What a clown

Chiparus

Very lucky, if this guy shot someone , we could all be losing our licences.

I hope he is given a custodial sentence.

17hmr1

And that's the problem when anything bad happens with people who are licensed for firearms.When a drunk driver kills people we never hear people saying let's ban cars because we all know that's a stupid reaction to a **** individual.

When someone does a **** thing with a firearm we get people saying stupid things like ban all guns as if everyone with a gun is the same.

John_Rambo

Unable through disability or even cravenness or fear... fair enough, but trying is what any decent person should or would do. I'm no rambo (despite my tough internet name!), but if you see a kid in harm you jump in. I've done it (not against a dog, but with human scum) and ended up with an expensive dentist bill and a black eye. But we all do it without really thinking.

JP22

End of day most of us make a few mistakes along the way, lord knows I have make a few, its human nature and par for the course, most of our infractions are minor and irreverent in the greater schemes of things and most do not harm or have a potential to cause harm to people.

However, in this case, this chap made a major ****-up (apologies for my French & Spelling) and needs to be dealt with accordingly.

A fraction of an inch either way and someone could have been seriously injured or killed, it could have been my family or it could have been one of yours, your Wife, Husband, Child, Mother, Father, Brother, Sister etc,…………. pause and think of that for a moment.

And before anyone asks or implies that I’m on a high and mighty stool, I’ll say NO, I’m not. I and colleagues been shot at on numerous occasions in the past (sa, gpmg, rpg, arty/mor/tank/Ied’s, etc….), and I've see the danage firearms can do, TBTG I survived and came home, some serving colleagues have not. RIP for them.

I will not be his judge or jury as I am totally biased and believe he should do time and be barred from ever again holding a firearm.

Lads, this is not something to be trivialised, some idiot(s) having a few too many beers is fine for the most part, but if you can’t hold your beer, can’t hold your temper, or your drug of choice (illegal anyway) then you should not hold or never be granted access to firearms. Shite like this will do untold damage to our pastime/sport and it gives more credence to all the antis out there.

Regardless of one’s past or past heroics, we are all judged by our last mistake, end of.

Just my tuppence worth.

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118552529#Comment_118552529

People should. But they don’t always in the moment. People panic and do reactionary things. Like running to get a bucket of water.

I’d be far less concerned about stepping in with a human than a pitbull personally. I’d want a stick or something for the latter. But of course, if there isn’t one you just hope for the best.

cj maxx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118552529#Comment_118552529

Same. I intervened to a row years ago in Dublin, where a 30+ and his scallywags was threatening a 13/14 yo.

I swung for his jaw but slipped, catching him full on his throat. Everyone scarpered. That was when I could run. Couldn't do it now though.

dmc17

https://www.rte.ie/news/courts/2022/0201/1277127-stephen-dowling/

8 years

useurowname

Fair enough. He could count himself very lucky he didn’t shoot anyone, or indeed end up shot himself.

JP22

So the judge has ruled in this case, eight years, fine it he serves all of it, but, with remission and time off for good behaviour, etc. he’ll probably serve five years at best, maybe less.

As said by others, he can count himself very lucky in that he didn't kill or injure anyone and he is alive, in other jurisdiction’s he would have been shot on the spot by the police.

The real punishment will be never again being a member of a game club (what club/range would admit him as a member now) and he will probably never hold a firearms license again.

As the old saying goes - If you play with fire or pull a dogs tail often enough, you will suffer the consequences.

slipperyox

Interesting to see that an aggravated factor, was that it was a licensed firearm. In other words the judge saw it as also a breach of trust.

That sounds counter intuitive at first, but the more you think, right.

Effects

What calibre was the rifle he had? And what is actually considered high power? I presume one like is used in certain types of deer stalking.

J.R.

Also, keeping a deer hunting rifle in a parked car overnight was not a wise, safe practice.

useurowname

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118566936#Comment_118566936

Considerably safer than getting out of your mind on booze and coke and shooting up a town. In fairness the judge commented that owing to the firearms controls in place in Ireland incidents such are extremely rare.

Melodeon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118566884#Comment_118566884

According to the Irish Times report, it was a Tikka T3X.

That range of models is available in all the usual deer-legal calibres, and as he was after (as reported) red deer, it's most likely at the upper end of such things: something in the .30" family or 6-7mm I'd suspect.

"Powerful" by any reasonable definition.

And obviously WAY more so than the usual "high-powered" beloved of the mass meejia: an EBR in .223Rem/5.56x45.

Grizzly 45

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118567081#Comment_118567081

I wonder has the Rt honourable judge considered that despite firearms controls in Ireland, which are THE strictest in the EU, his regular customers of the criminal class are not too encumbered by these controls in acquiring, or shooting fellow criminals with much more lethal intent and hardware than a deer rifle?He is dealing with an aberration here and one that whatever legislation in place would never have prevented.

8 years..Be out in 4 on parole and good behaviour.

kunekunesika

Every thing about what he did or nearly did was wrong. Jail time, obviously, but I can't help feeling that a person know to the gardai, in possession of a 9mm Glock and a 1kg of cocaine would have got a much lower sentence? How long is needed as punishment?

Cocaine ruins so many lives in this country, and we still report shipments in terms of millions of euros, and not number of fatal doses.

Thankfully if I was heading to Donegal for a stalk, Id spend my spare 100e on new trousers. I wish he had.

useurowname

The judge stated that the matter of the gun license was a matter for the licensing authority. My point was that the judge at least gave a nod to the strict conditions to legally have guns in this country.

As for the criminal classes” and their propensity for murder with guns my thinking would be that the vast profits available from cocaine dealing is by far the biggest driver of the mayhem that accrues from greedy criminals feuding. Interesting that a young man of seeming good character on a family hunting trip brings a gram of coke along to have after with a few scoops, such now is the normalisation of cocaine use in society.

Chiparus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118567493#Comment_118567493

Madatory min of 10 years for unlawful possession of a firearm?

kunekunesika

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118567902#Comment_118567902

Shows how crap my legal knowledge is??? If thats what they're handing out, then my opinion doesn't stack up.

alex90

I've heard through a friend that the ARU got lost on the way to responding to the shout, and that if he'd had any more ammo on him they would have shot him. He's a very lucky boy indeed.

Effects

How did they know whether he had any more ammo or not?

alex90

Not a clue, just heard it through a mate who knew someone on the ARU team. He'd been lifted just before they arrived apparently.

fritzelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118568896#Comment_118568896

Source being FB per chance?

alex90

No, source being exactly what I explained in my previous post.

ace86

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118568896#Comment_118568896

Where would the nearest ARU unit be to that place I presume it’s nearly 2/3 hrs away?

alex90

Milford, over an hour away, according to the paper

Gorgeousgeorge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118533618#Comment_118533618

i wont judge him not my place just the fact of the matter it fcuks up everything for the rest of us law abiding hunters/target shooters.

BattleCorp1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118568484#Comment_118568484

Don't believe everything you hear.

tonysopprano

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118567902#Comment_118567902

No such thing as mandatory sentencing in Ireland. Our learned judges have decided that sentencing is their remit and nothing the foolish politicians can do about that. Just look through drugs cases where it is mandatory 10years for more than €13000, but up to the judges discretion

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118566884#Comment_118566884

I don’t think the calibre was stated. But .243-.308 is the assumption.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118568712#Comment_118568712

It's nothing to do with them knowing. He stopped and surrendered because he ran out of ammo. Implication being had he more ammo, he may have continued until the ERU/ARU arrived, and which point they would likely have returned fire.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118569180#Comment_118569180

The getting lose bit might be nonsense, probably just response time. The rest is pretty plausible.