The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Hide > NFA Guns and Gear

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old November 9, 2008, 10:04 PM   #26
44 AMP
Staff
 
Join Date: March 11, 2006
Location: Upper US
Posts: 28,677
Deliberate obfuscation by the antis

The problem is that since 1944 when the German Army got Hitler's approval to use the MP44, Hitler renamed it the "Sturmgewehr" and the common English translation for that is "assault rifle" It could also be validly translated as "Storm Rifle". Soldiers "assault" or "storm" an objective, and so the rifle is aptly named. The US Army and the firearms community adopted the term to describe all rifles of the type, and it has been in use for over half a century.

The proper definition includes the words "selective fire", along with the other features common to this type of weapon.

When the anti gunners began demonizing military look alike rifles following the Stockton Ca. schoolyard shooting, many knowledgeable individuals point out to them that the rifle used was not an assault rifle, and wasted a lot of their breath explaining the difference. They didn't care. In order not to be accused of "lying", they started using the cumbersome term "semiautomatic assault rifle", knowing full well that this term would soon be dropped by newscasters who were more interested in a good sound byte than in being accurate. Semiautomatic assault rifle became "assault weapon" when they included certain handguns (those resembling SMGs), and this was the language that was adopted (verbatim) by legislators in Fed and state service when they proposed (and passed) legislation back in 94.

Assault Weapon is a totally made up term, one never used in the firearms community. Online dictionaries and later even print ones included the terms, with inaccurate definitions. Protest to the editors recieved the same response, that the dictionaries reflect the definition of the word, in popular usage.

The antis scored a major coup, by deliberatly using a misleading term, rather than the intellectually honest one in use by the military and firearms communities. Even today, a great many shooters use the terms assault rifle and assault weapon incorrectly, referring to semi auto rifles.

It is in our best interests, as public representatives of the firearms community (and don't think for a moment that this board isn't public) to ensure we use only the correct proper terms, and not the language of the enemies of freedom.
__________________
All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.
44 AMP is offline  
Old November 12, 2008, 01:33 AM   #27
cchardwick
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 26, 2008
Location: Colorado
Posts: 574
It's too bad that they are going after the AR-15s because it's THE most versatile gun in existance. By just swapping out the upper receiver you can change it over to about 15 different calibers including big bore large game stopping calibers. All they ever focus on is the .223 which they claim is only good for shooting 'people'. Yes, this is what the round was designed for, but the availablilty of other calibers in this platform is what gives the AR-15 it's appeal. Load it up with some .458 Socom and it's well suited for deer, elk, or grizzlies!
cchardwick is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:21 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.04994 seconds with 8 queries