Waco , Texas ( CNN ) -- A strong wind blows across the Spirit Wild Ranch . A tornado is on its way and the American flag on the great lawn waves fiercely . I am sitting in an enormous tree with Ted Nugent on one of the many hunting perches scattered around his Texas ranch . This is Shemane 's Grove , named after his wife of more than 20 years . Oryx , deer , wild turkey and blackbuck antelope roam the 300-acre property . During hunting season they are all fair game . Nugent sits up there for hours , he says , sometimes with a gun but often with a bow and arrow , waiting for the right moment when he can kill his prey with a single shot through the heart and lungs . As we sit , he draws back an imaginary bow , speaking slowly and rhythmically , describing `` the mystical flight of the arrow . '' Then he lets the imaginary arrow fly . To him hunting is `` Zen meditation in its definitive form , plus you get meat out of it , '' he says , laughing . Nugent is spiritually connected to this land . `` Can you feel it ? Can you feel it ? '' he asks excitedly . At home with the Motor City Madman , Ted Nugent . The platinum-selling rocker and National Rifle Association board member has invited us to his ranch to understand hunting , self-defense and the Second Amendment right to bear arms from the perspective of law-abiding gun-owners . After setting up targets on a makeshift shooting range , he hands me a semi-automatic rifle , similar to the one used by the gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary to kill 26 people . AR stands for ArmaLite rifle not assault rifle , Nugent explains , blaming the shooter , not the gun itself . `` It 's not the weapons . The weapons had nothing to do with it . These weapons are in every pickup in Texas . People have to get past the hardware , '' says Nugent , pointing out that a pheasant shotgun in the wrong hands can be as deadly . Talk Back : Should Ted Nugent attend SOTU ? He ca n't seem to understand why people who disagree with him wo n't or ca n't see it that way . He sticks to his message with a rocker 's flair for hyperbole and provocation . `` There is no gun violence , '' he says . `` There is only criminal violence and they use an assortment of tools . '' He rattles off statistics to support his argument : more people killed by drunken drivers , more people drowned . When I point out that a deranged 20-year-old like the Sandy Hook shooter is unlikely to round up first-graders and drown them , he quiets down . `` Understood , '' he nods . Then without missing a beat , Nugent picks up the thread of his argument . `` The gun owners of America are causing no problem . Leave us alone . Let 's go after the mentally deranged who are doing all these vicious crimes . Let 's go after the recidivistic maggots that judges and prosecutors unleash into our neighborhoods . '' Opinion : Obama , stop trying to appease unfair critics . As we drive around his ranch in an all-terrain vehicle , Nugent stops at various points to restock his feeders as a supplement for the animals that he says breed year-round . I ask whether his opinion on guns would change if someone in his family were killed . Not surprisingly , he says `` No , '' calling guns a `` wonderful tool '' for self-defense , competition and sport . Nugent is among the harshest critics of President Barack Obama ( `` not a hunting buddy '' ) , Attorney General Eric Holder and any lawmaker who would restrict his or any citizen 's access to guns . He laughs off as naÃ¯ve and ridiculous the notion that no one wants to take Americans ' guns away . He supports background checks for new guns and for licensed gun show dealers but rejects gun registration , gun licensing , private sale background checks and limiting access to any existing firearms , saying people who want to ban access to certain types of weapons know almost nothing about guns . Though Nugent understands the nation 's desire to stop another gun massacre , he says focusing on criminals and those with mental illnesses will have a bigger impact than trying to ban the more than 310 million guns or billions of high capacity magazines that currently exist in North America . As for high capacity magazines , Nugent says limiting bullets is counter to the Second Amendment right to self-defense , `` When I 'm being assaulted at my home , I and I alone , by any consideration whatsoever , will determine how many bullets I need to protect my family . '' Obama still backs new gun ban ; top senator less certain . CNN Senior Producer Dana Garrett contributed to this report . Watch Erin Burnett weekdays 7pm ET . For the latest from Erin Burnett click here .
Rock star Ted Nugent invites CNN to his ranch to discuss Second Amendment rights . Leave gun owners alone , he says ; go after the deranged and the repeat offenders . Nugent : `` There is no gun violence , '' he says . The only way you can stop a bad guy with a gun, I believe, is by going in there and shooting him or her. "