We decided a while ago that we needed a gun or two on the farm. I’m not a big fan of hunting, or of killing things really, but there are times when a gun may be necessary.  For one, we had a problem last year with starlings eating our corn, and I’d been thinking of getting a slug gun to keep their numbers down.  Apart from that, however, we have nearly 50 assorted animals living with us on our little patch of paradise, and there is potentially going to be a time where we need a gun to either protect them (e.g. fox predation) or put them down.

With all of this in mind, dad and I went out and got our gun licenses.  I’m a huge proponent of gun control, and didn’t mind the fact that we had to go through a lengthy process, but I was still surprised at just how lengthy that process was.

We had to go through police checks and then pass a course with both theory and practical sections.  It took over 6 months from start to finish, and cost several hundred dollars.  Then, after you get your license and buy your guns, you have to wait a minimum of 4 weeks, and in our case it was over 6 weeks, to actually get the permits to be able to pick them up.  Then you need to register them and pay more fees.  I think that process alone, along with the expense, is enough to weed out a lot of people.  Maybe that’s part of the theory behind it?

Anyway, we ended up buying two guns in November, though we didn’t officially take possession of them until December.  We got a nice air rifle and a little rim-fire .22.  We found a great gun shop in Pooraka, and they had a deal on the .22, with a gun safe, bag, gun cleaning stuff, and a bucket ‘o bullets.  Seriously, it’s called a “bucket ‘o bullets”, and it’s literally a bucket containing 1400 high-velocity bullets.

It’s not much of an arsenal, but it’s pretty much essential for most farms, even the little ones…

There’s apparently a gun club in Kapunda, which isn’t that far from us, and we might got and check it out.  I enjoy target shooting, and really, really need the practice. Right now, the starlings are pretty safe…