Posts Tagged ‘Assault Weapon’

Ian McCollum Defines Assault Rifle

Sunday, March 17th, 2024

Nothing in this video will be new to anyone who’s actually knowledgeable about firearms. But because so many Second Amendment opponents are either knowingly dishonest or willfully ignorant of such basic facts, here’s Forgotten Weapons’ Ian McCollum defining exactly what an assault rifle is.

  • “An assault rifle:
    1. Is a select fire rifle, which means it can fire either semi-automatic or fully automatic or burst (a form of fully automatic)
    2. That uses a detachable magazine
    3. And is chambered for an intermediate cartridge, which means something larger than a pistol cartridge but smaller than a traditional full power rifle cartridge.”

    Got that? If it’s not capable of firing fully automatic, it’s not an assault rifle, no matter how much bad Democratic Party legislation says otherwise.

  • “A semi-automatic rifle that meets the other two criteria, like a semi-auto AR-15 does not meet criteria, that is not an assault rifle.” No automatic fire mode, no assault rifle.
  • “The reason people think this is not a valid term goes to the late 1980s, and then especially 1994, when in the United States there was an assault weapon prohibition passed. Now, it was a ban with a sunset, so only lasted 10 years, and in 2004 it went poof and disappeared and is no longer in force.”
  • “But what that legislation did was legally define not assault rifles, but assault weapons, and it did so with rifles, with shotguns, and with handguns.”
  • “The definition in that law was not the same as the technically recognized definition of an assault rifle, in that essentially what they were trying to do was a blanket prohibition on firearms that had a military appearance. And so the elements that defined assault in that legislation were things like bayonet lugs, grenade launchers, folding stocks, threaded muzzles, barrel shrouds, and that sort of thing. No relation to the technical definition of assault rifle.”
  • “What they were trying to do is take a scary military phrase and apply it to not scary, or potentially scary-appearing civilian firearms that they wanted to restrict or prohibit.”

    • So any time a leftwing politician tries to lie about what an assault rifle is to further their quest for complete civilian disarmament, just send them this.

    And now in handy meme form.

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    Posted in Guns, video | 31 Comments »

    “Does The US Military’s New Combat Rifle Kinda Suck?”

    Sunday, May 21st, 2023

    Remember the U.S. Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon, AKA the XM-5, AKA the XM-7, AKA 6.8 x 51mm? Brandon Herrera has managed to get Sig Saur to send him the prototype of the new weapon (the Sig Spear) to test, and…he has some reservations.

    The caveat here is that this is not an actual 6.8 x 51mm XM-7, it’s chambered in 308 Winchester/7.62 x 51mm (two calibers that are extremely close but not exactly the same), so the ballistics and operation are likely to be slightly different. (To make matters worse, the civilian version of the round is being marketed as 277 Fury. As far as I can tell from looking at Gunbroker, 277 Fury ammunition is available now, but models of the Sig Sauer MCX Spear chambered for the round aren’t yet on the civilian market.)

    Pros:

  • Short stroke piston doesn’t need a buffer tube, meaning that the gun can have a folding stock. “Actually pretty cool.”
  • Decent trigger.
  • “This little right side bolt release here. Kind of a fan. Feels a little flimsy, but I like the placement.”
  • Left side fold-out charging handle is good.
  • “Hand guard here offers a lot of space to mount whatever shit you want.”
  • Two gas settings.
  • Silencer works (even if not hearing-safe quality).
  • Likes the flat dark earth (FDE) finish. “In my opinion, it’s a pretty sweet looking gun.”
  • “Gun recoil impulse not bad.”
  • “Running it suppressed it’s not that gassy.”
  • Very reliable, at least over the initial 200 rounds.

    • The cons:

  • “It’s fucking heavy, dude!…Unloaded it comes in at 8.9 pounds. For reference that is one full pound, or 13% heavier, than a full-size SCAR 17, which is also a semi-automatic 308 with a 20 round magazine.”
  • Folding aside, the stock isn’t great and wants to slip.
  • “This charging handle in the back is borderline fucking unusable. It feels, really flimsy, like I feel like I’m gonna fucking break it. And it’s stiff. It is so
    fucking stiff! ‘How stiff is it, Brandon?’ Joe Biden in a room full of school kids.”

  • Potentially the biggest combat problem: Overinsertion of the magazine. “If you put too much force on the magazine when you’re inserting it, you will actually run up past the magazine release and get the weapon jammed.” Yeah, that sounds like a huge problem, and Sig needs to get that fixed ASAP.
  • The spring is a bit hard to get back in.
  • Super expensive right now.

