Monday, August 05, 2013

Firearm fixations . . .

— Original issue, milled receiver. —
IT'S NOT JUST THE N.R.A. and American trailer park slobs who salivate over guns. Guys from other cultures obsess too, which is explored by a post on Tablet, “How Sweet, Smart Kids Under Occupation Come To Worship Militants” by Haroon Shah who states, “In the heart of Kashmir, where happiness was a warm AK-47, the weapon was my voice, and my dream”.

— Today's 12-gauge —

Popularly known as Kalashnikov, AK-47 was the dream of every Kashmiri boy and the nightmare of every Indian soldier. The gun fired. It killed. It announced the dawn of a new age in Kashmir. What Kalashnikov did in Afghanistan, Vietnam, and Liberia, India dreaded it would do here. Muslim-dominated Kashmir was annexed by India in 1947 after signing a controversial accession pact with its Hindu ruler, with the promise of a plebiscite and greater autonomy. War soon erupted between India and Pakistan and both countries wound up occupying a part of Kashmir. India never carried out the promised plebiscite, and autonomy was slowly eroded as India aimed to gain absolute control of what it now saw as an Indian state or province.

It was not the lethality of the AK that India feared, for it had a million-strong army to counter it. It was the psychological change that the assault rifle unleashed everywhere it went.

 And the ol' AK's been everywhere, to the misery of millions, and the extinction of African wildlife. According to Wiki, there's something like 100 million of 'em. The Russkies even make a 12-gauge version for gerbil-blasting, or something. 
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2 comments:

  1. Steve09:37

    An AK47 twelve gauge would be a great weapon in a Zombie outbreak. I qualified in Ontario to have a gun at 15.
    No I was not a gun shooting prodigy. It was part of life, get a gun, get you drivers, and get a wife. I never touched that gun at twenty one. However now that I am in my 50's I feel strongly I should have a gun. I still do not have a gun. In fantasy I would not only have a gun I would have remote sentry. Thus reminding me of all I have given up on society.

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  2. The Mound of Sound00:54

    Like Steve, I had guns at an early age. A 12-gauge, a .22 and a Lee Enfield that I inherited, passed down through the family. I hunted rabbits, Canada honkers and mallards with the 12-gauge and took one deer with the .303 and then moved on to other pursuits.

    Now, in my advanced years, I am licensed again and have in my gun locker a pair of Brownings. One is a trusty .22, the other a .308 Win lever action.

    I got these guns for several reasons. Once when I was way up an unused logging road to do some photography, I got off my BMW enduro bike and spotted a cougar 60 to 100-feet off staring at me.

    Then and there I realized that the outcome of that encounter would be decided entirely by that big cat. If it had gone for me, I wouldn't be writing this. After that I decided never to go into the forest again without some viable means to defend myself. BTW - I got the .308 Browning in take-down so it's easy to carry on a motorcycle.

    My secondary reason for the .308 was for use in the event of an emergency. When the "Big One" hits the island we could be without help from the outside for at least two weeks. It would be nice to be able to take a deer in the meantime.

    I don't spend much time with my weapons except when I go to the range every month or two. It is comforting to know that they're always nearby, safely and securely locked up.

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