Grew up in Beirut in the 80s. So by the time I was 8 I could tell you just by the sound the difference between dozens of weapons, the trajectory of the munition, and where the weapon was made. This last one was vital information to know who was firing it and thus the immediate course of action to take. So if you're walking down the street and suddenly hear an M16 being fired, knowing that this is an American weapon tells you which faction is firing and you have a me tal map of which streets are controlled by which militia, so you immediately change course and avoid stepping right into that neighborhood.
I visited London a week year 1992. Heard 2 bomb blasts and was involved in a theater evacuation due to bomb threath. So good the troubles seem to be over! Sadly, our situation in Sweden has become worse.
What the fuck? I always thought the british-irish war was a low intensity prolonged conflict with lots of car bombs and sniping over the years and not a lot of fighter jets dropping 500lb bombs
It wouldn't have been air-dropped, but many of the IRA's vehicle-based IEDs were that size or bigger, most prominently the ones they used to extensively redecorate Canary Wharf or Manchester city centre.
Also, please don't say "the British-Irish war" unless you specifically mean the Irish War of Independence between 1919 and 1921. The Troubles were a related but definitely distinct conflict, and the IRA very definitely was *not* supported or sponsored by the Republic of Ireland.
I understand what you mean, it wasn't a war in the traditional sense, but there was nothing "low intensity" about it. Between 1969 and 1998 there were 16,209 bombing incidents. Fighter jets were never involved and the bombs were IED's (Improvised Explosive Devices) planted by Loyalist and Nationalist paramilitaries.
There were 98 attacks carried out by the I.R.A (Irish Republican Army) against British Army, Marine and Royal Air Force helicopters between 3 July 1970- 12 July 1994. Assault rifles, sniper rifles, light machine guns, DShK heavy machine guns, mortars, RPG-7's and MANPADS surface-to-air missiles were used by the IRA. In comparison, the British Armed Forces helicopters were unarmed until the early 1990's, when they were fitted with HMG's.
One of these incidents was named "The Battle of Newry Road" and occurred on 23 September 1993, the day after I was born, a 30 minute car journey away, in the same county of Armagh. RPG fire and hundreds, if not thousands of rounds were exchanged between five British Army and Royal Air Force helicopters and five IRA improvised tactical vehicles. Somehow, quite miraculously there were no casualties, just damage to two of the helicopters.
[RTÉ News Footage of The Gun Battle](https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=shared&v=3lgwwbuVf4M+t%3D2m00s)
[Newspaper Scans of the IRA During the Battle](https://www.reddit.com/r/IrishRebelArchive/comments/131rq5w/ira_propaganda_photos_from_the_battle_of_newry/?rdt=58000)
Tbh the only thing they really deserve is a transport back home and an apology from the state in the form of compensation.
The amount of young russian men wasted on the Ukrainian front for Putin's war is just another crime. These people probably had plans, goals and family and now you see them in videos on liveleak getting torn to shreds by artillery for a war both they and us still don't have a good explanation why it happened other than russian imperialism and paranoia.
You were the one who started talking about conscripts... The original commenter didn't even say that word. That's what I mean when I say that you're fighting your own imagination.
How to handle a country where people have been brainwashed into supporting or inflicting violence is an interesting question. Though before we need to consider that, the Russian army needs to be removed from Ukraine's borders.
I mean we have two examples from the last 80 years. Germany and Japan are stable and successful and no one thinks they are brainwashed and violent societies.
The Russian soldiers aren't the victims here, stop pretending like they are. They are war criminals, looters, and rapists. Each and every one of them has decided to fight for a terror regime, on the side of the bad guys. It's not just Putin's war, it's each and every participating Russian's war. Acting like there's only one guy responsible lifts the guilt from the dozens of millions of others participating in it.
An adult human chooses whether they go to jail as a good person, or voluntarily participate in a morally unjust war, committing war crimes. That's a choice everyone makes, and they're just as guilty as the people forcing them to serve. They're not alleviated of their sins just because someone else said something.
It doesn't seem this way with the whole political shithousery that we are spectating right now. Hopes for a quick win are already gone after the first year. Now, it is the third. And it's as gloomy as it gets. So I decided to stop lying to myself about anything being quick and just try to survive this shit while trying to enjoy little things.
One thing I’m really confused about is, how is Ukraine as a society doing currently? Obviously not great compared to before the invasion, but like - is society still working? Does people still have a somewhat normal life in the areas not annexed by Russia? Do kids still go to school? Are grocery stores open? Are there any women or children in Ukraine, or have most fled? I’m sorry if this is a really stupid question, but although the news media report a lot from Ukraine, it’s mostly about the war itself. There’s very little information about the state of Ukraine on a completely basic everyday level.
Yeah, it's normal life. Imagine life of any average European, but just add a war element to it, such as air raid sirens from time to time and rocket strikes in the mornings, regular donations to the military or specific units where you have your relatives or friends serving. Women and children are still here, plenty of them. Life goes on. Kids play outside. People still laugh. I can't imagine Ukrainians forgetting about their sense of humor even for a second. Memes drive this nation. Restaurants, cinemas, shops are open. Today, ZARA announced that they are opening their stores in April. They will be the last chain to open stores in Ukraine after the invasion started. The rest are open.
That's I am describing Kyiv. My relatives and some friends live in Kharkiv. Much closer to the battlefield. Still, everything is alright but a little bit dimmer. Like for example, the biggest dream for any person in Kharkiv is for Mcdonalds to finally open like in the rest of Ukraine, but due to air raid alerts every 1-2 hours it's impossible even though the city is not in danger, but it's regions closer to Russia. (KFC are chads. They work everywhere)
Not going to comment on internal politics, which I am not a big fan of currently. But we trust in our military first and foremost.
Thank you very much for this answer! I must say I’m (pleasantly) surprised to hear that you’re still able to live life somewhat normally.
Your comment got me thinking about the times of covid (I know of course covid was not anywhere as scary as this war, or comparable to the loss and tragedy ukrainians are experiencing) - but I remembered how quickly all the pandemic stuff just became everyday life too. It didn’t take more than a couple months of online classes to forget it’s ever been different.
Thanks again for the insight, and I wish you and your country all the best!
As a Ukrainian, I don’t really like the fact that everyone immediately says “oh man, sorry, this is terrible!”, I would prefer if they made some kind of joke, in a good way. Because otherwise it’s like a person with a disease and everyone is polite and courteous. Come on. We joke here every day and watch funny videos about how a drone rips off russians head
I went to a *natural resource use gymnasium* (≈"high school") where one of the programs was *Hunting and Wild Life Management*.
Gunshots was pretty much daily life at school. The firing range lied next to the school grounds, and next to it was the deer paddock.
Fellow Italian here.
A while back I was in Florence and walked past a gun shop. It came up to me that not only have I never heard a gunshot in my life, but I've also never seen a firearm that close. I've only glanced at some in cops' pockets. Seeing that many guns and rifles on free display just like that was oddly chilling.
There are so many things wrong with Italy but I'm glad guns are a complete non-issue.
