Free Republic

Serial trophy hunter Aryanna Gourdin poses proudly alongside a majestic giraffe she has just gunned down in a picture that sparked a furious ­backlash from animal lovers. But the 12-year-old, who has a string of kills to her name, defiantly vowed never to give up shooting wild beasts and churned out the disputed claim that blood sport like this is a conservation measure that stops the decline in big game numbers. Aryanna shares the images of her and each ­dead creature on her Facebook page complete with captions bragging about the deaths, despite insisting she “loves” animals. In one sick...

The giddy 13-year-old boys oohed and aahed as they stared down the black shotgun barrels and aimed at clay targets they imagined whizzing through the air. “You guys are welcome to test any of these out,” said Dusty Minke, a sales agent for Browning, as the teens elbowed each other for spots at his kiosk. “We’ve actually had a couple of kids who did so good on the test range that they were like, ‘Can I use this for my rounds?’ We let ‘em, and their scores went up — and they’ll hopefully go and buy one.” It was day...

Elbert County commissioners on Wednesday gave Boy Scouts the go-ahead to host two weekend shooting-range events, to the dismay of neighbors who say the shotguns are too loud. The commissioners' decision went against the recommendation of their planning director and the county sheriff. They granted a temporary permit, on the condition that the Scouts conduct noise tests, limit shooting hours and give neighbors notice of their shoot-a-thons, which raise funds. But Jay Enyart, who lives across the street from the Scouts' Peaceful Valley Ranch, said after the meeting he was disappointed. "I feel like this was a political solution where...