popular news channels give people the wrong idea

[Rick_A]

ok i have recently put a decent amount of thought into this one.

When ever there is a shooting on the news it always seems to be a "high powered" "automatic" rifle of some sorts.

This makes me wonder, what do you guys consider a "high powered rifled".

i think it is quite obvious that the news channels could not tell a .22 from a 50 bmg

[pythagorean]

From what I've seen reported the news reporters start "high powered rifle" at .223.

If the .223 is an AR-15 type instead of saying "high powered rifle" they say "assault rifle."

There isn't much left under the .223 (or .222) to call "medium" or "low power" except for the .22 Hornet and similar.

Unless an 1873 Winchester or Henry .44-40 is brought out I guess.

[bedlamite]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_L52qeI-j4jM/Sr0k4ki3_iI/AAAAAAAAA0o/7oNaOb3eMyU/s400/journalists-guide-to-guns-1.jpg

[Rick_A]

lmao thats where my chart went :D

[jokester_143]

damn bed, i've been getting it wrong this whole time...

[Chris_B]

ok i have recently put a decent amount of thought into this one.

When ever there is a shooting on the news it always seems to be a "high powered" "automatic" rifle of some sorts.

This makes me wonder, what do you guys consider a "high powered rifled".

i think it is quite obvious that the news channels could not tell a .22 from a 50 bmg

This is not a political comment, it is an opinion based on my observations:

"Popular news" reports the news they want, the way they want to. They spin it, slant it, package it, and spoon feed it. If it were a concerted effort to present a viewpoint, I'd call it an Editorial, but it's not.

"Popular news" is not about information. It is about entertainment. Sensationalism is a flavor of entertainment, another variety of reality TV

Guns are the icing on the cake for sensationalist reporting

[rickyrick]

the terms 'cop killer bullets' and 'designed to defeat body armor' come up alot

[TheGoldenState]

LOL bed,

I read the OPs comment, and immediately thought about posting that pic, when i scrolled down and saw you did the work for me:D too funny.

and yes, everything is highpower, assault, and tactical with the news.

[THORN74]

its not just the news channels, but also the federal government

the feds recently refused to allow an import shipment of several thousand m1 garands from south korea back to the US. thier sighted reason was its illeagle to import "high capacity assault weapons". nevermind the fact that its really not an import as ALL of those M1s were originally made here (think of it as an extended lease return) and nevermind the fact that an M1 has an 8 round internal magazine (2 less than the most popular ammo limit of 10)

[rickyrick]

oh yeah, I just read that in the American rRfleman...and I forgot that soon LOL

[sc928porsche]

I have always been amused at the way the news gets distorted. Special "cop killer" bullets are simply fmj. Any military round can bee deemed as such. As far as the term "assault rifle", it now applies to any semi-auto rifle with a military look. Both the "real" AK47 and M4/M16 are select fire.

[krinkman47]

I was wondering if the scum sot dealers i bought from work for the newspaper?::barf:

[Double Naught Spy]

We always blame the media for the information that they report, but you have to keep in mind that quite often, the media recapitulates the information provided to them by their law enforcement sources. If they are told a rifle is "high powered" by the police, they really are not in a position to argue the point. The police are the source for the information (in many cases). You really don't want the reporters second guessing the cops and wholesalely creating their own interepretations of the gear, especially when they have not actually seen or inspected it, right?

In regard to "automatic" rifles, if the rifle is a semi-automatic rifle, then the title of "automatic" is accurate. The same can be said for the automatic pistols I own such as my 1911 that fires .45 ACP (automatic Colt pistol). "Automatic" means autoloading. So describing a rifle as automatic is accurate for either a semi automatic firing rifle or an automatic firing rifle. Saying "automatic" is not the same as saying "fully automatic." Strangely, a number of gun folks don't even know the difference themselves.

[Kreyzhorse]

Great chart Bedlamite, I got a good chuckle out of that.

I used to get ticked off at the "high power" term but if you think about it, what rifle isn't high power? Even a .22lr can be dangerous for miles down range.

High power is now simply a term that the Brady group has created to attempt to scare people. The media uses it because it sounds a heck of a lot better than just reporting the "the suspect had a rifle."

[10mmAuto]

To me, the line of demarcation between high and low power has always been the energy levels of .308/7.62x51mm NATO + 30-06 (if you look hard at the charts, 30-06 is not appreciably more powerful even in the modernized loadings). This is the standard for a full power rifle round - below it you've got lower power rifle rounds and "intermediate cartridges" and above you've got your "high power" cartridges.

[tirod]

The media is hired because they have the ability to string words into paragraphs and stories in a structured manner. They do NOT have technical education in most of the fields they write about. If they did, they would be employed in that area.

The revelation that the media isn't even knowledgeable about technology shouldn't be a surprise - and should be an indicator that public news isn't the place to go for considered, thoughtful analysis. The media is at best selling the news they perceive as important to a public they perceive as being even more ignorant than they are.

Expecting a bleach blonde hired for their looks to understand the difference between automatic assault rifles supplied by governments and captured by the Mexican police, and the sporter rifles sold across the counter at gun stores, is an exercise in continuing disappointment. It's also no wonder most gun store owners on video look and act less than professional - real pro's never talk to the media. They know it will always be done wrong and used as misinformation. Only the doofus dealers go on camera. That's harsh, but real.

Looking from the perspective of my deployment, most avoided the news media, I still do. Having seen my wife interviewed recently, and watching the results further distorted to answers taken out of context and placed where the editor wanted them, I refuse to work with them further. I know for a fact the media distorts and misuses the statements of others, I don't ever rely on them as a single source of information. I would consider it criminal to do so.

But, good luck telling the clueless their favorite bubblehead is all wrong.

[Scorch]

This makes me wonder, what do you guys consider a "high powered rifled".
Any rifle is "high-powered" if you get shot with it. However, "high-power" is a class in NRA rifle competition that denotes a centerfire rifle cartridge. Could be a 223, could be a 460 Weatherby, could be a 25-20, could be a 375 H&H, etc. But in order to fit into NRA High Power rifle class, it must be centerfire. Kind of like street racing is often called "drag racing" in the media, but we all know that the people involved most likely did not use NHRA Top Fuel dragsters.

[thesheepdog]

It's just corrupted data, misinformation, and uneducated idiots (reporters) who spread contagious idealism and the severity of the infection is based off of how ignorant, dumb and bone-headed the host is.

[Skans]

For a gun to be a "high power" rifle, it must be capable of knocking Jet Airplanes out of the sky when they are cruising at 30,000 feet......which includes AK-47's, AR15's and any Remington 700 with a sniper-scope on it. A Barrett .50 BMG with the dual thrust enhancer mounted on the barrel is capable of knocking out low-orbit satellites..........................that's what I tell journalists anyway.:D

[thesheepdog]

For a gun to be a "high power" rifle, it must be capable of knocking Jet Airplanes out of the sky when they are cruising at 30,000 feet......which includes AK-47's, AR15's and any Remington 700 with a sniper-scope on it. A Barrett .50 BMG with the dual thrust enhancer mounted on the barrel is capable of knocking out low-orbit satellites..........................that's what I tell journalists anyway

LOL!
I tod reporters that my TNT tipped varmint rounds have reall TNT in them.

[Madcap_Magician]

popular news channels give people the wrong idea

In other news, the Pope is Catholic...