The murder weapon used in the killing of Charlie Kirk was a Mauser bolt-action rifle in 30-06 with a scope, a make and model of hunting rifle commonly used in North America. I have several left-hand bolt-action rifles topped with scopes in my collection in various calibres. I use them for hunting small game, varmints and big game. I occasionally visit the rifle range to ensure the rifles are sighted in before hunting. I am a good shot. When you choose to kill a game animal, you want to place the bullet in its vital area to ensure a quick, humane death. The suspect in the killing of Charlie Kirk, I will not mention his name, allegedly shot Mr. Kirk in the neck from a distance of two hundred yards. I have no idea of the suspect’s history with guns or whether he was a good shot. Regardless, he succeeded in mortally wounding Charlie Kirk with either a well-placed or a lucky shot. Of course, that is reprehensible. When a hunting rifle is used in a homicide, inevitably, some people blame the rifle, guns and gun owners in general. There is an expectation that I should rethink being a gun owner and hunter because someone used a hunting gun to commit murder.

Let me tell you, no, my conscience is clear. I am not responsible for other people’s reprehensible behaviour. I have been interested in guns and hunting my whole life. As a small boy, I played with toy guns, imagining that I had shot the turkey my family had for Thanksgiving. My father gave me my first lessons on shooting and handling a gun safely when I was eight years old. We used an air rifle in the back garden. My parents gave me an air rifle when I was twelve, and I was free to roam the fields and woodlots where I shot many birds and small mammals. I look back on those days with profound regret. That I did not know any better is a poor excuse, but friends assure me that I should not dwell on it. I long since learned that there is a world of difference between hunting and killing for the sake of killing. So much so that I instill this principle in younger hunters — I am determined to keep them from making the same mistake.

My father gave me my first shotgun, a Savage hammerless single-barreled shotgun in 16 gauge with a 28-inch barrel and a full choke. I shot my first grouse with that gun, on the wing, no less, and I was so thrilled. At the same time, I felt a touch of sorrow for the downed bird. That feeling of triumph and sorrow takes hold every time I bag a game bird or animal. At sixteen, I bought a Browning over and under 12-gauge shotgun with 26-inch barrels and choked skeet and skeet. I shot my first duck with that gun, a hen wood duck, in the 1977 hunting season. At the time, I thought the shotgun was choked in improved cylinder and modified. Once I realized that the choke combination was skeet and skeet, I used the Browning for gunning upland birds. As the years passed, I acquired more shotguns and rifles in different gauges and calibres to use for hunting various species of game birds and animals. Hunting is an ethical choice and pastime I relish and am not going to give up.

Aside from my interest in guns and hunting, my experience with firearms includes the four years I served as a Reservist in the Canadian Army and the summer I worked as an armed embassy guard. I joined the 30th Field Artillery Regiment just shy of my eighteenth birthday. I served until I was honourably released four years later, having transferred to the Princess of Wales Own Regiment in the final year of my military service. As a Militia soldier, I trained with assault rifles and machine guns and set the fuses on artillery shells. As a young man filled with piss and vinegar, I saw military service as an adventure. I was fully prepared to fire a shot in anger if called upon. Now that I am in my sixties, edging into old age, I put a higher value on human life. I could still fire a shot in anger if necessary, but it is the last thing I want to do. You may think it callous of me, but I will continue standing up for my right to own and use guns for legitimate sporting purposes. I can not stop others from misusing guns either carelessly or wilfully, any more than I can prevent others from misusing motor vehicles. I understand that people are killed and injured in shootings and traffic accidents. I do not like it, but accept it as an unhappy fact of life. If I die in a shooting or traffic accident, so be it. What is important to me is that I live my life as I choose, and the risks I take are my business.

Posted by Geoffrey