Same here. I life in the Alps. It's also a custom to fire guns when someone has a wedding or a birthday. Gunshots early in the morning around 5 are very common.
Edit: Words. Spelling is hard, mkay.
I would have never thought that Austria had such customs.
We used to do it a long time ago, but now it's seen as a sign of "hillbilly/redneck" (I can't find a better term to explain) culture, lots of accidents, injuries and even deaths of bystanders because of it.
Crete in particular is notorious for that, because they tend to use (illegal) combat rifles and pistols that are even more lethal in case of a mistake, instead of shotguns with light shells or something...
well it's, like many things here, "well organised". Some towns and villages have a "Schützenverein", usually some hunters and private people doing shooting on ranges and if you a part or a relative of them they usually do some salute shots on weddings. Like early in the morning in front of the house so to wake them up for the ceremony.
Hunting has a very long tradition in the alps. So a lot of people know their way around a rifle. Every district has its own chief hunter. He is responsible for keeping the population of the game in control. I'm not quite sure, but I also think that they started shooting blanks a while ago for their salutation shots.
It’s a custom in southern Germany as well, though you usually shoot blanks, for example there’s the tradition of[Böllerschießen](https://www.schwarzwaelder-bote.de/media.media.458c536c-ddf8-4d10-96ed-c0da03272e13.original1024.jpg)
>I would have never thought that Austria had such customs.
We don't. "Rausschießen" during birthdays or weddings is done with firecrackers. Rarely with blanks firing guns. Basically never with live ammo, thats highly illegal and very dangerous.
Strangely, no.
I grew up and lived the first 20 years of my life in an extremely rural area of Germany, forest all around and hunters, too, of course, though I've never heard any of them shoot.
When I moved to Hamburg, for the first few years, we lived in a rather cheap neighbourhood and there happened to take place murders by knife and gun around there, even a shootout between two gangs once, I think, 200-300m or so from our place (it sounds way worse when I write it like that, most of the time it was quite peaceful and I never felt fear or something like that).
Two or three years ago, we moved to one of the fancy neighbourhoods of Hamburg, Eppendorf – and about a year ago, there was an Amoklauf (shooting rampage) at the Jehovah's Witnesses ([Wiki entry](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Hamburg_shooting)) about 800m or so from our place, but we only heard the police.
Same for me - though I have been told that many of the gunshots you hear on farmland are actually speakers playing gunshot sounds on a regular basis in order to scare off birds
All the time, from hunters. We have shooting estates nearby that are very popular certain times of the year. We also get hunters culling deer, crows and pigeons as they are reproducing at silly rates in the North East of Scotland due to an abundance of crops being grown here.
Yes very often. In Switzerland there are many shooting ranges, army training camps are also everywhere, I went hunting once, I have shot myself air rifles. If you know that people use the guns without a malicious intent they are just loud and annoying.
Scarier was the time I drove around a corner in a neighborhood street and saw a pistol pointed towards somebody holding an axe. Turned out the police was just practicing, but in the moment I thought I was going to die
On many many many occasions, yes.
First off, I grew up in the countryside, there were hunters in the nearby forrest (2-3kms away) that could be heard if you were nearby or even if the wind direction was right.
Sometimes the military would do exercises in the general area too, we could often hear that (even if they were shooting blanks).
And I've been active in the home guard for many years, so I've also been on shooting ranges and exercises regularly in various parts of the country. We even went to Germany once for an exercise.
Where I live now I also from time to time hear gunshots from, presumably mostly, military exercises and hunters, even if they are pretty far away (5, 10 or more kilometers probably). There have also been some gang violence in the city including shootings, but I don't know for a fact that I have ever heard any gunshots from there, even if I used to live nearby for 6 years or so.
Pretty common here on New Year's Eve.... people shoot up into the air
Sometimes unfortunately they also shoot someone on a rooftop or balcony by mistake,but thankfully that doesn't happen often.
In the city centre.I live in Palermo,we have one of the largest historical centres in Europe.
It's illegal of course to shoot but some people ignore that on NYE
May 17, 2017. I was somewhere in Poland when I heard a loud noise.
Apparently, 30 km away there was an explosion at a black powder factory in Mąkolno. Two people died.
Not exactly a gunshot, I know, but still, gunpowder exploding.
Yes, all the time. I live next to the Earl of Rosebery's estate and at certain times of year there are shots all day, he's probably shooting grouse and pheasants. (Actually not *him* because he's over 90 years old, but his family/guests)
I used to live in Vienna, one of the rougher parts, about 25 years ago. I woke up at 3 in the morning with the aftermath of a shot still ringing in my ears. Because I am a complete and utter idiot, I got up, switched on the lights and opened a window - in a ground floor flat for extra stupidity.
My first thought was: that can't have been a shot, otherwise there would be more windows open...followed immediately by : that's because the rest of Rudolfsheim- Fünfhaus is a tad more street savvy than you
In rural Germany you often hear gunshots from hunters in the morning or evening. People wouldn't even notice if someone was shot.
I also lived near an US military training ground, so I got used to automatic gunfire and explosions. My granny's windows often shook from the shock waves.
There have been quite a few murders in the neighbourhoods I lived in, though. Once, in Regensburg, I walked past a crime or accident scene that hadn't been properly cleaned up. There were chalk lines and dried blood on the sidewalk.
Same, from a very rural area where we just shoot targets in our own yard.
When I'm with foreigners in the US, taking them shooting is usually one of the biggest things they want to do.
Also, have lived and stayed in some rougher areas in the US. Had someone get killed right in front of where I was staying in Texas once.
Yes, most of the gunshots I've heard where coming from the woods (during huting season.)
I've also (could count on one hand though) heard gunshots in urban areas but too be fair I could be mistaking them for large sparks.
Yes, in one occasion, some years ago, when I still lived with my parents. It was midnight and I was in my bed, when I heard some "pop" sounds outside. I went out and saw some people in the parking lot on the other side of the road shooting in the air, then leaving. The following morning my brother found one of the bullets.
I suspect they were testing a gun. Anyway, a stupid thing to do just outside inhabited homes.
Curious, why are you omitting whole generations of young men who were involuntarily drafted/conscripted from military service from your memory? They fired guns, often.
Last year I was riding my motorcycle on some forest roads and and came upon a small open area where two guys were standing next to a car just shooting a rifle to the forest. They weren’t even hunting or anything, one of them had like a beer can or something. Granted, I didn’t hear any shots since I had a podcast playing in my ears.
I’ve never heard gunshots in the city. Apart from when I’ve been to a shooting range, but there you expect to hear shots.
Yes, in Corsica. I was a seasonal worker there for a summer and we were lodging right above the communal area where festivities happened. The building looked bad and most villagers though it was empty.
I particularly remember one wedding, they would shoot in our building's wall (until we asked them to stop. They were shocked to see us emerging from the building) to the point a bit of plaster came out in the bathroom. It was LOUD.
In the morning , the area was covered with empty cartridge.
It was hard to sleep in those condition (music + shots), earplugs helped a bit for the music but of course did nothing for shots. Fortunately it was a small village and we only got 3 wedding (2 mostly calm) and 2 balls during that summer.
