My students from India told me about hunting with air rifles

7 or 8 years ago I taught computer software classes at a college for international students, about 30% were from India. When those men and women found out I made and shot black powder rifles, they told me how lucky I was to live here in America where we could own rifles and pistols where in India no private firearms were allowed. BUT people could own air rifles and several of the students came from way out in the country where they hunted monkeys with 30 caliber air rifles. Those critters were the main source of meat since there was no beef and very little chicken or pork! Thought that was very interesting!
John

It is quite interesting! I'd like to get a hunting air rifle sometime soon for rabbits and squirrels.

Oldracer. In the Big Cities in India they hunt Rats for food. The kids use Slingshots, and I have seen videos of 10 year old kids making lethal running shots on 2-3 lb. Rats! and they have maybe 2 seconds to get a shot off. Rats aren't slow!

It is a primary source of meat for those people who live under the "Caste System" where the lowest rungs on the ladder are lucky to even be alive. I guess having a good source of food, even if it's Rats would be a welcome thing. I'd also bet you'd get good with whatever you had as a weapon real fast with Hunger as your main motivation.

Slingshots are easy to make and can deliver enough power to dispatch Rats and other small animals, Monkeys included.

A 3 lb. Rat has a lot of meat on it, and after they douse it in curry sauce you wouldn't know what you were eating, and they probably wouldn't care either..

Do Rats taste like chicken? I love Curry Chicken!

A Pellet Gun for those people would be like having a Light Sabre for us.

I have a friend whos wife is Puerto Rican, and she told me about shooting Iguanas with Pellet Guns for meat down there. Apparently the island is over run with Iguanas which were Stow a Way's on Banana Boats which came there from all over the Caribbean and got released there while in Port.

The tail is where most all of the meat is and a 6 foot Iguana is not uncommon and will have 10 lbs of good white meat in it's tail alone. It does taste like chicken!!! I have it on good authority.

It never ceases to amaze me what people will do to survive.

Randy

A few months ago when I was researching the Diana 350 magnum on U-tube , I found a load of videos od people hunting in India. It soon became apparent that these shooters are very skilled excellent shots and effective hunters. this rifle has opened a whole new world to Me.

When private ownership of guns was put in place in India there were a lot of high class hunting rifles and shotguns forced out of there. Some guy or guys in State Dept got the inside track on these and made a killing. If I remember right that is what brought Bell Brass into business. It was bought out by RCBS.
The people high enough up on caste system to have hunting privileges had some nice weapons. Some came down through families just like they do here. I saw a film on India and poachers. The low caste subsistence farmer can make more money by killing a tiger or catching a big cobra than a years work. Of course there were some educated westerners trying to tell these people that they shouldn’t poach. They should continue to work their butts off for nothing.

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Originally Posted by W.R.Buchanan

Oldracer. In the Big Cities in India they hunt Rats for food. The kids use Slingshots, and I have seen videos of 10 year old kids making lethal running shots on 2-3 lb. Rats! and they have maybe 2 seconds to get a shot off. Rats aren't slow!

It is a primary source of meat for those people who live under the "Caste System" where the lowest rungs on the ladder are lucky to even be alive. I guess having a good source of food, even if it's Rats would be a welcome thing. I'd also bet you'd get good with whatever you had as a weapon real fast with Hunger as your main motivation.

Slingshots are easy to make and can deliver enough power to dispatch Rats and other small animals, Monkeys included.

A 3 lb. Rat has a lot of meat on it, and after they douse it in curry sauce you wouldn't know what you were eating, and they probably wouldn't care either..

Do Rats taste like chicken? I love Curry Chicken!

A Pellet Gun for those people would be like having a Light Sabre for us.

I have a friend whos wife is Puerto Rican, and she told me about shooting Iguanas with Pellet Guns for meat down there. Apparently the island is over run with Iguanas which were Stow a Way's on Banana Boats which came there from all over the Caribbean and got released there while in Port.

The tail is where most all of the meat is and a 6 foot Iguana is not uncommon and will have 10 lbs of good white meat in it's tail alone. It does taste like chicken!!! I have it on good authority.

It never ceases to amaze me what people will do to survive.

Randy

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The roofers at the company where my wife worked in Ft. Laudersale often came for their checks on Friday with an iguana or two tied to sticks for the weekend. My wife got a recipe from them that required so much marinating and prep that it was a stretch to call them edible.

Just Sayin'

I found it interesting that Lewis and Clark used a air rifle.

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/20...oni-air-rifle/

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Originally Posted by Butzbach

The roofers at the company where my wife worked in Ft. Laudersale often came for their checks on Friday with an iguana or two tied to sticks for the weekend. My wife got a recipe from them that required so much marinating and prep that it was a stretch to call them edible.

Just Sayin'

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Yeah I guess you gotta get the bigger ones so there's more meat on the tail. I don't think there is much edible other than the tail. I heard that most of them hang out in the Banana Plantations. I wonder if they taste like Bananas?

Those Florida Iguana's are not the same thing. They are the skinny multicolored lizards which don't get that big maybe 2 feet on a big one.. I'm talking about the Big Green South American Ocean Going Iguanas that live in trees and run anywhere between 3-6 feet long. They look like the Galapagos Island Iguanas. They have a different shaped body and massive tails so they can swim efficiently.

