The Republic of South Africa is awash in guns. The country may only rate 17th in the international firearm ownership league table, but that’s the only the official tally. The RSA has more illegal guns than Sweden has beautiful blonds. And, get this, plenty o’ gun laws. True story; South Africa is down with civilian disarmament. Not that the government has the ability or interest in implementing the laws regarding purchase and possession. Or that citizens follow then. Actually, I lie. There are people who jump through the requisite hoops. Like . . . accused murderer Oscar Pistorious. Which is kinda funny peculiar, as the press has gone out of its way to portray the blade runner as JAGN (Just Another Gun Nut). To wit, our gun-crazed colleagues at the AP . . .
JOHANNESBURG — In his Olympic year, Oscar Pistorius steadily became an avid firearms collector, joining a gun-collecting club and purchasing a collection of firearms that included a .500 Magnum pistol dubbed by its manufacturer as “the most powerful production revolver in the world” and a civilian version of a military assault rifle.
At the end of 2012, in the first blush of his romance with Reeva Steenkamp, the model he later shot and killed, Pistorius got deeper into his hobby. It was known that Pistorius liked guns but only now, from Associated Press interviews with other collectors, is it becoming clear the extent to which he became a dedicated firearms aficionado in the 12 months before he shot Steenkamp.
Cut to the chase shall we?
Pistorius eventually applied for the licenses in January, according to the National Firearms Center. It listed his weapons as:
• A Smith & Wesson model 500. With a caliber of .500 Magnum, it is called “the most powerful production revolver in the world” by its manufacturer in Springfield, Massachusetts. “A hunting handgun for any game animal walking,” the company’s website says. Pistorius was “quite fascinated” with that particular weapon, Beare said.
• A Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver.
• Three shotguns: A Mossberg, a Maverick and a Winchester, all American makes.
• A Vektor .223-caliber rifle.
Not included on this list: the 9mm pistol Pistorious used to kill Reeva Steenkamp. Which would bring his firearms “collection” to a total of seven firearms.
The article concludes with a “debate” on whether or not the homicidal athlete’s firearms stash qualifies as a “collection.” The clear implication: possessing more than a couple of firearms makes the owner inherently suspicious. Potentially murderous.
Stuff and nonsense. The number or type of guns an individual owns does not indicate a predisposition towards crime. How many gang bangers and psycho killers own six guns? And even if the majority do, which I doubt, what difference does that make, exactly?
In fact, I reckon any law-abiding gun enthusiast who doesn’t own at least five firearms—a carry pistol, beside pistol, home defense shotgun, hunting or target shooting shotgun and a rifle—is denying themselves the range of tools they need to stay safe, gain expertise and have fun.
These journalists and gun grabbers really need to get out more.
Hell, I carry almost that many guns in my car!
And I’ll almost bet you I carry more ammo than Pistorius had in the car as well.
After all, those zombies aren’t going to kill themselves.
John
All the zombies are in Washington D.C. Let’s try using the ballot box before the cartridge box.
That hasn’t worked, lets get to the cartridge box part, I’m growing tired of watching these buttheads play the disarming dictator.
Your name is now on the list of suspected domestic terrorists, just letting you know that…
Although everyone’s here probably has been for some time…
What does the size of any collection have to do with your mental state?
I collect bicycles from the 60’s and 70’s and have over 150 right now. Maybe I shouldn’t use that as an example, the Missus thinks I’m nuts.
So Oscar liked guns, that doesn’t make him a “bad” guy. The fact he gunned down his girlfriend does though.
you would have to be nuts and mentally unstable (retarded?) to NOT be armed in South Africa.
Two words (and one good movie), “Zulu Dawn”.
I wonder if she could get them to jiggle any more? Excuse me, I got distracted. Those are some nice guns though, Randy
1 gun:Armed and Dangerous
4 guns: Certified collection.
7: overcompensating right wing whitey nutcase.
8 + : Enemy of the State.
The Media Guide to Firearms, 2013 Ed.
Certified Enemy of the State, myself! WOOT!
That thing is fv@% ugly. Looks like the b@stard child of a Tavor and FN2000 after it spent a little time in an oven and was hand molded while still warm. Is there some sort of art movement in firearms production that I dont know of?
It’s from the ‘Persistence of Bullpups’ collection by Dali Arms…
Ha, nice! I guess if it was done up in an Andy Warhol style painting it could be called a beautiful disaster. Id hang it on my wall
I am forced to disagree. I like it. Isn’t it a Croatian design?
South African actually.
Great.
So what’s its *name*?
Vektor CR-21
It’s a Dr. Seuss gun, eh?