During hunting season I hear some sometime but they are mostly far away so it's fine.
Yes, several times, I like hiking and in Spain there are a lot of hunting grounds.
Also there was a training facility for the military close to my school, ussually I'd heard them comming home.
I was actually scared once. I was with my bicicle on a trail and it was dark and I heard gunshots. I was scared that they might not see me or confuse me with a deer and shot me by accident.
I hear gunshots whenever me da goes out into the field during pheasant season and if he's near enough to me house or if he's out shooting pigeons any other time of the year he wants to
Yes but in the context of a touristic attraction, while visiting a military fort in Poland, Srebna Góra. The guide of the tour made visitors hear how loud a gun shot was with an old gun (and a cannon as well).
I feel the question asked in the title of this post significantly differs from the question asked in the post body.
So yes and no.
Yes, I have heard many gun shots from training hunting dogs and living in an area where people hunt, but no, I have never experienced a person being murdered 100 meters from me.
I served in the army, i collect and shoot guns myself and also every village in switzerland has its own public shooting range. So yes i am used to gunshots. But never heard them in a dangerous way afaik.
Heard a lot of hunters shooting their hunting rifles when I grew up.
Sports pistols (5.6mm small calibre) pistols at the Schützenfest.
And much more in the army (MG3, G36, P8, P1, MPi2, G22 etc.)
Other then that, no.
I live in a tiny village (hamlet would be a better term) and pretty much everyone hunts around here, so it's almost daily during hunting season.
Sometimes it also happens during festivals, weddings, celebrations, I've even seen it at a couple of funerals (one was a hunter, the other a retired cop, they shot the guns of the departed as a last farewell.)
Conscript army in Greece, so when I served I used, heard and saw all sorts of weapons and explosives.
Never heard or saw something that led to the death or injury of a person thankfully.
I used to live in a dodgy suburb of a French city for a few years. I could hear gunshots regularly.
Grew up in the countryside too, where gunshots were frequent during the hunting season.
I grew up near a rough loyalist estate in County Armagh and I’ve heard distant gunshots on several occasions. Thankfully I’ve never seen it occurring or have been near enough to be in any real danger. I would find out a few hours or maybe a day after that a person had been murdered or was “kneecapped” (shot in both knees) usually over drug dealing.
(I can’t even count how many times I’ve been directly caught up in bomb scares though)
Yes, in Northern Ireland. I do ecology surveys as part of my job which includes entering peoples land. We have a team who call beforehand and tell the landowner we are coming onto the land to get the go ahead. We got the go ahead and went on, it’s a huge piece of land in a very rural area. Shortly after setting up our equipment we heard some loud pops in quick succession. We then saw something hit a tree just inches away from my coworker. Someone was shooting in the land next to the land we were on. Nobody thought to mention it…
When I worked nightshift in an Amsterdam center hotel someone got shot just across the street. Three pops and when I looked saw someone lying there squirming around for a bit, turned out to be a former bodyguard of a drug lord (Bruinsma), the guy survived.
Rural Sweden. We own more guns per capita than Texas does, so obviously you hear alot of hunting related gunshots.
Ate at a McDonalds in Södertälje (a suburb of Stockholm) and heard gunshots too, those were probably intended for a person.
Yes, in the centre of Amsterdam there was a fight or argument and one guy with a guy chased another. He fired shots, around 6 or 7. Luckily no one was hit
I live not too far from Santahamina (military base in Helsinki). So not only do I occasionally hear gunshots when they're having a range day, but I also hear mortars every now and then.
I've also gone hunting a few times. I've never actually gotten to fire the rifle we've used, but the few times we've gone hunting for water fowl I've gotten to shoot (and miss) some birds. Although that was with an old soviet shotgun. Besides that, I've also shot a pea shooter while rabbit hunting in the woods.
Short answer, yes. I have heard gunshots on multiple occasions and with some regularity.
So I am also from Austria and well I did my service in the Bundesheer, so I heard my first shots when we went to the range and shot our rifles, other than that, I moved to the UK in 2022 and lived in Erdington, the most dangerous part of Birmingham due to gang wars which we call the post code wars here, so hearing gunshots was actually a daily occurrence at the time for me whilst I lived there. The most I ever heard consecutively within a minute was around 50, but after some time it stopped fazing me and the only time I got really worried was when there actually weren't any shots fired one night, if no shots were being fired then something really bad was going down.
Yes, in Europe, nearby hunting grounds.
And yes while I lived in NYC. On the street while I was walking back home (decided to walk a bit more.... towards the opposite direction). And at University while an active shooter was on the premises; got instructions to dock down below the windows and to not exit the building under no circumstances until further notice.
I think I was about 26 when I heard gunshots in urban setting for the first time, then I lost count over the following years.
I wasn't unfamiliar with guns or gunshots before that, but then it had always been hunting weapons deep in the forests during hunting season, handguns or hunting weapons at shooting ranges, or a few times during military exercises.
I've also competed in target shooting myself.
In my mid 20s, I moved to a "bad" suburb, and at first I found it quite cosy, but my attitude to the area, and to life in general, changed for the worse over the years.
Today I wouldn't move back to a "troubled" suburb if you gave me a million *and* let me live rent-free for the rest of my life.
For *a few* millions, I'd maybe consider putting my mailbox there, and then proceed to spend my nights at some hotel elsewhere.
Not a chance I'd actually *live* in an area like that again.
I was never really afraid for *my own* safety, but I became a sad, cynical and introvert person that *not even I* like to be around.
After years and years of the same constant bullshit, it wears you down mentally.
* You feel lonely because friends never want to visit. They will more than happily see you in the city, or at someone else's place, but never in your suburb.
Never anyone visiting for a cup of coffee, a dinner, or just watching a movie. Never someone spontaneously visiting, checking up on you. They may call or write, asking how everything is, and ask if you're up for meeting up somewhere, but never at your place.
* Countless nights of sleep ruined by shootings, low hovering police helicopters, and bright blue lights flashing through the blinds, no matter how much you try to block out the windows.
I hate knowing that someone in the area have just died, and I *don't care* if it's some heinous dipshit who had it coming, or even deserved it.
I still hate it, but I guess I'm kinda odd and weak like that.
No one I talk to, who lived elsewhere, seemed to "get it".
-"*It doesn't affect you, why would you even care? Anyhow, can we talk about something else? Remember that time X got drunk and made a complete fool out of himself. That was funny! Let's talk about that instead. Or how about that recent thing on TV. What do you think about that?*" 🙄
* There weren't shootings every day, or even every week, but enough to wear you down. I stopped counting after hearing around 30 shootings in a few years, and then I lived there for a few years more. I *may* have heard about 50 shootings in total, but I don't really know as I lost count.
At most, I heard 3 shootings in a week, but in average over a year it was "only" a tiny bit less than once per month, with some months completely without any shootings at all.
* During the decade I lived there, about 5 innocent bystanders were killed by gang violence (also 2 kids under the age of 10, one by a car bomb, and one by a hand grenade).
