Could I have been shot for stepping in to stop a fight?

[turbo]

I'm assuming she means a .38 caliber pistol round. Kind of surprising that it would disable a car engine, but I guess it could.

Yeah, we were just playing a bit. It's pretty jarring that people in the press could write about firearms without knowing anything about them, and it's even more disturbing that they can influence public opinion regarding possession, registration, etc, while being absolutely ignorant about the basic capabilities of those weapons. Those HS kids (seemed to be about equally girls and boys) were so proud of their improved marksmanship as they practiced. If you have ever shot small-bore indoor-range targets, you can appreciate how precise they must be. The sad part is that the school really cannot afford to set up a nice biathalon course. We have international biathalon competitions in northern Maine every winter, and I would love to see these kids get a chance to compete, at least at lower levels. I was a cross-country ski-racer in HS (tops in my school) and I LOVED target shooting, and would have jumped at a chance to blend those.

 

[turbo]

For those unfamiliar with biathalon, let me give just a quickie overview. You are racing on a cross-country ski course, and every time you get to a shooting station, you are required to hit all your targets. Missing targets requires you to ski penalty laps around an off-course track until you have paid for your misses, and then you can get back out onto the course. It's a give-and-take. If you are an incredible skier, you can afford to miss a few targets here and there - if you are deadly accurate with the rifle, you can afford to be a little bit slower on the skis than your less-accurate opponents, since you can gain ground while they are skiing penalty laps off-course. This is my favorite winter-olympics sport and broadcast TV usually cheats me out of all but clips of final-round coverage.

 

[Moonbear]

Biathalon was always one of my favorite Olympic sports too, and I also miss that they don't televise it anymore.

As for the OP, I'm glad you're unharmed, moose. It is wiser to call cops first, ask questions later in a situation where you are unsure what's going on. Though, I'm really confused why the group of girls/guys walking didn't head into the nearest open bar/store/etc., and call the cops as soon as someone pulled a gun on them. Even if they didn't get a license plate, they could have given a vehicle description and the cops would know somebody was out on the streets harassing women and threatening them with a gun. I sure as heck wouldn't have stood around waiting to see what they did when they came back.

 

[turbo]

Biathalon was always one of my favorite Olympic sports too, and I also miss that they don't televise it anymore.

Hi, Moonie! I don't know why this sport is being ignored, apart from the fact that it involves target-shooting with (gasp!) .22 cal rifles. I would have loved to be able to participate. I'm not the leggy, lean X-country skier that can compete at high levels, but I was powerful and capable of explosive bursts of speed when needed and had great wind. The "great wind" is a big deal in biathalon, in which you have to settle down at shooting stations, stabilize, shoot and move on. People who are skiing anaerobically under stress cannot possibly shoot accurately enough to advance.

 

[Huckleberry]

Yeah, we were just playing a bit. It's pretty jarring that people in the press could write about firearms without knowing anything about them, and it's even more disturbing that they can influence public opinion regarding possession, registration, etc, while being absolutely ignorant about the basic capabilities of those weapons.

I don't know much about firearms or engines. I don't own a firearm. I do own an engine though. Go figure. I've been trained to drive and can handle most situations I encounter quickly and correctly. I haven't much training with firearms or how to handle situations where I might have a use for one, though more than some people perhaps. That's why I don't own a firearm. A firearm in the hands of someone that doesn't know how or when to use it is like putting a 5 year old behind the wheel of a Buick and driving themselves to kindergarten. It's very not safe! On the other hand, I wish more people would learn to carry firearms responsibly, because police are not going to be there when these things happen. As for the press and public opinion, I've never liked the way they have doled out their propaganda. It's effective in making people fearful and easily manipulated and not an ounce safer.

 

[physics girl phd]

... and he had two of those shells lodged in his arm!

Sorry -- "."38 (in the handgun regime, but still not really small). Then he was also lucky that the bullets went through the car door before they went into his arm.

 

[turbo]

Sorry -- "."38 (in the handgun regime, but still not really small). Then he was also lucky that the bullets went through the car door before they went into his arm.

We were just teasing...

 

[Danger]

We were just teasing...

Absolutely. I'm not as funny as I used to be, but when someone leaves bait like that lying around...