cumbria tragedy

[mattywhit 1]

just watching the tv program on derik bird and a guy describes the .22lr rifle he had as a very heavy large telescopic sighted sniper rifle

 

the descriptions are way over the top in my opinion

[Lab 10,979]

Just watching it the now. I didnt realise that the police had caught up with him after the fourth shooting and the stupid twats let him get away. Disgrace!!

[Mastiff 7]

".22lr rifle he had as a very heavy large telescopic sighted sniper rifle"

 

I thought the BBC prided itself on its level of professionalism, how can anybody mistake a .22LR as a sniper rifle?

[JonathanL 4]

just watching the tv program on derik bird and a guy describes the .22lr rifle he had as a very heavy large telescopic sighted sniper rifle

 

the descriptions are way over the top in my opinion

 

The guy was all over the news the day it happend. To be fair he dosn't know anything about firearms and was just saying what he saw. He doesn't have anything on which to base his observations on.

 

J.

[JonathanL 4]

Just watching it the now. I didnt realise that the police had caught up with him after the fourth shooting and the stupid twats let him get away. Disgrace!!

 

They had no way of stopping him.

[JonathanL 4]

".22lr rifle he had as a very heavy large telescopic sighted sniper rifle"

 

I thought the BBC prided itself on its level of professionalism, how can anybody mistake a .22LR as a sniper rifle?

 

Because he has no experience of firearms and bases all his comments on what he sees on the TV. He wasn't a journmalist, just a witness.

 

J.

[RicW 67]

Simon Heffer in the Telegraph told his readers that the .22lr is a high powered long range rifle with a range of up to two miles. According to him, the only justifiable use for a rifle is deer control which should be carried out by experienced Army marksmen. (Reading this Deker?).

Let's see. You are a farmer being eaten out of house and home by Muntjac. You put in a call to the Army who put in a call to Afghanistan, whereupon the local commander sends his best sniper back to the UK to shoot some deer with a Lapua .338. Meanwhile, more of the lads have been killed by Taleban snipers.

I don't know what world idjits like Heffer live in but it ain't the one I'm in.

Ric.

Edited June 21, 2010 by RicW

[mattywhit 1]

yes i am fully aware of that but it makes thing sound so much worse for people who are aware of guns and calibres it was 45 mins away from me if i had been told by the news it was a large sniper rifle and he was heading in my direction i would fill my pants with the mucky stuff

 

i would be thinking 338 lapua

 

joe bloggs just thinks gun is a gun

 

i know what a 22lr is capable off and i know what a 338 is capable of also

[JonathanL 4]

Simon Heffer in the Telegraph told his readers that the .22lr is a high powered long range rifle with a range of up to two miles. According to him, the only justifiable use for a rifle is deer control which should be carried out by experienced Army marksmen. (Reading this Deker?).

Let's see. You are a farmer being eaten out of house and home by Muntjac. You put in a call to the Army who put in a call to Afghanistan, whereupon the local commander sends his best sniper back to the UK to shoot some deer with a Lapua .338. Meanwhile, more of the lads have been killed by Taleban snipers.

I don't know what world idjits like Heffer live in but it ain't the one I'm in.

Ric.

 

I read that and, yes, Heffer is an idiot. His entire article was basically a diatribe telling the world that it was fine to ban anything he didn't personally own. After all this time it seems that some shooters still haven't grasped the concept of the phrase "we must all hang together or we will most certainly hang separately".

 

J.

[JonathanL 4]

yes i am fully aware of that but it makes thing sound so much worse for people who are aware of guns and calibres it was 45 mins away from me if i had been told by the news it was a large sniper rifle and he was heading in my direction i would fill my pants with the mucky stuff

 

i would be thinking 338 lapua

 

joe bloggs just thinks gun is a gun

 

i know what a 22lr is capable off and i know what a 338 is capable of also

 

Quite honestly, it wouldn't bother me any more if he'd been wandering about with a 20mm anti-tank rifle. They are both perfectly capable to killing people. Besides, all the media were doing was reporting what witnesses said and, personally, I don't take too much notice of what most people say about firearms and you have to try and weigh up all of the reports and come to your own conclusions. Just because the media say something doesn't mean they are right. Another witness report, this time by a doctor, said he attended someone in the street who had serious shotgun wounds. I'd be inclined to put more faith into what a doctor has to say (and he turned out to be correct), rather than some bloke who's never seen a gun, or a gun-shot wound, before.

 

J.

[RicW 67]

Does anyone here know how many he killed with the shotgun and how many wirh the rifle?

 

Incidentally,I think it's reasonable for us to discuss this now, but let's not lose sight of the fact that 13 people died. There is at least one member of this site who lost a personal friend.

 

Ric

[wakey87 2]

it is a disgrace the cops lost the suspect and amogst other things, the worst of it is, they were not readily able to deal with the problem. if a police officer cannot protect you from a gunman yet they take away your right to defend yourself then youv got a big problem. maybe when they are able to stop people like this we might be able to get back the guns and sports we have lost.

[MOO 730]

All I am going to say on the matter is I am glad the labour goverment are still not in power as an over all ban on firearms would of been put forward

[SportingShooter 0]

Blaming anyone but Mr Bird is just clutching at straws of who to make the scapegoat.

 

Put it this way, if you were in a police car and you saw someone walking around with a shotgun and or a rifle with sights and your only experience of firearms was what you had seen on TV, knowing full well your body armour isn't going to protect you from the shot, would you be the brave hero and attempt to reason or stop him?

 

The only option I can see for the police was to ram the vehicle he was in, even then you are risking more lives if you misjudge and miss his vehicle.

 

He was a legal firearm/shotgun certificate holder who went off the rails for whatever reason, no one could have ever known what was going on in his mind, in fact from what he is described, he was a very reasonable candidate to possess firearms.

[Lab 10,979]

Blaming anyone but Mr Bird is just clutching at straws of who to make the scapegoat.

 

Put it this way, if you were in a police car and you saw someone walking around with a shotgun and or a rifle with sights and your only experience of firearms was what you had seen on TV, knowing full well your body armour isn't going to protect you from the shot, would you be the brave hero and attempt to reason or stop him?

 

The only option I can see for the police was to ram the vehicle he was in, even then you are risking more lives if you misjudge and miss his vehicle.

 

He was a legal firearm/shotgun certificate holder who went off the rails for whatever reason, no one could have ever known what was going on in his mind, in fact from what he is described, he was a very reasonable candidate to possess firearms.

Well since it would be my job if i was in a police car then i would have made sure i would not have lost him and clearly showed the armed response where he was...........how do you loose a mad gunman!!