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Incidents
The BULLET
The Official Publication of the Western Missouri Shooters' Alliance
Permission to reprint material granted, with full attribution
August, 1994
From : DAVID SCOTT Number : 619 of 620
RED ALERT! RED ALERT!
Well, they done it to me again! Just a little while ago, I was out back playing with my spudgun shooting potatos at the electric utility box on the side of my house when some guy in a t-shirt strolls into my back yard with a badge on a chain around his neck. Turns out the guy just moved in next to me (un-beknownst to me). I stood there holding my spudgun like an idiot and said "Hello, can I help you?" and he said, "What is that?". I told him that it was a spudgun and he asked to look at it. I said "sure" and handed it to him. He looked at it and told me that he lived next door and that he thought he had heard small gunfire. I explained to him what it was and how it worked and what I was doing with it and he handed it back to me and told me to put it away and not do it again. I said "Yes sir, you bet I will!" so I broke it down and started washing it out and he walked back over to his house. I was there hosing it out when another cop in uniform pulled up in front of my house and came over and asked me what was going on. The two cops met halfway in my driveway and the first cop told the second one what it was I had. Anyway, the second one walked up and was all in awe over the thing. Being that it was decked out to the max, I.E. laser, scope, stungun (to ignite it with) gun stock, and painted flat black, he said it was the slickest thing he had ever seen. I told him it was just some junk I had McGyvered together to play with in the back yard. I also told him that in my opinion I did not think it was very loud. I also told him that I had let my son shoot me with it before and that obviously I was still here. He acted genuinely impressed with the work I had put into it and then told me that a lot of kids at his church had made some before and he said that in his opinion, he did not think there was anything wrong with them but out of curiosity, he did some research into the subject and he interpreted the law in a way that a spudgun would fall under the category of an explosive device, and that it would be a class III felony! Oh shit! That's when I started to get nervous! Then he asked me if he could take a picture of it for training purposes to show other cops what the things look like. I was thinking "Oh shit, he's gonna take a picture of it and use it against me!" But what could I say? So I told him I guess it would be all right, and then he called for any car with a polaroid to report to my address. A few minutes later another cop pulled up and some big mutha struts up with a polaroid and they snap a few shots of my playtoy. Then he tells me he is gonna check with the DA and the ATF in the morning and see if there was any problem with something like this and they would get back with me. I told them that I would go ahead and take the thing apart anyway to avoid problems and they said that was fine. I packed it on into the house as they walked off. I had just sat down when I heard a knock on the door and when I went to answer it it was the same two cops again, but this time they told me that they had reconsidered the deal and that they wanted to take the spudgun into evidence until they had a chance to get with the DA and the ATF. I was really freaking out by now, and I was trying to talk them out of taking it, I even asked if I could take the laser off first but they said no, they had to have the whole thing as-is and they then told my son to go inside to get it. Well, needless to say, my son went inside and brought it out to them. They told me they would get back with me later on it and started to walk off. I said, "Hey are ya'll gonna fry me on this or what? I have heard of people doing far less worse things and ending up toast, so what makes me any different?" He told me "Hey, I don't think you're a maniac, badguy, or trouble maker, if I thought you were, I assure you, you would already be in cuffs by now." I said, "Look, I got a wife and two little kids and I don't need any trouble, I will destroy the thing right now in front of you." They didn't buy that either, and started walking again. As they walked off, I said, "so I guess this means I'll never see the thing again huh?", and they just shrugged and kept walking.
Oh yeah, they also questioned me as to the exact number/make/model of real firearms I owned and if they were in the house or not!
So, as of now, I'm scooping turds out of my BDU's wondering what to do next. I suppose one of the following will happen:
Of course I do not have much hope for a bright future at this point in time, I am afraid that either scenario 1 or 2 will occur, If 2 or greater occurs, then praise the Lord, If they burn me, then I don't know what will go down. Also considering that they recently raided my house and took some pistols from me that (like a dumbass) I bought from a neighbor which later turn out to be stolen, they already don't like me. As a matter of fact, I had the damn spudgun sitting in the kitchen when they raided my house and they just turned their noses up at it, hell they even questioned my son about the damn thing and walked out and left it where it stood! And I fully believe that several of the suits in my house were ATF, so what the hell is the big deal? I don't make them and sell them to people, but I do tell people how to make the damn things. Big Damn deal! People tell people every day how to do all sorts of things. Hell, a BB gun can kill someone if you misuse it, so can any other thing that propels an object, hell, a baseball thrown by hand can kill someone, what are ya gonna do, outlaw baseballs and BB guns?! If you use anything in a safe and responsible manner, then there should be no problem with it. Well, I guess I'm toast on this one folks, I'll bet they brand me a wake crackpot gun freak and burn my house down, kill my wife and children and bulldoze the ashes...
