It was the next door neighbour - Dad never owned a gun. He was teaching his own son who was near enough my age, offered to show me and two of my brothers how as well. Nobody ever got seriously hurt by an air rifle. That was the occasion. I was 13 and a natural. I owned a single shot bolt-action .22 in my late teens up to my mid-20s. A .22 isn't an effective anti-personnel weapon either, due to its small calibre and low muzzle velocity, but it's adequate for rabbits, cats and foxes. I could have kept it after the buyback (hunting is a legitimate reason to own a gun, provided it's not rimfire, semiautomatic or equipped with a big magazine) but registration fees went from reasonable to extortionate, so I handed it in. I rarely hunted by then anyway. Trophy hunting has never been a thing in Oz - I suppose some immigrants may be into it but I haven't personally seen it.
This post was edited by Slartibartfast at August 21, 2019 6:20 AM MDT
I admire you Aussies bigly but you know that. Common sense. Logic. Sane. Rational. Reasonable. I know things aren't PERFECT in your country but they're a dam* sight much better than in America today. Maybe one day we'll achieve a hoped-for potential. Maybe not. Thank you for your informative reply R! :)
RosieG 