Badge of Honor

"This is the hunter's badge of honor, that he protects and nourishes his game, hunts sportingly, as is proper, and honors the Creator in creation." - Otto von Riesenthal
Unlike Otto von Bismarck, his adopted father, Otto von Riesenthal took no interest in war or politics, preferring to spend his time drinking and hunting with his friends. I want to be just like him when I grow up.

Sport hunting differs from subsistence hunting in that the sport hunter deliberately puts limitations on himself. This is partly to make the sport more interesting and partly to conserve the game for future generations. Game and fish laws are mostly enforced by the honor system, as there are not enough conservation agents in the field to effectively enforce them. The fact that there are any conservation agents at all is due to the sportsmen who originally lobbied for them and support them by buying hunting and fishing licenses. Of course all sportsmen are not as virtuous as myself, but neither is the general public.

Michigan does not allow 15 round magazines to be used in deer hunting rifles, and I think most other states don't either. When you buy a hunting rifle it usually comes with a five round magazine, which leads me to believe that is the standard all over the country. You can buy larger capacity magazines separately for the tactical models, but you're not allowed to use them for hunting. My regular deer rifle is a single shot, which I have come to prefer because it's easier to load, unload, and clean. You're right that you seldom get more than one shot at a deer in the woods and, if need be, I can reload my single shot in about the same time it takes to work the bolt on a bolt action rifle. A muzzle loader takes a minute or two to reload so, for all practical purposes, you only have one shot. I suppose some people like to use primitive weapons for the same reason that some boaters prefer sails to motors, and some people prefer horses to motorcycles.

Police work, however, is not a sporting event. The cops have a job to do and sometimes that job can get pretty dangerous. It's a lot easier for us to sit here and say, "He should or shouldn't have done that." after the fact than it is for the cop who has to make a life or death decision in a few seconds. Nevertheless, rules is rules, and the cops should have to obey them just like everybody else. A case like this should be judged on the facts alone, not on somebody's political or social agenda. In all criminal cases, it's "innocent until proven guilty", and the burden of proof is on the accuser. If the prosecution doesn't believe they have sufficient evidence for a probable conviction, they shouldn't bring the case to court. This doesn't mean the guy is pure as the driven snow, it just means that there is not enough evidence to convict him. It would be helpful if all the witnesses told the same story, but maybe that's an unrealistic expectation.