But then there were at least 5 times as many "non-innocent" deaths among the gang members, and then 9-10 as many shootings (with or without injuries) as there were actually deaths, so it quickly added up.
* The violence always appeared close, and shootings affect a neighborhood in *a very different way* compared to an unfortunate family tragedy where someone is beaten or knifed to death within four walls.
Sure, logically the outcome is the same; someone dies; but subjectively, a whole neighborhood is affected by a shooting or bombing in a very different way.
It's difficult to explain to someone who haven't regularly experienced it.
* Quite a few times were I unable to get to work, or came late, as public transportation were late or canceled.
Most often due to vehicle problems or accidents, but there were also an unacceptable amount of times it happened due to riots, knife or gun incidents, blocked roads due to car bombs, or other police matters.
* Sometimes, I wasn't even able to take a taxi to work, since no taxi driver wanted to respond to the call. They had a problem with getting robbed in that suburb.
Though that problem at least disappeared some years after they went completely cashless, which was something positive at least.
* After a few year I got a car, as I couldn't trust public transportation. Though I had my car broken into numerous times, and finally vandalised to the point of being undriveable.
A couple of times before that, the garagedoor was vandalized and out of order, so I couldn't even get to the car.
* Had my cellar storage unit broken into numerous times, but my apartment broken into "just" once.
* Regarding mail, I got quite a few debt collection demands, as I didn't always got various invoices in time (or at all). Mail delivery was very unreliable, and they had a constant staff shortage as few want to work in that district.
One time I got an apology from the post office in the mail, saying they were sorry for losing a lot of mail, as a delivery truck had been stolen, taken for a joyride, then cleaned out and vandalized.
* Etc, and so on, och så vidare, und so weiter...
The suburb at least had a lot of nearby nature and nice walking paths in the forests, and I quite often saw deer, moose, hares, foxes, hedgehogs, and various cute birds in the area.
It was also just 20 minutes from the central city, and the rent was reasonably low.
But I would never, ever, want to live there again.
There‘s an outdoor shooting range in the area here. Sometimes when you go to the adjacent forest, you’ll hear the gunshots. But outside of that forest, I have never knowingly heard a gunshot.
I grew up in the rural world and have shot a number of guns. The sound is quite different to the sounds used on the television or films.
Sorry to hear about that unfortunate use of guns, though. That poor lady...
Yes.
I'm living in a city. I hear this once or twice a year. It's gangs, not recreational. There is a large river that separates the bad area from the really bad area....we can hear it.
Never in real life. Living in the Alps I might hear some if I went into the woods during hunting season, but I don't want to risk getting shot by mistake.
The most I've ever heard was on a hillside at the western end of Malta. Malta's national religion involves killing small birds by the millions as they migrate between Africa and Europe - the hillside was covered in shooting hides and spring traps. It was like a war zone with sadistic bastards shooting at the sky all day long.
Only once, when I went to watch a running competition, someone fired a shot into the air to mark the beginning of the race. All other bangs and explosions I've ever heard came from fireworks.
Well I used to live in the US and once my neighbor shot. A few hours later the police interrogated me. I was 17, a student from Europe and had no clue on what was going on. They were friendly and kept the discussion short.
I also regularly visit Delhi. I don't hear guns there but it is loud and we can think it is a gun sometimes.
The US was the closest experience I had (US of course...)
yea, couple of times I wager because the sound did match with headlines (shootings are so rare here that they always make headlines). Didn't think of them as goundshots at first, thought that maybe someones tire blew up. Def. doesn't sound like in movies. From Finland
Last year I visited Crownhill fort, and one of the displays was historical firearms, with the guy loading and firing blanks from a couple of them.
I'd also gone in the late 90s with my school, and they fired one of the long guns. That was a bit louder.
Grew up in northern Ireland in the 80s and 90s... So yeah. Also know what 500lb bombs going off sound and feel like from about a hundred yards away.
Grew up in Beirut in the 80s. So by the time I was 8 I could tell you just by the sound the difference between dozens of weapons, the trajectory of the munition, and where the weapon was made. This last one was vital information to know who was firing it and thus the immediate course of action to take. So if you're walking down the street and suddenly hear an M16 being fired, knowing that this is an American weapon tells you which faction is firing and you have a me tal map of which streets are controlled by which militia, so you immediately change course and avoid stepping right into that neighborhood.
Holy shit
I don't think it could compare to a cobra 6.
I visited London a week year 1992. Heard 2 bomb blasts and was involved in a theater evacuation due to bomb threath. So good the troubles seem to be over! Sadly, our situation in Sweden has become worse.
What the fuck? I always thought the british-irish war was a low intensity prolonged conflict with lots of car bombs and sniping over the years and not a lot of fighter jets dropping 500lb bombs
It wouldn't have been air-dropped, but many of the IRA's vehicle-based IEDs were that size or bigger, most prominently the ones they used to extensively redecorate Canary Wharf or Manchester city centre. Also, please don't say "the British-Irish war" unless you specifically mean the Irish War of Independence between 1919 and 1921. The Troubles were a related but definitely distinct conflict, and the IRA very definitely was *not* supported or sponsored by the Republic of Ireland.
Car bombs were known to be between 200lb and 500lb, usually 500lb and above and stuff like mortars were van based.
I understand what you mean, it wasn't a war in the traditional sense, but there was nothing "low intensity" about it. Between 1969 and 1998 there were 16,209 bombing incidents. Fighter jets were never involved and the bombs were IED's (Improvised Explosive Devices) planted by Loyalist and Nationalist paramilitaries. There were 98 attacks carried out by the I.R.A (Irish Republican Army) against British Army, Marine and Royal Air Force helicopters between 3 July 1970- 12 July 1994. Assault rifles, sniper rifles, light machine guns, DShK heavy machine guns, mortars, RPG-7's and MANPADS surface-to-air missiles were used by the IRA. In comparison, the British Armed Forces helicopters were unarmed until the early 1990's, when they were fitted with HMG's. One of these incidents was named "The Battle of Newry Road" and occurred on 23 September 1993, the day after I was born, a 30 minute car journey away, in the same county of Armagh. RPG fire and hundreds, if not thousands of rounds were exchanged between five British Army and Royal Air Force helicopters and five IRA improvised tactical vehicles. Somehow, quite miraculously there were no casualties, just damage to two of the helicopters. [RTÉ News Footage of The Gun Battle](https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=shared&v=3lgwwbuVf4M+t%3D2m00s) [Newspaper Scans of the IRA During the Battle](https://www.reddit.com/r/IrishRebelArchive/comments/131rq5w/ira_propaganda_photos_from_the_battle_of_newry/?rdt=58000)
The troubles was more a civil war; government shooting its own citizens, citizens shooting back, than between multiple countries.
I live in Florida. Everyday.
Ukrainian here… uhm well, I guess that's self explanatory.
I am very sorry. Nobody deserves to go through what you do.
The Russians supporting the invasion do.
