the best home defense weapon

[Duckhunter935]

or maybe not so much.

[HassleCat]

1. Black powder, I assume

I think punt guns had been retired by the time smokeless powder came along. It is interesting to consider there used to be so many waterfowl that hunters could fire a punt gun into a flock and bring down 100 birds with one shot.

[PatrickforO]

2. Geez. That's probably WHY there aren't so many waterfowl around any more...

[HassleCat]

3. Yes, it was called "market hunting"

And it took a huge toll on waterfowl. Same thing as commercial fishing.

[benEzra]

8. Market hunting was the reason our modern hunting regulations were passed.

Basically, hunting now is an individual activity, with limits set to a family's needs rather than a food market's. Back then, hunting was also a commercial endeavour, with professional harvesters each shooting thousands or tens of thousands of birds a year to sell commercially for their meat or feathers. It was commercial harvesting, not people hunting for their own food, that drove the passenger pigeon to extinction and almost wiped out a lot of other species.

[Eleanors38]

10. Thanks to Ducks Unlimited (the other DU), duck numbers have re-bounded...

the main threat to them now is energy exploration, destruction of the prairie pot hole region and development.

Hunting with gauges larger than .10 is prohibited, and limiting shot shell capacity to 3 for duck hunting, have also protected these wterfowl.

Some folks walk the walk, and spend the money to improve the environment.

[tularetom]

4. Back in the day they used to have these things mounted on the bow of a large rowboat

And they'd go out at night when thousands of ducks and geese were sleeping on the water.

The gun was a 4 gauge, you poured the powder down the barrel, stuffed some old rags in for wadding, and then used nails, gravel or whatever as shot.

It was basically a cannon, you lit a fuse which ignited the powder. With one blast you could get several hundred ducks.

I saw one of these things at the Chesapeake Bay Museum. Later on I met a guy who actually owned one. I kept pestering him to take it out and fire it but he wouldn't do it.

[DonP]

5. They have one, with the gun still on it, at Mystic Seaport

The muzzle looked about 4 inches across and the gun ran almost the full length of the boat, maybe 8 feet with the boat 12 to 16 feet long. They usually had several other boats to pick up the ducks.

They were "aimed" by paddling with small paddles that looked like oversize ping pong paddles.

[w0nderer]

7. saw one in my (sorta)youth

in UK and asked what that was...cannon to stop prisoners or so (it was on a boat, stern mounted, 6+ foot long)


nope it was to shoot birds

i went like
dude it's bigger than the shoulder mount SAM's we use!?

[hollysmom]

6. truthfully, I always thought it was a dog.

it has reduced burglaries in my neighborhood when I got an walked a dog at night. Could have been that I was out reporting people when I came home, hehe hehe, Solved the stealing of the paper girl's money one night when I called the police.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

9. Flamethrower -- if it's spiders

[Eleanors38]

11. Florida's Pelican Island Wildlife Refuge, the nation's first (TR), in

Indian River County, has a punt gun on display. Artifact from over a century ago, and it can remain a wall hanger.

[Duckhunter935]

12. I agree

I hope they are never used against birds but only ever at clay pigeons.

[Eleanors38]

13. Maybe a pattern competition?

[SecularMotion]

14. If people MUST keep a weapon in their home, they should be aware of the risk.

Guns in the Home and Risk of a Violent Death in the Home: Findings from a National Study

Data from a US mortality follow-back survey were analyzed to determine whether having a firearm in the home
increases the risk of a violent death in the home and whether risk varies by storage practice, type of gun, or
number of guns in the home. Those persons with guns in the home were at greater risk than those without guns
in the home of dying from a homicide in the home (adjusted odds ratio = 1.9, 95% confidence interval: 1.1, 3.4).
They were also at greater risk of dying from a firearm homicide, but risk varied by age and whether the person
was living with others at the time of death. The risk of dying from a suicide in the home was greater for males in
homes with guns than for males without guns in the home (adjusted odds ratio = 10.4, 95% confidence interval:
5.8, 18.9). Persons with guns in the home were also more likely to have died from suicide committed with a
firearm than from one committed by using a different method (adjusted odds ratio = 31.1, 95% confidence
interval: 19.5, 49.6). Results show that regardless of storage practice, type of gun, or number of firearms in the
home, having a gun in the home was associated with an increased risk of firearm homicide and firearm suicide
in the home.

http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/160/10/929.full.pdf+html

[Duckhunter935]

15. Duh

And also the benefits,

You know my post was a joke, right.

[SecularMotion]

16. If you want to post jokes, please use the correct forum

Here are 2 groups where jokes are appropriate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1198

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1018

[hack89]

17. Is your hair shirt tailored or off the rack? nt

[beardown]

18. So are there no cartoon groups for you?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1172174130

So how are cartoons appropriate, but joking vids not appropriate? I almost feel this warrants a Welch type call out against McCarthy "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?"

As long as it leads to a relevant discussion within the SOP of the group nobody seems to care much, excepting you of course. Seeing as how the post generated discussion of the development of hunting rules and such, I'd say it was a good SOP post. Perhaps, because the posters seemed to see the methodology of business driven over-hunting was bad does not mesh with your belief that gun owners are totally unreasonable when it comes to anything gun related.

Anyway, keep up the good work of posting some debate worthy news items to this group, but you should find a way to relax and let off some steam like taking up target shooting.

[sarisataka]

19. The Emperor is pleased

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027103300
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027103299

[Duckhunter935]

20. I saw those

Sad that a host seems to disrespect Skinner and the hosts of GD by purposely posting SOP violations.

[beevul]

21. How about you practice what you preach, SecMo.

One should be able to expect at least that much seeing as you're a group host...

I don't however, have much hope for you actually doing so.

[GGJohn]

23. Does the word hyprocrisy ring a bell?

[GGJohn]

22. If people have a vehicle,

they increase their risk of getting injured or killed in a traffic accident.
If people keep knives in their homes, they increase the risk of getting cut or stabbed.
If people have swimming pools, they increase their risk of drowning.

[ileus]

24. I'm really leaning toward a SBRd AR in 300blkout for a new home defense rifle.

[Duckhunter935]

25. Just purchased an upper

Chambered in 300 blackout. Can't wait to shoot it. The great thing about the modular AR platform. Did not need to buy a whole rifle.