Some “rifle.” That’s a Beeman BB gun.
That's what's so valuable about FreeRepublic and the Internet. Thousands of people with various areas of expertise can focus on issues and uncover "truth." It's what got Dan Rather and is killing the drive-by media.
Can anyone her track down the creator of the fake? All that is known now is this:
I have not been able to track down the creator of the faked photo. The earliest appearance found by Doctor Casino is at an Imageshack.us website