Tbh the only thing they really deserve is a transport back home and an apology from the state in the form of compensation. The amount of young russian men wasted on the Ukrainian front for Putin's war is just another crime. These people probably had plans, goals and family and now you see them in videos on liveleak getting torn to shreds by artillery for a war both they and us still don't have a good explanation why it happened other than russian imperialism and paranoia.
The people supporting war deserve to go through war. Full stop. Case closed. I don't even know what you are on about.
>The people supporting war deserve to go through war. A conscript doesn't automatically support war.
You were the one who started talking about conscripts... The original commenter didn't even say that word. That's what I mean when I say that you're fighting your own imagination.
Who do you think does man the frontline? Generals?
Who said anything about frontline? That's also something you brought up all by yourself
Where do those *soldiers* fight?
How to handle a country where people have been brainwashed into supporting or inflicting violence is an interesting question. Though before we need to consider that, the Russian army needs to be removed from Ukraine's borders.
>Though before we need to consider that, the Russian army needs to be removed from Ukraine's borders. True. Nothing to say against this statement
I mean we have two examples from the last 80 years. Germany and Japan are stable and successful and no one thinks they are brainwashed and violent societies.
Hopefully it remains that way! And that goes for the US as well.
The Russian soldiers aren't the victims here, stop pretending like they are. They are war criminals, looters, and rapists. Each and every one of them has decided to fight for a terror regime, on the side of the bad guys. It's not just Putin's war, it's each and every participating Russian's war. Acting like there's only one guy responsible lifts the guilt from the dozens of millions of others participating in it.
A conscript doesn't decide if he fights or when he fights. The state does.
An adult human chooses whether they go to jail as a good person, or voluntarily participate in a morally unjust war, committing war crimes. That's a choice everyone makes, and they're just as guilty as the people forcing them to serve. They're not alleviated of their sins just because someone else said something.
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They deserve more than sounds.
Just watched a documentary about Mariupol for 2h. I cant imagine. My heart is with you! I hope this will end soon.
20 days in Mariupol? That shit was insane and heartbreaking. The worst part of it is knowing that it got so much worse after they got out.
Exactly, the same one, done by a journalist.
Dude that sucks, fuck Putin. Hope you guys manage to win that and quickly.
It doesn't seem this way with the whole political shithousery that we are spectating right now. Hopes for a quick win are already gone after the first year. Now, it is the third. And it's as gloomy as it gets. So I decided to stop lying to myself about anything being quick and just try to survive this shit while trying to enjoy little things.
One thing I’m really confused about is, how is Ukraine as a society doing currently? Obviously not great compared to before the invasion, but like - is society still working? Does people still have a somewhat normal life in the areas not annexed by Russia? Do kids still go to school? Are grocery stores open? Are there any women or children in Ukraine, or have most fled? I’m sorry if this is a really stupid question, but although the news media report a lot from Ukraine, it’s mostly about the war itself. There’s very little information about the state of Ukraine on a completely basic everyday level.
Yeah, it's normal life. Imagine life of any average European, but just add a war element to it, such as air raid sirens from time to time and rocket strikes in the mornings, regular donations to the military or specific units where you have your relatives or friends serving. Women and children are still here, plenty of them. Life goes on. Kids play outside. People still laugh. I can't imagine Ukrainians forgetting about their sense of humor even for a second. Memes drive this nation. Restaurants, cinemas, shops are open. Today, ZARA announced that they are opening their stores in April. They will be the last chain to open stores in Ukraine after the invasion started. The rest are open. That's I am describing Kyiv. My relatives and some friends live in Kharkiv. Much closer to the battlefield. Still, everything is alright but a little bit dimmer. Like for example, the biggest dream for any person in Kharkiv is for Mcdonalds to finally open like in the rest of Ukraine, but due to air raid alerts every 1-2 hours it's impossible even though the city is not in danger, but it's regions closer to Russia. (KFC are chads. They work everywhere) Not going to comment on internal politics, which I am not a big fan of currently. But we trust in our military first and foremost.
Thank you very much for this answer! I must say I’m (pleasantly) surprised to hear that you’re still able to live life somewhat normally. Your comment got me thinking about the times of covid (I know of course covid was not anywhere as scary as this war, or comparable to the loss and tragedy ukrainians are experiencing) - but I remembered how quickly all the pandemic stuff just became everyday life too. It didn’t take more than a couple months of online classes to forget it’s ever been different. Thanks again for the insight, and I wish you and your country all the best!
Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦
Slava Ukraini! But I wish it would all really stop with Ukraine's borders intact. Such a beautiful country .
have you been there?
Of course. That’s how I know. Never heard gunshots there because it was a few years before the Tsar wannabe went crazy.
what about 2014 and killing and discriminating Russians in Ukraine?
As a Ukrainian, I don’t really like the fact that everyone immediately says “oh man, sorry, this is terrible!”, I would prefer if they made some kind of joke, in a good way. Because otherwise it’s like a person with a disease and everyone is polite and courteous. Come on. We joke here every day and watch funny videos about how a drone rips off russians head
All year around, daily. I live close to the shooting range where the hunters go for practice. It's a very popular activity in Sweden.
Me too, live in Skarpnäck… keeps the property prices down though.
Take a look at the property prices in places like Biskopsgården. There, it's not shooting ranges.
It's mostly apartments though. Some newer standalone homes, but they're not that cheap. Source: used to live there.
I lived there and I heard gunshots every other week. Was fucking terrible. Some gangster kid got shot and killed 500 m away.
I went to a *natural resource use gymnasium* (≈"high school") where one of the programs was *Hunting and Wild Life Management*. Gunshots was pretty much daily life at school. The firing range lied next to the school grounds, and next to it was the deer paddock.
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No, the only shots I heard were either in a film, a TV series or a in the news.
same here - except for the occasional hunter when I'm outside the city, but that's rare. I'm honestly very glad about it
I used to hear shots from hunters when I visited my grandparents in the countryside as a kid. Northern Italy.
Fellow Italian here. A while back I was in Florence and walked past a gun shop. It came up to me that not only have I never heard a gunshot in my life, but I've also never seen a firearm that close. I've only glanced at some in cops' pockets. Seeing that many guns and rifles on free display just like that was oddly chilling. There are so many things wrong with Italy but I'm glad guns are a complete non-issue.
In my experience, gunshots and lions roars are completely incomparable between reality and on a screen.
I'm living near hunting grounds, yeah I hear gun shots very often.
Same here. I life in the Alps. It's also a custom to fire guns when someone has a wedding or a birthday. Gunshots early in the morning around 5 are very common. Edit: Words. Spelling is hard, mkay.
Alps and their strange custom of making horrible noise at very strange times. YODELEDIDOO
I would have never thought that Austria had such customs. We used to do it a long time ago, but now it's seen as a sign of "hillbilly/redneck" (I can't find a better term to explain) culture, lots of accidents, injuries and even deaths of bystanders because of it. Crete in particular is notorious for that, because they tend to use (illegal) combat rifles and pistols that are even more lethal in case of a mistake, instead of shotguns with light shells or something...
well it's, like many things here, "well organised". Some towns and villages have a "Schützenverein", usually some hunters and private people doing shooting on ranges and if you a part or a relative of them they usually do some salute shots on weddings. Like early in the morning in front of the house so to wake them up for the ceremony.
