Thread: Even Air Rifles Sting

Just thought I would add my bit to this forum. When I was 13, I got a .22 air rifle as a Xmas pressie. My younger brother got a .177 air rifle at the same time (he is 2 years younger). After the obligatory tin can shootup after the midday meal, my brother disappeared. I grabbed my new toy and headed out the back paddock to see if I could scare up some magpies that had been a nuisance at breeding time. (both my brothers and I were sporting scars from their dive bomb tactics).

I walked round an old mac that dad had dropped, and my brother had made a fort under. As I was creeping along trying not to make a noise (with the air rifle cocked and loaded), I tripped over an old root, and the rifle discharged. The muzzle was pointed at a sheet of iron that my brother had tacked to the tree to get some shelter. First I heard a clang as the pellet hit the iron, quickly followed by a yell of pain from my brother on the other side.

White faced, I sprinted round the end of the tin, to find my brother lying down holding his leg. Being in St John, I quickly assessed the wound, and discovered that the pellet had just grazed the back of his calf. Split skin and a bit of blood oozed from the wound, but nothing major. Both of us were shaking badly, and needed a smoke to calm down. We never told mum or dad as we feared they would confiscate our new toys. My brother blamed the graze on the barbed wire fence that ran round our property.

Lessons learned?

1) Even Air rifles can damage
2) NEVER EVER walk with a cocked rifle
3) Keep your bloody finger off the trigger until you are committed to shoot
4) Watch where the muzzle is pointed at all times

ps. My brother did eventually forgive me, and got me back later in life - but that is another story