns. Note well: all of this is predicated on the notion that your relations with your neighbors are positive or at least neutral. If you have already had a really negative interaction with your neighbor over some issue, all bets are off.
First, know where you stand legally. Make a phone call to the police or sheriff and ask, “What’s the status of shooting airguns in (name of place where you live)?” You may find out that it is perfectly legal, or that it is forbidden, or that it is legal under certain circumstances. The point is that you need to know, for certain, where you stand; ignorance is not your friend.
Second, have some positive interaction with your neighbor ahead of time. Say hi. Rescue their garbage can from the street. Welcome them to the neighborhood. Chitchat at the mailbox. Show that you are a good guy (or gal).
Third, approach them at some time about your shooting. (Do NOT take the gun with you.) Some might say something like this: “I’m planning on shooting an airgun in the backyard, so if you see me out there with a gun, that’s what I am doing. I am very concerned about safety, so I will be shooting into a pellet trap. I always make sure that the shooting lane is clear, so that if your cat (or dog or child) should wander into my yard, I’ll stop shooting until they are clear. Do you have any questions?” Depending on their reaction, you might offer to show the gun to them or even invite them to shoot.
Fourth, be considerate of when you shoot. If the neighbor works the night shift and he needs to sleep until noon or if the baby naps every afternoon, that would be a poor time to be banging away with your airgun. When you speak to the neighbor you might say, “My airguns are pretty quiet, but is there any time that I should avoid disturbing you?”
Finally, you may have a neighbor who is just inalterably against guns and doesn’t want to see, hear, or know about them. In that case, my advice is to hide your shooting. The basement is a popular venue for many airgunners, and I know of one targeteer who in an urban backyard from an enclosed back porch into a pellet trap hidden in a garden shed.
Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.
– Jock Elliott