    • From the comments on the video: “The fact that he’s actually able to unironically hold up a Scar 17 as a lighter, more affordable option is just batshit insane.”

    Yeah, looks like Sig needs some more work here before it’s ready to field…

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    Posted in Global Warming, unions, video | 45 Comments »

    California’s Gun Grabbers Screw Themselves

    Wednesday, July 20th, 2022

    In an attempt to subvert the Supreme Court’s clear directions in the Bruen decision, California’s gun grabbing Democrats have actually made their case weaker through their own arguments. Armed Scholar Anthony Miranda:

    Some takeaways:

  • “The state of California just backed themselves into a major corner in the California ‘assault weapons’ ban case, Miller v Bonta.”
  • California “requested that the Ninth Circuit vacate Judge [Roger] Benitez’s ruling and remand the case back down to him for him to have to completely rehear the case all over again from square one. This was the State of California’s effort to stall this case out as long as possible because that’s really one of the only cards they have left.”
  • “[Firearms Policy Coalition] just obliterated all the State of California’s arguments in their reply, and they completely trapped the State of California with their own words.”
  • In short, California was still trying to argue that the two-step approach to exercising Second Amendment would be upheld on appeal despite the fact that the Supreme Court had explicitly bitch-slapped the two-step approach into oblivion.
  • California also falsely announced that in striking down the two-step approach, the Supreme Court had created a new legal framework, when in fact they had merely explicitly affirmed the existing framework of Heller.
  • The district court “found that California’s ban on modern firearms was not one of the presumptively lawful measures that was identified in Heller, and also found that the ban on modern firearms has no historical pedigree.”
  • To whit: “Prior to the 1990s, there was no national history of banning weapons because they were equipped with features like pistol grips, collapsible stocks, flash hiders, flare launchers or barrel shrouds.”
  • “Benitez ultimately found that those arguments were exactly the type that the Supreme Court and Heller broadly caution courts against when deciding whether analogous regulations were long-standing. Something that was put in place or didn’t pop up until the 1930s or the 1940s or 50s doesn’t actually align with the historical pedigree that the supreme
    court commands that courts must look at.”

  • California “acts as if Judge Benitez did not consider text as informed by history, when in fact he actually did in his original ruling. Also, all the harm California claims that will be suffered if the state is lifted has also been found 100% illegitimate prior by Benitez himself.”

    • It would be nice if the citizens of California could enjoy the Second Amendment rights enjoyed by American citizens in the overwhelming majority of the other 49 states…

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    Posted in Democrats, Supreme Court, video | 15 Comments »

    California Assault Weapons Ban Struck Down

    Saturday, June 5th, 2021

    This is a welcome development:

    A federal judge ruled Friday that California’s “assault weapons” ban is unconstitutional.

    The court found the state’s ban on the sale of AR-15s and other popular rifles violated the Second Amendment. Judge Roger Benitez [of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California] ruled the guns targeted by California are in common use. He said the state ran afoul of the Constitution in restricting access to them.

    “This case is not about extraordinary weapons lying at the outer limits of Second Amendment protection,” Benitez wrote. “The banned ‘assault weapons’ are not bazookas, howitzers, or machineguns. Those arms are dangerous and solely useful for military purposes. Instead, the firearms deemed ‘assault weapons’ are fairly ordinary, popular, modern rifles.

    “This is an average case about average guns used in average ways for average purposes.”

    California’s ban is one of the oldest and most aggressive in the country. It was instituted in 1989 but has been expanded multiple times in the decades since. The state added more guns and features to the ban. Eventually, it banned the possession of unregistered “assault weapons” before the latest iteration of the ban was challenged by gun-rights groups in federal court.

    Benitez said the AR-15’s versatility made it widely popular in the United States, and that popularity is part of what gives it protection under the Second Amendment. He compared the modular firearm to a “Swiss Army Knife” and noted its use for home defense and civil defense.

    “Good for both home and battle, the AR-15 is the kind of versatile gun that lies at the intersection of the kinds of firearms protected under District of Columbia v. Heller and United States v. Miller,” he said. “Yet, the State of California makes it a crime to have an AR15 type rifle. Therefore, this Court declares the California statutes to be unconstitutional.”

    1989 means the ban even predates the cosmetic Clinton-era “assault weapon” ban intended to ban ARs, AKs, and most modern sporting rifles. Indeed, the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 was the model the Clinton Administration used for their own ban, including the dreaded barrel shroud. Roberti-Roos is also the source of California’s infamous ban on detachable magazines and those holding more than 10 rounds.