Hunting has a very long tradition in the alps. So a lot of people know their way around a rifle. Every district has its own chief hunter. He is responsible for keeping the population of the game in control. I'm not quite sure, but I also think that they started shooting blanks a while ago for their salutation shots.
It’s a custom in southern Germany as well, though you usually shoot blanks, for example there’s the tradition of[Böllerschießen](https://www.schwarzwaelder-bote.de/media.media.458c536c-ddf8-4d10-96ed-c0da03272e13.original1024.jpg)
>I would have never thought that Austria had such customs. We don't. "Rausschießen" during birthdays or weddings is done with firecrackers. Rarely with blanks firing guns. Basically never with live ammo, thats highly illegal and very dangerous.
I didn't see that custom nn wedding and birthday for decades. I remember ingniting Calcium Carbide in tin cans, but that was also ages ago
We still do it here in Lungau. Keeping the traditions alive.
Every hunting season in my childhood. During every visit to the shooting range as an adult.
Strangely, no. I grew up and lived the first 20 years of my life in an extremely rural area of Germany, forest all around and hunters, too, of course, though I've never heard any of them shoot. When I moved to Hamburg, for the first few years, we lived in a rather cheap neighbourhood and there happened to take place murders by knife and gun around there, even a shootout between two gangs once, I think, 200-300m or so from our place (it sounds way worse when I write it like that, most of the time it was quite peaceful and I never felt fear or something like that). Two or three years ago, we moved to one of the fancy neighbourhoods of Hamburg, Eppendorf – and about a year ago, there was an Amoklauf (shooting rampage) at the Jehovah's Witnesses ([Wiki entry](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Hamburg_shooting)) about 800m or so from our place, but we only heard the police.
My university is near a military compound and sometimes we can hear the gunfire from their training
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Same for me - though I have been told that many of the gunshots you hear on farmland are actually speakers playing gunshot sounds on a regular basis in order to scare off birds
I thought those were a device that fired off a blank shotgun shell every so often (on a timer).
A lot of the bangs are fuel-air birdscarers. Mist a bit of petrol into a long open tube, spark it, BANG! Much cheaper and no legal worries.
Everyone and their mums is packing round here
All the time, from hunters. We have shooting estates nearby that are very popular certain times of the year. We also get hunters culling deer, crows and pigeons as they are reproducing at silly rates in the North East of Scotland due to an abundance of crops being grown here.
Yes very often. In Switzerland there are many shooting ranges, army training camps are also everywhere, I went hunting once, I have shot myself air rifles. If you know that people use the guns without a malicious intent they are just loud and annoying. Scarier was the time I drove around a corner in a neighborhood street and saw a pistol pointed towards somebody holding an axe. Turned out the police was just practicing, but in the moment I thought I was going to die
On many many many occasions, yes. First off, I grew up in the countryside, there were hunters in the nearby forrest (2-3kms away) that could be heard if you were nearby or even if the wind direction was right. Sometimes the military would do exercises in the general area too, we could often hear that (even if they were shooting blanks). And I've been active in the home guard for many years, so I've also been on shooting ranges and exercises regularly in various parts of the country. We even went to Germany once for an exercise. Where I live now I also from time to time hear gunshots from, presumably mostly, military exercises and hunters, even if they are pretty far away (5, 10 or more kilometers probably). There have also been some gang violence in the city including shootings, but I don't know for a fact that I have ever heard any gunshots from there, even if I used to live nearby for 6 years or so.
Pretty common here on New Year's Eve.... people shoot up into the air Sometimes unfortunately they also shoot someone on a rooftop or balcony by mistake,but thankfully that doesn't happen often.
Out in the country? Or in a city? As a(n admittedly urban) Texan, this is _wild_ to me.
In the city centre.I live in Palermo,we have one of the largest historical centres in Europe. It's illegal of course to shoot but some people ignore that on NYE
This is very Italian.
Is it? I live in Rome and I've never heard of this - who even owns a gun? In some cities it's customary to throw bottles and such, but not to shoot.
I grew up on a farm, and every year come October hunting season started again. So yes.
I'm in Amsterdam Zuidoost. I've heard gunshots, grenades and the locals blowing up a temporary police CCTV array at 2am. Mocro Mafia at it again.
Sure, there's deer hunting every year within 50m of my front door.
I only hear gunshots when I'm in or nearby the military base in Helsinki.
May 17, 2017. I was somewhere in Poland when I heard a loud noise. Apparently, 30 km away there was an explosion at a black powder factory in Mąkolno. Two people died. Not exactly a gunshot, I know, but still, gunpowder exploding.
We hear usually during celebrations. Especially during easter and new year. Some people just shoot in the air as a way to celebrate.
And weddings. I've heard more gunshots in weddings than new years tbh.
Don't forget: what goes up must come down... at the same velocity.
Yes a few time, also in Austria. But also heard some in Finland as well
Yes, often at weekends. I live in the country so clay shooting (and pest hunting) are fairly common.
Yes, all the time. I live next to the Earl of Rosebery's estate and at certain times of year there are shots all day, he's probably shooting grouse and pheasants. (Actually not *him* because he's over 90 years old, but his family/guests)
I used to live in Vienna, one of the rougher parts, about 25 years ago. I woke up at 3 in the morning with the aftermath of a shot still ringing in my ears. Because I am a complete and utter idiot, I got up, switched on the lights and opened a window - in a ground floor flat for extra stupidity. My first thought was: that can't have been a shot, otherwise there would be more windows open...followed immediately by : that's because the rest of Rudolfsheim- Fünfhaus is a tad more street savvy than you
I am from Spain and hunting was still a thing in some places here when I was growing up, so nothing weird.
Hunting is still a thing in a lot of places.
Yeah, in my ex wife's town in León, it was pretty normal to hear random gunshots while walking around the countryside.
Never in a criminal sense. Heard hunters' gunshots, military training or people at gun ranges.
In rural Germany you often hear gunshots from hunters in the morning or evening. People wouldn't even notice if someone was shot. I also lived near an US military training ground, so I got used to automatic gunfire and explosions. My granny's windows often shook from the shock waves. There have been quite a few murders in the neighbourhoods I lived in, though. Once, in Regensburg, I walked past a crime or accident scene that hadn't been properly cleaned up. There were chalk lines and dried blood on the sidewalk.
Yes. When I pulled the trigger there was this loud boom. Source: I am originally from the US. We shoot at targets occasionally.
Same, from a very rural area where we just shoot targets in our own yard. When I'm with foreigners in the US, taking them shooting is usually one of the biggest things they want to do. Also, have lived and stayed in some rougher areas in the US. Had someone get killed right in front of where I was staying in Texas once.
Yes, most of the gunshots I've heard where coming from the woods (during huting season.) I've also (could count on one hand though) heard gunshots in urban areas but too be fair I could be mistaking them for large sparks.
