On shooting

I've been interested in all aspects of shooting for as long as I can remember; certainly for more than 50 years now.

I learnt to shoot ... and about firearms safety ... with Dad, who was a PO QMG in the RAN. I remember when I was 18 buying my first rifle ... it was a Remington Nylon 66, with green/black nylon stock. There was a no-name 4-power scope on it. I picked it up from the owner and took it with Dad into Wembley police station to get it licensed in my name — not realising, of course, that it was illegal to do that; the owner should have taken it in with me!

Dad came with me. The sergeant was a real hard-arse and wasn't going to give me a licence. "Why should I give you a licence?" he snapped. "Who's going to teach you to use it safely?"

Dad drew himself up to his full 5'9". "I am", he said.

"What makes you think you can teach him?" the copper sneered.

By the time Dad had finished giving the sergeant just a brief rundown of his qualifications, the copper was reaching for a licence form.

That rifle accounted for hundreds of rabbits before it was stolen during a house break-in in Kalgoorlie. When the kids (!) who stole it ran out of ammo in the bush, they left it across the railway line for the next train to "disassemble" it. Sad ending for a faithful and accurate firearm.

I also dabbled in handgun target shooting (rimfire and air pistol) while living in Broome; I say "dabbled" because I just wasn't that damned good at it! When I shifted back to Perth and no longer was in a club, I had to sell them both to a dealer — you can't own a handgun without being in a club and shooting regular matches.

In Kalgoorlie I took up fullbore shooting. I acquired an old Omark Model 44 and had some measure of success. But in those days you weren't licensed for the rifles; you had a warrant from the army to own and use them (club use only, of course). When I left Kal I had to sell that one, too.

Then in 1996 everything got turned on its head after Port Arthur. The government compulsorily "acquired" and destroyed two of my firearms: a .22 semi-auto and a pump action shotgun. By then I was back into target shooting with a local club affiliated with SSAA and my interest shifted to accuracy rather than hunting.

During this time, I became a qualified range officer for several disciplines, the president of my club for five years, and a nationally-accredited sports coach in shooting, gaining the highest exam score the instructor had ever given. Yes, I am proud of that.

I never forgave the government for turning its back on me and declaring me to be, in effect, a second-class citizen. I was no longer to be trusted to own certain firearms; this despite the fact the worst "crime" I had against my name was ... a parking fine. I had my car kicked and spat on (I had a pro-firearms sticker on it); I was screeched at in public by a woman as a "murderer", while manning a stall at the Perth Royal Show. I had my then 10-year-old daughter hug me and cry that she didn't want me to go to jail because I "owned guns".

The conditions for owning a firearm went from the sublime to the ridiculous. I now need a safe for my firearms, with a separate locked compartment inside for bolts and ammunition. I need another safe for any powder I have for for reloading. I need yet another safe for unprimed or fired brass and primers. In other words, I am being punished for my possessions, with which I have done no harm. Why is the onus on me, and not on any lowlife who would break into my home to steal those possessions? Surely by definition they are in the wrong, not me?

I've lately drifted away from target shooting and back towards hunting. I'm strictly a vermin shooter. I shoot feral pests that endanger Australia's native flora and fauna: rabbits, foxes, goats, pigs, feral cats, wild dogs -- I'm not "allowed" to own a calibre that will handle anything much larger than this.

Australia doesn't yet know it, or hasn't yet realised it, but it needs us. We are being overwhelmed by ferals ... the true figures would horrify most people if known. Without us, the Australia we know is not going to be around very much longer.