Martin William Smith wrote:

[...]

>In Australia, what kind of hunting requires a pump action shotgun?
>Hunting the man-eating roo?

Well, its not strictly *necessary* of course, its just the best tool for
the job.

You probably need to understand the intricacies of this art to understand
why. Its to do with the fact that when you're hunting wallaby in thick
scrub, large areas of gorse (a hedgerow plant imported from Europe which
has rampantly covered thousands of acres of the best agricultural land in
Tasmania) etc, you often need to get off several quick shots. The game
doesn't like showing itself, moves fast between thickets and often not just
one at a time.


[...]

>I agree that a spare should be allowed.  But I still don't see a need
>for a pump action shotgun in Australia.  On the other hand, if the
>decision were to eliminate all private handgun ownership but allow a
>pump action shotgun or two, I would accept.

Private handguns have been closely regulated in Aus. for as long as I can
remember. These are indeed dangerous weapons, of little practical use for
anything as far as I can see. Only good for shooting targets, they are
designed for ease of concealment.

The real reason that pump-action shotguns are banned of course is that cops
in particular are scared shitless of being confronted at close quarters
with somebody holding one. And who wouldn't be?!

So they took advantage of the hysteria after Port Arthur to get these
weapons onto the banned list.

I don't know the figures, but cops are probably in more danger,
statistically, of being shot by a colleague accidently than being shot by a
member of the public.

[...]

Bill Bartlett
Bracknell Tas