I will try to keep posting daily as this unfolds as long as possible. If they burn me, then I will leave instructions with a good friend to post the results of that ordeal, as he will be checking in with me on a regular basis anyway.
a very unhappy camper! ) |-(
September, 1994
From : DAVID SCOTT Number : 392 of 683
Well, well, well, the spudzooka saga gets more and more interesting. A little while ago my neighbor's son came over on his bicycle to tell me to meet his dad in the alley in a few minutes. Hmmm, I thought, that was a new one on me. I assumed that he just bought a new gun and wanted to show it to me but did not want to walk down the street with it. Well, a few minutes later he shows up walking through the alley. We stood around out back and he told me that the ATF had called him about two weeks ago and questioned him for over two hours about me. They asked him if I was making explosives! Har! Now that's funny! what sort of idiot do they take me for?! They asked him about the books that I sell. He told them that the books I sell are just U.S. Army Field Manual reprints that are exactly the same thing everyone else sells all over the country. Big deal! They asked him if I was making machine guns, converting hand grenades, trafficking in firearms, etc. etc. etc.... They told him that they knew I had a hand grenade or two. He said, "So what, it's a dummy hull that his son plays army with, my son has one too, you can buy them at any Army surplus store in the country for $4.00 each, what's wrong with that?" They asked him how many guns I own, what type are they, where do I keep them, how many loaded clips do I keep handy, how much ammo total I have and where is it located, how much gunpowder/primers/empty shells/bullets do I have and where do I keep it, do I keep my guns in a vault, in the open locked, or in the open unlocked, do I keep the guns loaded, do I teach my children and wife to use firearms, why I own night vision gear, why do I and my son wear camo BDU's all the time, what are my political and religious views, would he consider me to be a radical anti-government type, who my friends are, how often do my friends come over, has he ever seen me or other people taking firearms in and out of my house, has he ever heard me mention anything illegal, has he ever seen me do anything illegal, has he ever seen any books or publications at my house that tell how to make or convert weapons of any sort, has he ever seen any publications of any sort in my home that could be considered subversive and or anti-government, do I ever talk about the government and if so what do I say, am I a member of any religious/cultist/radical or para-military groups, (note of humor here, on that question he told them my son was a member of a para-military group, THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA!! Har har snicker grin!) anyway, they asked if I used/sold/made drugs, do I drink/how much/what kind/ how often, has he ever heard my children ever say anything derogatory about the president or the government, why my Suburban is painted camo, why I paint all my stuff either flat black or camo colors, why does my yard and house look ragged out, where do I work, where does my wife work, how much money do I make and where do I buy my military gear, how much military gear do I own, what type of gear do I own, where do I keep it, why do I own a camper, do I have property in the country, how much property do I own and where is it located and what is it worth and how did I pay for it, if he ever heard me mention burying weapons and if so, did I show him or tell him where, and last but not least, how often do I go shooting, where, and how good of a shot am I!!!!
Well folks, it's a sad state of affairs when you have to meet your friends in the alley, sneaking around like the KGB is watching and waiting for you to fart so they can charge you with discharging an ass- ault weapon in public.
I guess I need to call them over and invite them in to see that everything I own is 100% legal and that I have nothing to hide from anyone. Maybe while they are over I'll offer them a beer and educate them about the way things are, I might even tune in the shortwave and really give them something to think over.
I really resent this, if they need to know something, why the hell don't they just ask me?! I have nothing to hide and I'll be glad to tell them whatever they want to know, but damn it, it ticks me off that they are going around to my neighbors painting me as some kind of nut case! Of course my friends know better, but my neighbors don't know me at all being that I keep to myself and don't bother them or anyone else, so how are they to know elsewise? Next thing I expect is that they will yank my kids out of school one day soon and put thier feet to the fire to see what kind of beans they can scare them into spilling. A few weeks ago, some guy came into the store where my wife works and asked her if she could get a gun for him. She told him that I might be able to tell him where he could get one, but she did not give him our number. Next thing I know, this guy (who I never met) started calling two or three times a day asking for my wife. After the second day, I got a belly full of this stuff and I asked him what he wanted to talk to MY wife for. He told me that she had told him I could get him a gun. I told him to go to a gun store and buy one, that I DON'T sell guns and that he was barking up the wrong tree. We hung up and I figured that that was that. Well, he continued to call so I called the phone company and got call blocker and that was the end of his calling here. A week later we found out that the guy was a police snitch and had rolled over on all his friends on drug charges to keep his rear out of jail, so I assume the police gave him our name and number so they could go on a fishing expedition and catch more fish. This was not the end though, there have been several people go to where my wife works and struck up conversations with her about the government and guns and told her that they would like to meet me. This is awful damn odd considering she wears a butchers smock not BDU's to work. Where do these people get the idea that she might be even remotely interested in such subjects anyway? I would say it is obvious that they have targeted me and are scraping the bottom of the barrel for the tiniest thing to get me if they can.
In general, this whole thing sux truckloads of donkey wangs! I would not be suprised to find bugs in the house. I would put money on it that my phone is tapped now, heck, two of my friends won't use their phones to talk to me anymore, they will only talk to me in person and outside at that.
Well, as this dumb stuff unfolds I'll try to keep everyone up to date...
later my friends... ):-(