Gunshots on Kaloli Point

[EightFingers]

Heard five this morning at about 7:48.

[TomK]

I was sound asleep at that time and nothing woke me up, nor have my neighbours mentioned anything. Could you tell roughly where they were coming from? I often hear shots right out on the point or on the cliffs on the northern part of the point and always assumed they came from people hunting pigs or just firing for fun out towards the ocean.

[EightFingers]

Tom,
Sounded like they were coming from the end of Pilikai road.

Sorry I didn't reply sooner!

[pam jones]

Years ago when I asked about gun shots being fired in a neighborhood I was told it was for one of two reasons: 1.Pig hunters, though that is usually preceded by barking dogs or...2. "Local kine divorce", and interference by haoles is neither wanted or accepted. I come from a state in which one has the right to carry firearms and never heard them discharged in a neighborhood, until I moved to paradise.

[Kelena]

There's a guy doing some construction and he does it early in the morning for some reason. Sounds like gun shots.

[MBB]

Let's see, gun shops always busy, doing a good trade , lots of responsible gun owners on east side (check gun crime stats)
Lot's of hunters who contribute a ton of money to DNR via federal mandated tax. But oh my god no where on east side to legally shoot your gun. Pistol range in Hilo raised prices to tourist only prices, DNR cracking down on spot off saddle road. Private clubs that only cater to who they deem elite.
Big potential money maker for state/county, but like puna pay plenty tax, with nothing in return. No wonder people are shooting guns at night illegally, gotta get the rust out of the barrel from sitting in the safe. I know there is a trap only county range, but not everybody into shotgun only.

[Kapoho Joe]

Hear Hear for fornications sake!

Somebody could make a mint buying up a lonely stretch of lava and dozing it into a range. Wouldn't even need to be long gun friendly, but sure would be nice if it was. Getting older and I wonder about my muscle memory sometimes. Would be nice to hit what I was aiming at!

[birdmove]

I'm with you on the gun range situation here. I haven't fired a smokeless powder burning gun since I moved here 4 years ago now. This is in general a poor state for shooters.

What I did was, maybe 2-3 years before we moved, I had got into air guns. You can get air rifles and handguns that absolutely require the same skills as firing a "real" gun, and you can do it in your yard safely, and even indoors in a garage or hallway. Proper pellet trap required. The better air rifles are good to 25, and, in some cases, 50 yards. I do most of my target shooting at 10 yards. Side benefit is, I eliminated at least most of the rat population that were getting into my chicken coop at night. Bought a small red led flashlight, strapped it on the barrel, set a lawn chair up at a pre-measured 7 yards distance, had the gun zero'd at same, and shot a bit downward so the pellet, if I did miss, would go into either a 2x6 baseboard, or some thick plywood, and went out about 8:00-8:30 at night. I used either a .177 or a .22 caliber multi pump air rifle and carbine. No more rat sign in our coop. I like a quiet air gun for obvious reasons. Used one of these to take out two wild trouble making roosters a couple years ago too. Gave the roosters to my neighbors to eat. Mostly I just target shoot. On a good day, I can get 10 yard 3 shot groups (at least some) into one tiny hole the same size as the caliber I am shooting (.177 or .22). Keeps my shooting skills sharp.

Jon in Keaau/HPP

[pahoated]

Hunting is a large segment of tourist and subsistence locals. Generally, long range rifle hunting is more acceptable than pistols for pleasure. There are several ranges and gun clubs for that. The hunting tours are out in wide open spaces, hunting around Beaches road would be inconsiderate. Sometimes there are pigs in the backyard and the only thing to do is shoot them.
http://www.cabelasoutdooradventures.com/...range.html

"Aloha also means goodbye. Aloha!"

[terracore]

When people hear "air rifle" they think of the Christmas special "you'll shoot your eye out" Red Ryder BB gun, more like a toy for kids. But the engineering on modern air rifles has exploded. Is that a pun? One company even makes a .50 big game hunting rifle. Crosman makes a .357 air rifle called the Bull Dog, and there are other PCP rifles (Pre-Charged Pneumatics) in a variety of calibers. They work by pre filling an air chamber to 3000 PSI so you will need SCUBA equipment or special pumps to use the rifle but once its charged it functions semi-auto for about 15 shots at full power. These are serious hunting rifles (not toys) suitable for taking large hogs, sheep, and goats. They aren't silent, but certainly a lot quieter than a traditional firearm. Air rifles in this category generally cost more than traditional firearms and surprisingly any caliber above about .25 the ammo doesn't cost a lot less than gunpowder variety even though all you're getting is a pellet with no casing or propellant.

Other than PCP rifles, you can still get break barrel rifles up to .25 that can be cocked the traditional way, though their muzzle energy is significantly less. They are more suited to smaller game and varmints. The .22 pellet guns are probably the best trade off in this category since the .177 don't have a lot of mass and the .25 velocity isn't impressive. These rifles cost less than half of the PCP price and not surprisingly have 1/2 less take down power. Like a shooter mentor taught me, double the caliber and you'll double the impact, double the speed and you'll quadruple the impact.