If British legislation restricting the possession and use of firearms is among the strictest of its kind in the world, it is only partly out of a wish to keep such weapons out of the hands of bank robbers.
In the past, gun legislation in Scotland was aimed principally at Jacobites, vagrants, poachers and potential Bolsheviks.
Armed drunk young men tended – until the late 19th century – to slip through a legal loophole.
The consequences, though, of mixing youth, testosterone, alcohol, bravado and lethal weapons were entirely foreseeable then as now.
The following account appeared in the Caledonian Mercury on Saturday 21 September 1776, and contains an early alternative spelling of Bonnington.
Upon Wednesday evening last, about 7 o’clock, as a gentleman, who resides at Stonedyke-head, near Libberton, was returning from a visit in a hackney coach from neighbourhood of Bonnytown Mills, upon the high road a little westward of Bonnytown avenue, he observed three fellows with guns, who appeared to be gunsmith lads, and seemingly intoxicated with liquor, beating, most unmercifully, a decent-like man. The gentleman immediately ordered the coach to stop; and when endavouring to get out to the unhappy sufferer’s assistance, one of the fellows most daringly presented his gun to him, and threatened to shoot him if he interposed. Notwithstanding of this, the gentleman, much to his honour, thrust upon the coach door, and jumped out, when the above fellow snapped his gun at him three or four times. However, with the assistance of the coachman, and the poor man, who was, by this time, somewhat recovered, they got in upon the fellows, and broke the whole of their guns in pieces.—The above should make gunsmiths very cautious to whom they lend out guns, as the consequences may prove very dreadful.
Tragically, this was not an isolated case. Five months later, as reported in the same newspaper on 12 February 1777, even younger boys were discovering the unfortunate effects of messing about with shooters.
Yesterday, as two boys were diverting themselves with a gun, near Broughton, in the neighbourhood of this city, which they imagined was not loaded, the one presented it to the other, when the piece unfortunately went off, and shot his companion through the head.
The report does not specify what became of the wounded companion, but we can probably guess.