Never "shoot" your rifle

Polite grey man not shooting rifle,
or indeed anything else

"I shot my G-98 rifle with live ammunition for the first time. I thought it would have more kick, but it was still awesome," says Franz Koberger on Facebook this morning.

Herr Koberger should be careful. A man in the United States was recently arrested for shooting his computer because it consistently failed to respond to the  Cntrl-Alt-Del command. (See story here, complete with picture of the six bullet holes in the системный блок.) 

And what did Herr Kozberger shoot his rifle with? His pistol, perhaps? Or the old howitzer he keeps in his garage? If he had "live ammunition" for that, he could well pose a threat to local public safety. I think we should be told.

The problem, though, is really one of language. 

What Herr Koberger really meant to say was "I FIRED my rifle..." - if, that is, he meant to say that he shot it AT something (even a target). If he "shot his rifle" then it means that the rifle was the target.