    For those that say the Republican Party has been completely useless at achieving conservative objectives, I would point to the appointment of strong Federalist Society and pro-Second Amendment judges as one of many counter examples. Without Reagan and Bush41, we don’t get Scalia and Thomas, and without them we don’t get Heller. Indeed, without originalist judges, the Second Amendment would probably have been legislated away entirely by now…

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    Posted in Guns, Regulation | 15 Comments »

    A Dollop of Gun News

    Wednesday, January 16th, 2013

    Lots of news in the world of guns and the Second Amendment today, so here’s a quick lunchtime roundup:

  • So Obama has issued his executive orders on guns. The good news is that the Executive Orders themselves are not nearly as bad as many feared, at least on the surface. But remember that if you give Obama a constitutional inch, he’ll take an unconstitutional mile. His requested legislation, with restoration of the cosmetic Clinton-era “assault weapons” ban and other such mischief, are a different kettle of fish, but I’m cautiously optimistic that none of them will pass muster in the Republican House.
  • Hell even Harry Reid says that the “Assault Weapons” ban is doomed.
  • The title pretty much says it all: Joe Manchin: Lying Sack of Shit on Guns.
  • All Obama’s proposed legislation is just the latest in a long line of passing
    gun laws that in no way would have prevented the crimes they were passed in reaction to    . (Hat tip: Say Uncle.)

  • “The D.C. gun control laws irrationally prevent only law abiding citizens from owning handguns.”
  • Cracked, of all places, offers up a dose of perspective. “Gun violence has, generally speaking, been working out pretty spiffy for us.” The writer’s suggestions are as useless as the “Assault Weapon” ban, but are at least less harmful.
  • An average of 22 children a year are killed on school buses or in bus loading zones. Where’s the outcry for bus safety?
  • Mark Steyn notes that for MSM elites, laws are for the little people.
  • Ruger’s automatic letter generator for your congresscritters.
  • Jeff Soyer at Alphecca could use your help.

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    Posted in Crime, Democrats, Guns, Regulation | No Comments »

    Assault Weapons Vital Topic Among America’s 23 Million Unemployed

    Wednesday, October 17th, 2012

    Hempstead, N.Y.: All across the country, millions of unemployed Americans expressed relief and gratitude that Obama finally addressed their most important issue at last night’s Presidential debate: assault weapons.

    “I’m glad Obama is finally tackling assault weapons,” said Barbara Rheems, taking a brief pause from brushing her teeth in the 1998 Honda Civic that has been her home for the last three years. “I think that’s the greatest concern facing our country.”

    “Thank God Nina Gonzales had the courage to ask about assault weapons,” said Richard Smith, an unemployed construction worker, speaking from the cot in his mother’s basement. “I can’t think of a single more pressing issue.”

    “Assault weapons terrify me,” said mother Gladys Castle, who was busy preparing an “Obama soup” made from pilfered ketchup packets for her three hungry children. “I’m afraid that at any moment they might burst out of closets and gun safes and start shooting people.”

    “Well it’s about time someone dealt with America’s biggest challenge, which is reinstating the Clinton-era assault weapons ban,” said Tom Feller, who spoke to us from behind his homemade cardboard WILL WORK ANY JOB/HAVE CHILDREN TO FEED/GOD BLESS sign. “The fact is that Americans just don’t need a weapon that has any two of a folding stock, a pistol grip, a bayonet mount, or a flash suppressor, and it’s high time we moved to disarm ordinary Americans citizens who purchased such weapons in a completely lawful manner.”

    A CNN poll of America’s unemployed showed that assault weapons were far and away the most pressing issue this election, with 78% citing them as their biggest concern, while those who said that their top issue was forcing Catholics to pay for contraception were a distant second at 19%.

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    Posted in Crime, Democrats, Elections, Guns | 4 Comments »

    John Lott on Obama’s Anti-Gun BATFE Nominee

    Friday, December 3rd, 2010

    John Lott has more information on Andrew Traver, Obama’s anti-gun nominee to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE):

    The fact that Mr. Traver uses the same misleading claims as groups such as the Brady Campaign shouldn’t make it too surprising that gun-control groups are applauding his nomination. Nor is Traver’s nomination very surprising after President Obama appointed two strong anti-self-defense members to the Supreme Court. But Mr. Traver’s nomination is dangerous. Making up claims about guns to demonize them is beyond what is acceptable for someone who wants a position in which he will be regulating American gun ownership.

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    Posted in Guns | 2 Comments »