Randy

In these smaller heavily restricted countries there has been a lot of experimentation with liquid and gaseous fueled rifles, some very advanced in design, though home made using repurposed parts.
A few years back the Indian government began giving villagers in remote areas plagued by bandits and rogue tigers old Enfield .303 rifles for self defense.

After WW2 German small game hunters sometimes had spring piston air rifles converted to diesel powered rifles using wood alcohol for fuel.
Later on commercially made diesel guns were marketed which used Ether capsules available for veterinary work on farms.

Dieseling, I am sure someone will post the videos from U-tube.

People in this country have been truly blessed by God. We have had so much Freedom in the past and have wasted it thru the never ending search for wealth and fame. But they finally elected a president that will end both if he has his way. We will be the latest version of venzuela or India with few rights and total government control of our health and wealth. We may be lucky if we can own air rifles. just my .02 anyway, james

Nailed it!!!!!

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Originally Posted by TNsailorman

People in this country have been truly blessed by God. We have had so much Freedom in the past and have wasted it thru the never ending search for wealth and fame. But they finally elected a president that will end both if he has his way. We will be the latest version of venzuela or India with few rights and total government control of our health and wealth. We may be lucky if we can own air rifles. just my .02 anyway, james

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James,
What you state is possible, but unlikely in my opinion. I firmly believe that we will have open civil war before it comes to that.

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Originally Posted by centershot

James,
What you state is possible, but unlikely in my opinion. I firmly believe that we will have open civil war before it comes to that.

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With regret, I agree. Civil wars start when a national government
becomes crazed in seeking ever more power over others ... always so wealthy and politically powerful people can better direct the lives of presumed "Little People".

Sadly, history shows that the "little people" will tolerate slow growing tyranny for along time because they (we?) just want to get along peacefully as best we can BUT, at some point the fires of the common people's resentment against an overbearing government will flash. Once started, nothing can stop the flames of rebellion until the old order is converted into a miserable smoking ash heap. Then the bloody life cycle of history begins all over again.

Today's America is not yet in the final stage but we're well passed the tipping point. We simply can't go back to where so few today have ever been ... and it's just history anyway. History ... you know, that "obsolete" stuff liberal government's self important *******es (aka, today's Democrats) don't teach - or study - so they can never learn from.

Liberals with political power are always ready to sacrifice the little people's liberties, possessions and even their lives in order to gain control of those who survive. All done in government's great love and for the people's own good of course. [Gag.] ???

I don't claim to know when or what will finally cause the ignition point of rebellion to flash but the peaceful tolerance of those who work for a living is rapidly being overwhelmed by those who vote for government to provide them a living off the backs of other people. So (without the unlikely hands of God's intervention) I am finally and logically forced to believe a third bloody American rebellion against the power mad tyranny of our own government is inevitable.

Rant over.

In any industrialized country its impossible to prevent those who want guns and aren't concerned by breaking the law from having them.
Not just zip guns and pipe shotguns either.
Very sophisticated rifles and submachineguns have been turned out using minimal tooling.
Quality ammunition requires substantial cartridge casings. This is no longer limited to a few industries with massive drawing equipment. The late BP through early smokeless era showcased numerous work arounds.
Any teenager can mix up a batch of BP or even smokeless powder these days and people were making their own percussion primers from the mid 19th century on.

I seriously doubt that anything approaching an actual Civil War can happen in the USA in this century. At the worst people these days aren't going to give up the perks of modern society.
There will be increasing instances of wackos committing violent acts without thinking things through and lots of sabotage but no open battles.
Too many cooks spoil the broth. There are no great leaders these days, just cult of personality type megalomaniacs with herds of rather unstable followers who could not change a tire by themselves.

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Originally Posted by Daver7

I found it interesting that Lewis and Clark used a air rifle.

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/20...oni-air-rifle/

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Fascinating!

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Originally Posted by Multigunner

In these smaller heavily restricted countries there has been a lot of experimentation with liquid and gaseous fueled rifles, some very advanced in design, though home made using repurposed parts.
A few years back the Indian government began giving villagers in remote areas plagued by bandits and rogue tigers old Enfield .303 rifles for self defense.

After WW2 German small game hunters sometimes had spring piston air rifles converted to diesel powered rifles using wood alcohol for fuel.
Later on commercially made diesel guns were marketed which used Ether capsules available for veterinary work on farms.

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That is very interesting. Given our present worsening circumstances, I was wondering if anyone had ever developed a gas powered rifle. A valve, an igniter, a pellet?

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Originally Posted by centershot

James,
What you state is possible, but unlikely in my opinion. I firmly believe that we will have open civil war before it comes to that.

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I not only agree, I am rooting for it to happen. Lots of problems we have could be cured with a little open conflict. They had a really good chance on Jan 6 but didn't follow thru. I sincerely hope the next opportunity is not squandered, as I doubt we would get another.

Randy

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Originally Posted by JoeJames

That is very interesting. Given our present worsening circumstances, I was wondering if anyone had ever developed a gas powered rifle. A valve, an igniter, a pellet?

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I have one drawn up that uses Butane and a Spark Igniter. Shoots Golf Balls. Could come in handy

Randy

Time's a wastin' need to get the dark op started. Heard that on the internet.