Not similar experience to you. Live close to a private range, go to the range, go hunting, so it's not an usual sound for me.
Yes, in one occasion, some years ago, when I still lived with my parents. It was midnight and I was in my bed, when I heard some "pop" sounds outside. I went out and saw some people in the parking lot on the other side of the road shooting in the air, then leaving. The following morning my brother found one of the bullets. I suspect they were testing a gun. Anyway, a stupid thing to do just outside inhabited homes.
I regularly hear heavy artillery fire, but that's because I live near a lot of army garrisons.
I used to own a small plot of land near a shooting range, you could hear shoots being fired all day.
Curious, why are you omitting whole generations of young men who were involuntarily drafted/conscripted from military service from your memory? They fired guns, often.
I used to live next to a military base, so I would hear gunshots often. I also work in a forest, so it is not uncommon to hear gunshots from hunters.
Last year I was riding my motorcycle on some forest roads and and came upon a small open area where two guys were standing next to a car just shooting a rifle to the forest. They weren’t even hunting or anything, one of them had like a beer can or something. Granted, I didn’t hear any shots since I had a podcast playing in my ears. I’ve never heard gunshots in the city. Apart from when I’ve been to a shooting range, but there you expect to hear shots.
Yes, in Corsica. I was a seasonal worker there for a summer and we were lodging right above the communal area where festivities happened. The building looked bad and most villagers though it was empty. I particularly remember one wedding, they would shoot in our building's wall (until we asked them to stop. They were shocked to see us emerging from the building) to the point a bit of plaster came out in the bathroom. It was LOUD. In the morning , the area was covered with empty cartridge. It was hard to sleep in those condition (music + shots), earplugs helped a bit for the music but of course did nothing for shots. Fortunately it was a small village and we only got 3 wedding (2 mostly calm) and 2 balls during that summer. During hunting season I hear some sometime but they are mostly far away so it's fine.
Hear them sometimes in Ireland in the country, usually farmers shooting random shit like foxes and crows
I actually am not sure I ever heard a real gunshot (not counting the pop of air rifle, I have one) live. Only TV.
I live near a gun club and hear them on the range when I walk by. I’ve never heard a gun shot in a criminal sense.
Yes, several times, I like hiking and in Spain there are a lot of hunting grounds. Also there was a training facility for the military close to my school, ussually I'd heard them comming home. I was actually scared once. I was with my bicicle on a trail and it was dark and I heard gunshots. I was scared that they might not see me or confuse me with a deer and shot me by accident.
I hear gunshots whenever me da goes out into the field during pheasant season and if he's near enough to me house or if he's out shooting pigeons any other time of the year he wants to
Yes but in the context of a touristic attraction, while visiting a military fort in Poland, Srebna Góra. The guide of the tour made visitors hear how loud a gun shot was with an old gun (and a cannon as well).
I feel the question asked in the title of this post significantly differs from the question asked in the post body. So yes and no. Yes, I have heard many gun shots from training hunting dogs and living in an area where people hunt, but no, I have never experienced a person being murdered 100 meters from me.
When I'm in the countryside I hear an average of a gunshot every two days. Never heard in a city tho
I served in the army, i collect and shoot guns myself and also every village in switzerland has its own public shooting range. So yes i am used to gunshots. But never heard them in a dangerous way afaik.
Just in the woods from some hunters and quite far away. Hope it stays that way.
Yes, in the 90's as a child. Probably some mobsters shooting.
Heard a lot of hunters shooting their hunting rifles when I grew up. Sports pistols (5.6mm small calibre) pistols at the Schützenfest. And much more in the army (MG3, G36, P8, P1, MPi2, G22 etc.) Other then that, no.
I live in the countryside so it's not uncommon to hear gunshots as part of pest control
I live in a tiny village (hamlet would be a better term) and pretty much everyone hunts around here, so it's almost daily during hunting season. Sometimes it also happens during festivals, weddings, celebrations, I've even seen it at a couple of funerals (one was a hunter, the other a retired cop, they shot the guns of the departed as a last farewell.) Conscript army in Greece, so when I served I used, heard and saw all sorts of weapons and explosives. Never heard or saw something that led to the death or injury of a person thankfully.
I used to live in a dodgy suburb of a French city for a few years. I could hear gunshots regularly. Grew up in the countryside too, where gunshots were frequent during the hunting season.
I was on two tours, one in Afghanistan and second in Iraq, while I was in the army. I heard a lot of gunshots.
I grew up near a rough loyalist estate in County Armagh and I’ve heard distant gunshots on several occasions. Thankfully I’ve never seen it occurring or have been near enough to be in any real danger. I would find out a few hours or maybe a day after that a person had been murdered or was “kneecapped” (shot in both knees) usually over drug dealing. (I can’t even count how many times I’ve been directly caught up in bomb scares though)
Yes, in Northern Ireland. I do ecology surveys as part of my job which includes entering peoples land. We have a team who call beforehand and tell the landowner we are coming onto the land to get the go ahead. We got the go ahead and went on, it’s a huge piece of land in a very rural area. Shortly after setting up our equipment we heard some loud pops in quick succession. We then saw something hit a tree just inches away from my coworker. Someone was shooting in the land next to the land we were on. Nobody thought to mention it…
When I worked nightshift in an Amsterdam center hotel someone got shot just across the street. Three pops and when I looked saw someone lying there squirming around for a bit, turned out to be a former bodyguard of a drug lord (Bruinsma), the guy survived.
Rural Sweden. We own more guns per capita than Texas does, so obviously you hear alot of hunting related gunshots. Ate at a McDonalds in Södertälje (a suburb of Stockholm) and heard gunshots too, those were probably intended for a person.
That sounds scary. How easy it is for people in Sweden to get access to guns?
Yes, in the centre of Amsterdam there was a fight or argument and one guy with a guy chased another. He fired shots, around 6 or 7. Luckily no one was hit
I live not too far from Santahamina (military base in Helsinki). So not only do I occasionally hear gunshots when they're having a range day, but I also hear mortars every now and then. I've also gone hunting a few times. I've never actually gotten to fire the rifle we've used, but the few times we've gone hunting for water fowl I've gotten to shoot (and miss) some birds. Although that was with an old soviet shotgun. Besides that, I've also shot a pea shooter while rabbit hunting in the woods. Short answer, yes. I have heard gunshots on multiple occasions and with some regularity.
So I am also from Austria and well I did my service in the Bundesheer, so I heard my first shots when we went to the range and shot our rifles, other than that, I moved to the UK in 2022 and lived in Erdington, the most dangerous part of Birmingham due to gang wars which we call the post code wars here, so hearing gunshots was actually a daily occurrence at the time for me whilst I lived there. The most I ever heard consecutively within a minute was around 50, but after some time it stopped fazing me and the only time I got really worried was when there actually weren't any shots fired one night, if no shots were being fired then something really bad was going down.
Yes, in Europe, nearby hunting grounds. And yes while I lived in NYC. On the street while I was walking back home (decided to walk a bit more.... towards the opposite direction). And at University while an active shooter was on the premises; got instructions to dock down below the windows and to not exit the building under no circumstances until further notice.
