I think Jeri and Taciwhatsit,that the message might be if weapons were harder to find the time searching might cool tempers, there will always be nutters but easy access makes people blase(?)about the things. It would be interesting to the stats on injuries a deaths due to accidental discharge and mistaken identities (humans for bears) whilst our family were farmers for years and reared animals for slaughter I have issues with killing things you can't eat for pleasure. I have a friend who's late father shot pheasants and gave them to us because he didn't like pheasant, on the other hand when the hunters were duck shooting on our land my father stopped them as soon as they had a bird each (before freezers and fridges....uk!)he claimed it was his larder, better live than dead. i remember a visiting canadian relative, also a farmer, telling us that his most important job on the farm was to paint in large letters C O W on the side of his beasts before the hunting season began!