I'm not a fan of guns in general. They have uses for hunting and as a weapon that should only really be in the hands of an expert., in my opinion In the UK there are very strict rules about gun ownership that mean you very rarely see them apart from police in places like airports. 

The [laws on airguns](http://www.airgunshooting.co.uk/expert-advice/airgun_law_in_the_uk_1_1111764) make them more available, but they are fairly unlikely to be lethal. They are used for pest control and also for target shooting. Last night I went with my son and a friend to a local shooting range, [A Different Calibre](http://www.adifferentcalibre.co.uk/) in Letchworth. They have a shop full of all sorts of air guns and you can hire any of these to use in the range.

This is my friend's rifle which is the old style where you break the barrel to charge and load. I've not done much shooting, but I was managing to his some of the assorted targets around 20m away.

![Rifle](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/GzhEHAysfwwuPQBIFaly4mO9u4zIBK6gVmm6ojupWCWwbCiCr1L-FSkDYiGSjtNNpBCQULAN_otL8OAQylDETmXxm8CcKmt418lefKmrLIyg6BCtE2UdmnawxEVQFOiJdKi9Wz9YbsspWrPLI6S9dMIq7B_9fgZ3Ur5uOYrpsjriFTBRqwbYeF9ElEWvgpCBw4vDD9ysVcwU4rrzumAssVxuPQWr9VP8J_gYJvUOg-MxCxW9N9n7TXgbYLyhgpOVNALVourv31bG4U8bM6yK6ARY9-Hn0JZm1EqsnSR0FL71h56fgJiQUlA8N-qma3Kr8tg8IPpWOTiShhWqydk-MV66qfEq6WkbnyCNYorPkGzGkRj8I1ld6uVGGVehR4X5SqMFQ_yfb59nCMgyRaYtZH_qwWAhLaOEXZQUNDKctbtGDb0VmPRXCEyMzIHyCOrqdkw9-A0hVZSQewACT21lJ-hRzxDgi6lxz9RhyjysX72B85hXKGR2HlyK55in7y5t_aYcNBYZK3KvzhbUkBFMRbsj4eVD2oKuoFimeJtXx59uaaJft9xHcSzJe3Pp8CfeYuHZB0JDh5J92iOLNo031O6aj6kBjK3NlroTHCavp8v76GWPgJ1Pug=w885-h498-no)

This is [the gun](http://www.adifferentcalibre.co.uk/new-air-rifles/air-arms-galahad-detail) my son chose. I wasn't surprised as it looks more like those he has in his various video games. It has a magazine that takes about a dozen pellets. It was very easy to use with a lot less recoil than the other. It costs about £1000, so I won't be buying one for him any time soon.
![Big gun](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7G_YpcIM_ktubVPyruqWyFh9U7jD73nXq2yxrDgxMTPN7Bi3lrjsUVdkmgUGYnmKDlDSsYzdPuA1YirSfhAh0N1oni-D0t9JXXscTJjDo0X-ErZeeL4Q9f4S5jbShi9XfHe8H467mgYoXdx9qqLkcyuOg8TQiYS3y9zF5Bi1a1fidt2Bv_i2yYG063Vn905nGHLd2xb6kKuKcsa-1oR_igaZDVJf80UEAaA6RYP8fFj4ASZGNBPsXuF0H1pdxN3sAeceQwvhDztoE9dcFrj9pbDJyleLBgIkx6s2rEDzY5LxUA9sdPF8wAp2e59hzavGA5RABC0YM72Em-1Y6DDmoNoO42ZIokAxu_UcRQDeBEgWmtc9cfLupTjnvddDvP4f9qqVResElOJ5OoNyBGpSq_xQoR9bKBtNz918bm3r1TVV1NUMggddVW23wlR_NgAr7Pnm6X-sBxaG_WB_WFnN3wOrsVa2Mkd4hXry57gkBPTS2aEruBz8aQMiQU9cInf9K9meDPHiX4tByLQkGKQmjpEQq-uymDVyuGP5dzr05FMVFvM5pHMuSS9AhGgqE--UW6FS1TcauQ2oyTvRCEZf-bG-conWFZaWJRwnPYQs5jQAE6HMV53bOQ=w885-h498-no)

We had a fun evening at the range. We weren't competing, just seeing what we could hit. I can appreciate the skill of the sport, but I was happy just to hit a few targets.

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