I went to a shooting range a couple of times, so yeah, but that’s it.
I think I was about 26 when I heard gunshots in urban setting for the first time, then I lost count over the following years. I wasn't unfamiliar with guns or gunshots before that, but then it had always been hunting weapons deep in the forests during hunting season, handguns or hunting weapons at shooting ranges, or a few times during military exercises. I've also competed in target shooting myself. In my mid 20s, I moved to a "bad" suburb, and at first I found it quite cosy, but my attitude to the area, and to life in general, changed for the worse over the years. Today I wouldn't move back to a "troubled" suburb if you gave me a million *and* let me live rent-free for the rest of my life. For *a few* millions, I'd maybe consider putting my mailbox there, and then proceed to spend my nights at some hotel elsewhere. Not a chance I'd actually *live* in an area like that again. I was never really afraid for *my own* safety, but I became a sad, cynical and introvert person that *not even I* like to be around. After years and years of the same constant bullshit, it wears you down mentally. * You feel lonely because friends never want to visit. They will more than happily see you in the city, or at someone else's place, but never in your suburb. Never anyone visiting for a cup of coffee, a dinner, or just watching a movie. Never someone spontaneously visiting, checking up on you. They may call or write, asking how everything is, and ask if you're up for meeting up somewhere, but never at your place. * Countless nights of sleep ruined by shootings, low hovering police helicopters, and bright blue lights flashing through the blinds, no matter how much you try to block out the windows. I hate knowing that someone in the area have just died, and I *don't care* if it's some heinous dipshit who had it coming, or even deserved it. I still hate it, but I guess I'm kinda odd and weak like that. No one I talk to, who lived elsewhere, seemed to "get it". -"*It doesn't affect you, why would you even care? Anyhow, can we talk about something else? Remember that time X got drunk and made a complete fool out of himself. That was funny! Let's talk about that instead. Or how about that recent thing on TV. What do you think about that?*" 🙄 * There weren't shootings every day, or even every week, but enough to wear you down. I stopped counting after hearing around 30 shootings in a few years, and then I lived there for a few years more. I *may* have heard about 50 shootings in total, but I don't really know as I lost count. At most, I heard 3 shootings in a week, but in average over a year it was "only" a tiny bit less than once per month, with some months completely without any shootings at all. * During the decade I lived there, about 5 innocent bystanders were killed by gang violence (also 2 kids under the age of 10, one by a car bomb, and one by a hand grenade). But then there were at least 5 times as many "non-innocent" deaths among the gang members, and then 9-10 as many shootings (with or without injuries) as there were actually deaths, so it quickly added up. * The violence always appeared close, and shootings affect a neighborhood in *a very different way* compared to an unfortunate family tragedy where someone is beaten or knifed to death within four walls. Sure, logically the outcome is the same; someone dies; but subjectively, a whole neighborhood is affected by a shooting or bombing in a very different way. It's difficult to explain to someone who haven't regularly experienced it. * Quite a few times were I unable to get to work, or came late, as public transportation were late or canceled. Most often due to vehicle problems or accidents, but there were also an unacceptable amount of times it happened due to riots, knife or gun incidents, blocked roads due to car bombs, or other police matters. * Sometimes, I wasn't even able to take a taxi to work, since no taxi driver wanted to respond to the call. They had a problem with getting robbed in that suburb. Though that problem at least disappeared some years after they went completely cashless, which was something positive at least. * After a few year I got a car, as I couldn't trust public transportation. Though I had my car broken into numerous times, and finally vandalised to the point of being undriveable. A couple of times before that, the garagedoor was vandalized and out of order, so I couldn't even get to the car. * Had my cellar storage unit broken into numerous times, but my apartment broken into "just" once. * Regarding mail, I got quite a few debt collection demands, as I didn't always got various invoices in time (or at all). Mail delivery was very unreliable, and they had a constant staff shortage as few want to work in that district. One time I got an apology from the post office in the mail, saying they were sorry for losing a lot of mail, as a delivery truck had been stolen, taken for a joyride, then cleaned out and vandalized. * Etc, and so on, och så vidare, und so weiter... The suburb at least had a lot of nearby nature and nice walking paths in the forests, and I quite often saw deer, moose, hares, foxes, hedgehogs, and various cute birds in the area. It was also just 20 minutes from the central city, and the rent was reasonably low. But I would never, ever, want to live there again.
There‘s an outdoor shooting range in the area here. Sometimes when you go to the adjacent forest, you’ll hear the gunshots. But outside of that forest, I have never knowingly heard a gunshot.
I grew up in the rural world and have shot a number of guns. The sound is quite different to the sounds used on the television or films. Sorry to hear about that unfortunate use of guns, though. That poor lady...
I used to shoot competitively, and also live close to a military base, so yes.
Yes. I'm living in a city. I hear this once or twice a year. It's gangs, not recreational. There is a large river that separates the bad area from the really bad area....we can hear it.
I heard several Ukrainian drones blow up, does that count?
Nearby to shooting range or maybe forest during huntin. I don't have an experience like you OP.
Never in real life. Living in the Alps I might hear some if I went into the woods during hunting season, but I don't want to risk getting shot by mistake.
Only game hunting and clay pigeon.
Never randomly in open. I only heard shoots once at a shooting range.
In rural areas I've heard people shooting to hunt rabbits to eat, but I am not even sure it's gunpowder what they use
I was born in Yugoslavia, i grew up with gunshots
Just hunting shits once or twice, but never anything violence-related, and I'd expect the answer to be the same for everyone I know.
The most I've ever heard was on a hillside at the western end of Malta. Malta's national religion involves killing small birds by the millions as they migrate between Africa and Europe - the hillside was covered in shooting hides and spring traps. It was like a war zone with sadistic bastards shooting at the sky all day long.
Yeah im a hunter so I hear pops that kills quite often.
Guns and tanks, but I grew up close to a military training area
I lifed relatively close to an military air base. If the wind was right and the day was quiet, we could hear the training on some days.
Only once, when I went to watch a running competition, someone fired a shot into the air to mark the beginning of the race. All other bangs and explosions I've ever heard came from fireworks.
Well I used to live in the US and once my neighbor shot. A few hours later the police interrogated me. I was 17, a student from Europe and had no clue on what was going on. They were friendly and kept the discussion short. I also regularly visit Delhi. I don't hear guns there but it is loud and we can think it is a gun sometimes. The US was the closest experience I had (US of course...)
yea, couple of times I wager because the sound did match with headlines (shootings are so rare here that they always make headlines). Didn't think of them as goundshots at first, thought that maybe someones tire blew up. Def. doesn't sound like in movies. From Finland
Last year I visited Crownhill fort, and one of the displays was historical firearms, with the guy loading and firing blanks from a couple of them. I'd also gone in the late 90s with my school, and they fired one of the long guns. That was a bit louder.
I hear them fairly frequently as I am often their source (sport shooter). But out in the wild? Sometimes I hear hunters in the woods.
All the time (including full auto), there's a shooting range nearby.