Horton hears a KA-BLAM!
the media has a pretty easy job — due to globalization and the fact that there are 7 billion people on earth, there doesn’t have to be more than a few weeks lull before another gun-related issue can come up and they can start beating the drums in favor of gun control. So they can pick up right where they left off when a new tragedy occurs, and reporters who have never shot a gun can advocate inane and unworkable solutions and shift the burden of proof to gun owners for why they should get to keep their firearms. Unsurprising, but it gets so old.
Actually (I believe) he owned one, and had applied for permits to buy more.
Yeah – he didn’t actually have ’em yet.
Yeah…
Exactly. This fact exposes the irrational hysteria over his “gun collection” for what it is, and ought to be shouted from the rooftops.
To my mind, it’s not owning a gun, or, how many, it is what you use them for. Seems he used one of his in, at least, an act of negligent homicide. But, the jury is still out.
Literally.
The case is controversial and the circumstances are suspect, I get it. That said, If I had no legs and I heard noises in my house while in bed I would probably shoot first, even through the doors. Hell, he could run with the best of them, but without the prosthetics, down to a crawl. Innocent until proven otherwise? I’ll stick with that for now.
Thats what you get when you take double barrel joes advice on shooting though doors.
The gun in the pic is a Vector CR21. It is nothing more than a South African manufactured R4/R5/R6 rifle (which is just a Israeli Galil actually) in a fancy/ugly/whatever plastic stock laid out in the bullpup configuration.
and getting a license for one of those is really not easy in the good’ol RS of A these days.
A South African bullpup version of an Israeli copy of a Finnish improvement of the Russian AK.
Now if only a South African company would sell us a modified chassis to fit AKM clones.
Dat CR-21. Vektor FTW.
Ilana Mercer had this http://www.ilanamercer.com/phprunner/public_article_list_view.php?editid1=699
to say about the killing and supposed “paranoia” of being armed in a country teetering on the brink of full scale genocide.
South Africa should be a warning to Americans about what happens when you implement the tyranny of the majority, government paternalism, political correctness, tribalism, and institutional obligatory compensation racism. To say it was better off under Apartheid rule is a understatement.
“How many gang bangers and psycho killers own six guns?”
I read that as “six-guns” and wondered what you were going on about,
Who put the Vektor in the microwave?
What’s our Vector, Victor?
I don’t see why they’re making a big deal about the .500 being so powerful. If there’s any country you can actually use a S&W 500 to its full potential I’d think it would be South Africa.
“The RSA has more illegal guns than Sweden has beautiful blonds.”
Because statements like this don’t make gun owners look tacky at all. And there’s no way linking to threads dedicated to pics and videos of models in the middle of a gun discussion is creepy. Nope, not one bit.
Oh, and it’s especially in bad taste to pull something like that when talking about a guy WHO MURDERED A MODEL. WITH A GUN.
I mean, didn’t we just have a thread about how if people start brawling over ammunition, it’d be like a PR nightmare for gun owners?
I’m from South Africa.
He bought them, yes. But until the license is approved, they stay in the gunshop. Thus, he didnt technically own the AR and the other firearms.
where you americans get all iffy and worked up about a tax stamp and waiting period for a suppressor… that’s the NORMAL waiting period in SA for a normal license and only valid for 10years.
semi-auto rifles are also restricted to dedicated sport shooters and collectors. oscar didnt do IDPA/IPSC/etc, he would never have gotten the license, thus he would never have “owned” one.
also, there are literally 1000’s of tonnes of illegal “struggle era” (apartheid era) proper assault rifles (AK47’s, etc) in circulation in SA. NONE of which have ever been confiscated or surrendered by the supposed “struggle fighters”.
combined with the POLICE and MILITARY “losing” hundreds of full-auto R4 or R5’s (like Galil) each year.
you guys think you americans have it bad? ha! 😉
oscar shot his girlfriend, through a door. “make sure of your target and what’s beyond it”.
he’s going to jail. it’s just a matter of “how long” (murder/manslaughter/etc)
Vektor .223?!? *wantwantwant*
If cars were priced like guns, I’d have a bunch of those as well.
Basically everybody has a decent level of familiarity with cars and they can understand why one person might own an SUV/truck, an efficient little sedan/hatchback, and a sports car. When you have no familiarity with guns, however, it’s very easy to be completely unable to understand why anybody would ever want/need more than one. They all do the same thing just like, if you knew nothing of cars, they all do the same thing as well (get you to your destination). Just like a single knife would properly cover all of your needs in the kitchen and at the dinner table.
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