Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Previously Gunsite Gossip
Vol. 2, No. 3 1 March 1994 (continued)

________________________________________

Did you notice the attempt by the media to characterize Tonya Harding as low-brow because she hunts deer? I suppose there are plenty of people in the megalopolis who truly consider deer hunting to be a low-brow pastime. This is yet another testimony to the fact that many of our people - especially our city slickers - have completely lost whatever sense of historical continuity they may have had.

Anyone who takes the trouble to investigate the matter will find out that in a cultural sense big game hunting has always been considered a high-brow activity. Hunting, rather than horse racing, is in truth "The Sport of Kings." We cannot, of course, expect the media to understand that.
________________________________________
Having been called to task on the point, I must correct an impression I put out previously to the effect that the air bags in an automobile can be deployed by a swift kick to the front bumper. Apparently it takes more than that. I am told by people in the business that a blow sufficient to deploy the air bags in a Mercedes Benz will render the car undriveable. (This might not be true of all makes and models. We hear of a demonstration in England where a car thief deployed the air bags from the outside, which invalidated the automatic locking system, thus permitting him access to the interior.)
________________________________________
To the best of my knowledge and belief, Lon Horiuchi, the man who shot Vickie Weaver in the face with a sniper rifle while she was holding her baby in her arms, is still walking around loose. If I am wrong in this assumption, please let me know.
________________________________________
There is a good side to everything, it appears. The recent series of cold snaps in Washington pretty well shut down the operation of the government for several days at a time.
________________________________________
A lady of our acquaintance, who lives alone, has asked us what sort of instrument is best for house defense in her case. To me the answer is easy: The "Lupara," a double-barreled 12-gauge shotgun with exposed hammers and short barrels. I understand the term Lupara is Sicilian and means approximately "wolf killer." Such a piece is enormously authoritative, it is easy to use, it requires minimal training in its management, and it may be left loaded and uncocked indefinitely on the closet shelf. The only precaution is to seal the muzzles with scotch tape or cotton wool to avoid the building of nests in the barrels by little varmints.

Such items are available from Rossi and Baikal, though you may have to hunt around for them at gun shows. Usually they are very reasonable in price.