Posted on 07/27/2005 5:15:15 PM PDT by 45Auto
A HUNTER yesterday won the right to use a .44 Magnum revolver - "the most powerful handgun in the world" - to kill deer on estates throughout the Scottish Highlands.
Trevor Jeans, a professional deerstalker who culls at least 300 deer a year, went to court after Northern Constabulary refused his application to carry the weapon, made famous in Dirty Harry, the cult thriller film starring Clint Eastwood.
In the wake of the Dunblane shootings in 1996, the government outlawed handguns, with the exception of cases where professions such as vets or slaughtermen need the weapons as part of their job.
In the latest case, Mr Jeans challenged Ian Latimer, the Chief Constable of the Highland force, by arguing that he needed the large-calibre pistol to humanely finish off deer not killed by the first shot from his rifle.
He said he was uncomfortable using a knife to kill a wounded animal and that there was a risk of people being injured by a ricocheting bullet from a rifle fired at close range.
In a judgment issued yesterday at Inverness Sheriff Court, Sheriff Alexander Pollock ruled that Mr Jeans, 45, of Dunlichity House, Tordarroch, Inverness, should be able to own the pistol for his work.
The Deer Commission for Scotland, said Sheriff Pollock, did not recommend the use of handguns, but preferred hunters to take a second shot with a rifle or for a stalker to kill the wounded deer with a knife.
Granting Mr Jeans the right to own a .44 Magnum, Sheriff Pollock stated: "What matters in this case is whether this particular pursuer has satisfied the court that he has 'a good reason' - nothing more and nothing less - for having the handgun in respect of which his application is made. Given that I am so satisfied, I have therefore reversed the decision of the chief constable."
Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish National Party's justice spokesman, told The Scotsman that the judgment highlighted the need for an urgent review of Britain's gun laws. He said: "The gentleman in question is clearly entitled to have a firearm to carry out his work, but there are guns and there are guns. And he is a gamekeeper, not Clint Eastwood.
"There are other legitimate weapons that are capable of killing off the animal without possessing a gun that really belongs in a Dirty Harry movie and not in the hills and glens of Scotland."
A spokeswoman for Northern Constabulary said: "The force notes the outcome and is examining the details of the sheriff's decision."
A spokeswoman for the Home Office confirmed that an exemption had been made under the Firearms Amendment Act, 1997, to allow the use of handguns "as slaughtering instruments for the humane killing of animals".
A senior Scottish police source explained: "This exemption covers veterinary surgeons, who were allowed to keep their handguns. You would have the odd slaughterman and stalker who will use them as well.
"Guns as powerful as the .44 Magnum were not completely outlawed. They are a prohibited firearm, but with these few exceptions. If a vet, for example, chooses to use a Magnum there is nothing illegal in that.
"It may seem incredible to a layman that that is the case, but it does to us as well. Very few stalkers use handguns unless they are in very dense undergrowth, where it is difficult to use a rifle, and most would use .38 calibre weapons."
Mr Jeans, who has held firearm and shotgun certificates for 27 years, declined to comment on the outcome of his appeal when contacted last night.
Ofercripessake, pull your knickers up, Brits. You're made of better stuff than this.
No, they're not.
There was a Brit who built custom 4 bore rifles. I read some articles that had pics of him lighting them off. Not real snappy but a hell of a push. BTW, he was a big ole boy.
Most of my family use 44 magnum to hunt deer. Really doesn't damage the meat badly at all. We tend to use ruger carbines.
I have the .454 Casul, which is plenty for me. I wont be upgrading to 500 S&W.
Yeah, they are. These are a good, noble people, who, for some inexplicable reason, have allowed themselves to be cowed by the Labour nannies into dependency. Winston Churchill would be hurling in his bowler if he could see what his countrymen have become.
Shouldn't that be a BF'nP, instead of BMG?
It's amazing that the British have degenerated to such an extent in so short a time. They have squandered a precious cultural inheritance that took generations to amass. The toil of ages is gone in less than the lifetime of one person.
Here's another fine pistol - the Wildey in .475 Wildey Mag.
The Brits have perfected the aims of the Democratic party; demonise anything larger than a BB gun as abnormal and psychotic. Too f'n bad for them.
Due to the common language and recent defense ties, most Americans have no clue how serious an enemy Britain used to be to the US. Tony Blair is especially dangerous because Americans like him.
They don't know that he's the elected president of the Socialist Internationale, to which the Democratic Socialists of America belong. (70+ members in Congress.) They in turn, belong to the Communist Party. Small world, eh?
Well after hearing Red Ken and Galloway, Tony Blair is A-OK in my book. I'm not askeered of him. Socialist leanings or not.
Seriously, I refuse to entertain conversation of Britain being any kind of enemy to the US. We dealt with that matter 230 years ago. They are only temporarily misguided, at worst. Our job is to help them recover from their labour binge, and to help them defend themselves against the very real threat that stalks the streets of London right now.
Ah, yes. I envision myself with a .50 BMG hand cannon, turned homie-style sideways so that the ejection port is up (handguns are more deadly that way) - no, wait, no - one in each hand, yeah, that's the ticket...
Smith & Wesson was king of the big bores in the wake of the "Dirty Harry" movies, with the .44 Smith & Wesson Magnum (the official cartridge name).
Over the last 2 decades, the .44 Mag has been supplanted by numerous factory cartridges, starting with the .454 Casull. S&W wanted the title back. To bring the Linebaugh to the commercial market would cost as much as modifying it and creating a proprietary S&W cartridge. So it used the Linebaugh as the basis for their own cartridge.
Now, S&W is king of the hill again with all the bragging rights to boot.
Amen, Brother! The only good deer is the one in the freezer.
Anyone who thinks Tony Blair is a socialist either has no conception whatever of British politics, or subscribes to a definition of socialism so vague as to make it virtually meaningless.
Exactly! Remember that not that long ago, they had Lady Thatcher and John Major. Remember also, that we had 8 years of Clinton!
They're still some of the best friends we've got.
Mark
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