Your point about the speed and power of a semi-automatic tied to a large magazine capacity is spot on. The military doesn’t emphasize the use of automatic. A shooter is just more effective using the semi-automatic setting.
My father was a gun owner. I’m a gun owner, some of them inherited from Dad. He never had an AR 15. I never had an AR 15. I just never had a use for a military firearm. To me, they are for the military, and for America’s deranged mass shooters. If cattlemen or other have a legitimate need for this firearm, maybe they can be licensed case by case.
Went through basic training in 1969 and we were trained to use M-14s and the still controversial M-16. Once in Viet Nam as a door gunner on C model Huey gunships we all carried M-16s just in case we were shot down. Occasionally when our M-60(7.62 caliber) belt fed, bungie cord slung machine guns malfunctioned or the barrels melted down we would use the M-16 as the door gun. On automatic it fired so fast with only a 20 or so round magazine it was not really effective. We also carried 40 mm grenade launchers and that became the back up weapon of choice because we could fire CS gas into the jungle which is like tear gas on steroids. The ground fire ended when the gas went into the trees. Ah the good old days when we were out there “killing commies for Christ” in our generations rotten war of choice. Used to be an avid hunter but never even considered using an M-15 0r any of it’s derivatives to shoot a deer. They are designed to be and are man killing weapons that should never have been released for wide public consumptiion.
The only civilian use of an assault rifle that possibly makes sense is for some ranchers with feral pigs.
The notion of these weapons being used for self defense is either marketing by cynical manufacturers or fever dreams of people that shouldn’t have them.
Seems like the people that have guns tend to own a lot and it’s more like an obsession than any real need. In my mind the same could be said for the large majority of folks that have just one gun for “protection”. I’ve lived 55 years, the past 20 in a house in the middle of 30 acres that backs up to an old family farm of 200 plus acres and only about 5 miles from some of the most crime ridden area of a 1/4 million population NC city. And I have never had or felt the need to have a gun for protection form anyone or thing where I am now or the previous 35 years I lived in other places.
Edit: Avid hunters I’d say are an exception in that they might have a lot of different guns for the different types of hunting they do, but they don’t have them out fondling them all the time. They usually keep them in a safe locked up. I’m thinking of my brother in law in this case. He’s got several kinds for the different types of hunting and prey, but most of the time they stay locked up in a safe that’s not even in his house.
ah, the AR-15. the gun of choice for the very best massacres. especially with those really big mags. visit armalite now. mow-em down tomorrow.
The assault weapons ban needs to start with the realization that you aren’t fooling anyone by swapping out the laser pointer and other “tactical” shit, for a walnut stock and a Weaver scope.
All semiautomatic rifles should be illegal. All firearms should be limited to 6 round capacity before reloading.
Thanks for the reminder what a crummy weapon it actually was, owing it’s very existence to aggressive Colt lobbying and marketing.
The “self defence” argument is simply illogical when it comes to assault rifles. Unless it’s loaded with frangible rounds, they’re actually difficult to use in a civilian close-quarters setting. The rounds will go through walls for a great distance and hit the people they’re trying to protect. In fact to most military pros, using an AR-15 for home defence is clear evidence someone is a Walter Mitty type of poseur…
This article certainly does not bring back fond memories at all. I was a Marine grunt in Vietnam in 67-68 and we had the initial issue of the early M-16s; a fucking undependable infantry weapon it was. In one firefight my rifle jammed and wouldn’t extract the spent cartridge (I was using it on semi-auto) so I had to quickly assemble my rifle cleaning rod and use it to knock out the cartridge case. I got to do the davy crockett shit, fire one round then use the rifle rod, and fire another round and use the rifle rod, etc. And now they sell infantry weapons across the counter, unbelievable.
Outlawing ARs will do nothing. A semiautomatic deer rifle retrofit with a large capacity magazine is even more powerful (due to it’s typically larger calibre). We are just wasting political capital concentrating on this symbolic weapon. First priority should be large capacity magazines. There is no reason anyone needs a magazine larger than 6 rounds. Make this happen first, then get rid of semi-auto weapons. There is nothing in the 2nd that protects semi-autos. Full-auto regulation sets the precedence. This AR15 infatuation is a fool’s errand.
About 3 yrs ago I was in Laughlin, NV. My wife went to see a chick flick. I went to a bar in the hotel, found myself chatting among a group of men who had come there to re-qualify for a federal concealed carry permit. They were retired federal law enforcement men. We got to talking about gun control. It was not a scientific sample, but every one of the dozen or so felt that anyone owning a gun should have a license.
For what it’s worth.
Interesting read. I was hoping to see some information about the number of times an assault rifle has been used successfully in self-defense by a civilian. I don’t recall ever seeing a statistic like that. Maybe such stats are not available.
Yes, it’s the detachable magazine that deserves our attention. What is wrong with banning them for long guns and for pistols?
This is the right conservatives really want to defend in the Second Amendment – the right to tear the body of transgressors apart, because, they believe, aggression works.
The more the weapon can mutilate human beings, the better it serves their strategy.
Outstanding article, TPM.
Very nice article. I’m old enough to remember the Vietnam war. One night on Walter Cronkite’s Evening News they showed a South Vietnamese soldier firing an M-16 into a dead Viet Cong corpse. Each round discharged made the corpse literally jump like it was alive. That’s how much kinetic energy this weapon delivers. We need to reinstate the Assault Weapons ban and be rid of these civilian-owned military weapons.
Many gun owners would approve licensing of firearms with similar rules for a driver’s license: Background checks, training, written and real world tests, and I’d add insurance for gun owners.
I’ve often made fun of Ted Cruz for posing with his custom engraved, over-under shotgun which looks like it belongs under glass. But frankly, the over-under 12 gauge is perfectly adequate for hunting anything smaller than an elk. The modern compound crossbow is plenty good for just about anything that doesn’t fly.
Thank you, Reed Richardson and TPM for such an informative article. And thanks to the other commenters for posting their knowledge as well.