Yesterday, Washington Times writer Emily Miller kicked off a series about high-profile gun owners with a piece spotlighting avid hunter Paul Ryan. The article revealed that Ryan sometimes hunts deer using a .357 revolver:
[Ryan’s friend and brother-in-law Mark Olcott] said the Wisconsin congressman got him interested in hunting. “When we met nine years ago, one of Paul’s first questions to me was whether I had a problem with him hunting, since I’m a veterinarian,” he explained “I said, ‘No, I’d be interested to learn more about it.’ And I’ve been hooked every since.”
The two hunt mostly in Wisconsin and at their wives’ family ranch in Oklahoma. I asked Mr. Wolcott what guns Mr. Ryan owns. He said the Wisconsin Republican usually hunts deer using his Remington Model 700 rifle which is chambered in .30-06. For duck and turkey hunting, Mr. Ryan uses his a 12 gauge shotgun. He owns the Super Black Eagle model made by Benelli, a company owned by Beretta.
Mr. Ryan also likes to challenge himself by shooting with his revolver. “He likes hunting with a handgun,” Mr. Olcott said of his brother-in-law. “He’ll carry his .357 in the stand — in a holster — and wait for a deer comes in range for a handgun, which is more like bow range, 30 yards or closer,” said Mr. Olcott. “He’s shot a lot of deer with his handgun. He really likes that.”
Conservatives thought it was pretty darn cool:
https://twitter.com/TravelMiss87/status/263705564343844864
"@EmilyMiller: EXCLUSIVE: Paul Ryan has a 9mm Glock at home for self defense. And a .357 revolver to hunt deer. http://t.co/QjteaGbW" #yes!
— David Thompson II (@dthompson2634) October 31, 2012
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@Gawker The only thing you're article tells me is that he has hunted, I like hunters, he is real, and he is a man.
— B (@bleggies) October 31, 2012
But liberals saw it as evidence of Ryan’s cold-hearted, animal-hatin’ ways:
@marcrileydj Not just humans he is cruel towards, so RT@crampell: Paul Ryan has "shot a lot of deer with his handgun." http://t.co/9FDXn83J
— Frank Black (@luimnea) October 31, 2012
Best argument for why deer need handguns too "RT @crampell: Paul Ryan has "shot a lot of deer with his handgun." http://t.co/0vYGEpA2”"
— Kim Pittaway (@kimpittaway) October 31, 2012
VP wannabe Paul Ryan … “He’s shot
a lot of deer with his handgun. He
really likes that” ~ http://t.co/LJERpQUV via @washtimes #sickbag— Das, Horn (@Spacebeak) October 31, 2012
Charming. RT @guyadams: Say what? RT @crampell: Paul Ryan has "shot a lot of deer with his handgun." http://t.co/owpmer48”
— Gord McFee (@gordmcfee) October 31, 2012
You knew avid hunter Paul Ryan loves killing animals. But did you know that he loves killing animals with handguns? http://t.co/KDJAozyK
— Gawker (@Gawker) October 31, 2012
@Gawker BOOOO !!! U suck Mr. Ryan !
— Auntiecdv72 (@auntiec72) October 31, 2012
Speechless. Ryan likes shooting deer with his hand gun. WTF. Paul Ryan's guns – Washington Times: http://t.co/EYmn9vTT
— Bracing for a Second Wave⚡️Hey now ??… (@cdndeadhead) October 31, 2012
Taking the politics out of it,My non-partisan assessment= #paulryan gives me the creeps."Really likes" 2 shoot deer w/handgun#election2012
— Smoke Island (@SmokeIslandHell) October 31, 2012
Evil RT @EmilyMiller: EXCLUSIVE: Paul Ryan has a 9mm Glock at home for self defense. And a .357 revolver to hunt deer. http://t.co/5KoUIFVW
— RAUL (@IndexModel) October 31, 2012
https://twitter.com/lv__/status/263746270122872832
The liberal outrage didn’t make much sense to this Twitterer:
I'm don't really get the outrage over the Paul Ryan handgun hunting. Hunting is a sport, more enviro sustainable than factory meat
— Dr. Guy McHendry (@acaguy) October 31, 2012
Yes, but be that as it may, facts are of little concern to the Left. It’s just so much easier to huff and puff over the Second Amendment, you know?
It’s also interesting to note that while liberals crawl all over themselves to label conservative hunting enthusiasts as cruel and inhumane, they’re generally the ones lobbing the nastiest bullets.
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