.243 Winchester (courtesy midway.com)

“Autumn Lee Kaufmann, 21, of the 800 block of Stone Church Drive in Upper Mount Bethel, at 1:15 a.m. Sunday allegedly began fighting with her boyfriend at her home over a social media posting,” lehighvalleylive.com reveals. The police report doesn’t specify the exact nature of her boyfriend’s Facebook post. The digital micro-aggression was egregious enough to trigger Ms. Kaufmann’s temper, which soon turned violent . . .

“Pennsylvania State Police in Belfast say Kaufmann punched the man in the head several times and pointed a .243-caliber hunting rifle at him.”

The .243 Winchester cartridge is an extremely versatile necked-down .308 round. Depending on how many grains of powder are on board,.243 Winchester’s a good choice for offing small varmints up to most things four-legged. As for ruining the day of a two-legged (I’m thinking) three-sheets-to-the-wind Facebook blabbermouth, yeah, that’ll do (pig). And here’s the kicker:

Kaufmann alleges in court records the couple was “just joking around” and they point rifles at each other “all the time.”

You know that Safety Rule that says “never point a firearm at something you’re not willing to destroy”? I have a sneaking suspicion that both Ms. Kaufmann and her boyfriend were following that one. Anyway, as long as you don’t put your finger on the trigger, the other Four Gun Safety Rules don’t apply, amirite? (Hint: no I’m not.)

If this little contretemps had happened in New York, Ms. Kaufmann’s statement about the couple’s rifle pointing habit would have led to the immediate seizure of all firearms involved. As it stands, it looks like Kaufmann’s love interest keeps his rifle, while his main squeeze faces charges of simple assault, making terroristic threats, reckless endangerment and harassment.

I wonder if Kaufmann’s boyfriend will post a link to this post on his Facebook page. You know; in the interests of firearms safety. Would it help if we sent some IGOTD hardware for his mantlepiece? Messenger me! It’s the responsible thing to do!

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31 COMMENTS

  1. Terroristic threats? Really. The assault and reckless endangerment charges make perfect sense, but didn’t terrorism once have something to do with violence as a means to promote political or social change?

  2. Guns N’ Roses – I Used To Love Her

    “I used to love her,
    but I had to kill her
    I used to love her,
    but I had to kill her…

    I had to put her, six feet under…
    and I can still hear her complain.

    ~snip~

    She bitched so much,
    she drove me nuts…
    And now we’re happier this way, alright
    whoa yeah…”

    *sniff*

    A true love song…

      • “This was a song about having to put his dog down. .”

        Oh, great.

        That’s just fvcking great.

        Now you’ve forever ruined it for me…

        *sob*

      • Actually no. Intro to the song on the album tells you it is make believe, however “SHE” , while a true bitch, hence the desire to kill her, was of the human variety.

        Live era 87-93 Disc 1

  3. My hunting load for the .243 is an 80 grain tsx copper bullet at 3200 fps. It shoots flat and hits hard.

    It will definitely cause a problem at trailer ranges.

  6. A .243 would go \though the boyfriend, the wall, and into the next door trailer without much trouble. Autumn should be locked up until at least summer.

    • I wouldn’t be so certain of that. I’ve seen heavier loads stop in mammals which are not much bigger than a human.

      My friends and I process our own game. It is a great way to actually see what various loads can and cannot do in living fresh.

      Also, why I’m at not swayed by gel testing on ammo choices. I’ve seen the same round, which zipped though gel testing, stop inside 150lbs> doe or wild pig.

  7. I’ve got some loads for my .243 that scream out of the barrel at just over 3900 fps.

    I don’t shoot those much, as I value my rifle barrel.

    The load that shoots best in my rifle is Cor Bon with a 70 grain bullet that moves at a mere 3400 fps.

    Of course, the downside to the .243 is barrel wear. They are notorious when it comes to short barrel life.

    • I guess it would all depend on what one considers “heavy” or “light” use on a hunting rifle.

      A single 20 round box can last me several seasons, from checking zero to last animal downed. But then again, I don’t use my bolt guns for recreational shooting.

      So, to me, one barrel could last a life time, or three.

    • You do realize that when people talk about “worn out” barrels they usually are talking about the point where groups open up from .25moa to .5moa, or when they have to start chasing the throat by loading rounds a couple thousandths of an inch longer, or velocity falls off by more than 25-50fps for a given load. Most factory rifles aren’t even capable of enough accuracy to start with to even tell when the barrel is “shot out” until the bullets start key-holing which I assure you is probably more than several lifetimes of shooting for your average hunter. For all intents and purposes you will almost never truly shoot out a barrel on any general purpose hunting rifle, at least not the point that is matters for the job at hand.

  10. OK, young guys. Listen up.

    I keep telling young guys: Never stick your johnson in crazy.

    But some of you keep listening to the smaller head. On this one, you really need to pay attention to the advice we older men keep offering. First piece of advice: There are a number of women out there who are just crazy. Not “oh, she’s spontaneous and unpredictable!” but “I came home and found my pets turned into sashimi” type of crazy. They’re born that way. No amount of pills prescribed by some pshrink is going to turn these women into anything other than crazy. They’re nuts, and they need to be locked up, but absent that, you young guys just need to be somewhere else other than in her orbit.

    Most all of us old guys who have made it to old age have seen a number of friends and buddies ruined, injured or killed (yes, killed) by crazy women. This issue isn’t anything new, guys. Even the Old Testament of the Bible makes mention of disagreeable women; check out Proverbs 21:9.

  11. My state’s main newspaper runs on-line pictures of, mostly kids, with fish and game in the outdoors section. A common sight is a 12-year-old girl with her first whitetail buck. About 99% are shooting .243s.

    • I like (and sometimes recommend) the .243 for that reason. For a little bit more recoil (not much), going to a 7mm08 gives a hunter a lot more capability at the heavier end. A 7mm08 loaded with a 150 to 160gr pill is capable of taking down an elk at closer ranges.

      Both the .243 (6mm) and 7mm (.284) have an excellent choice of bullets for both the hunter and the marksman.

  12. “Even the Old Testament of the Bible makes mention of disagreeable women; check out Proverbs 21:9”

    Fortunately I have never had this problem at home. On the other hand, I have had to fire them at work. I carried concealed during the “discussion” because I really was concerned about what crazy would do, even with a third party in the room, and even though weapons are not allowed at work.

    • I suggest you expand your policy to include having a handgun within reach when you terminate anybody, not just the easier to categorize crazy female. Getting fired can cause even the most seemingly mentally stable person to become irrational. Their perception is their reality, and they may perceive you’re better off dead….

      • I agree. I would only add that something good not happening can trigger someone as easily as something bad actually happening.

        We recently had a workplace murder in Houston after a man murdered his new boss because he thought he should have been promoted to that position.

        That incident weighed on my mind because I have an employee retiring in 2016. Recently, I announced to his team who among them would be promoted to his position when he leaves. A person not selected thought they were due for that promotion and promptly contacted me after the conference call to express their displeasure.

        As it turns out, he’s a good man, too, and I have even better plans for him in 2016 than just the next step position he’d expected. Still, he didn’t know that, so conceivably he could’ve gone postal over the initial disappointment.

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