Posted on 02/01/2006 6:35:58 AM PST by holymoly
SPRINGFIELD - The first five bullets from the AK-47, delivered in two short bursts, tore through the metal of the U.S. Postal Service mailbox.
The remaining 70 shots in the 75-round clip fired in one continuous spray turned a bullet-proof vest into Swiss cheese.
"I went through it in what, five seconds?" said Springfield police officer Sean Sullivan of the empty and now smoking rifle.
During a demonstration for the press in the basement shooting range at police headquarters, Sullivan showed what an assault rifle, illegally converted into a machine gun capable of firing as many as 400 rounds per minute, can do.
"It's a scary weapon to face, and scary knowing there are people out there who have them," said Sullivan, a member of the police Street Crimes Unit.
That particular weapon, said Sgt. John Delaney, "was out on the streets five days ago in the hands of a drug dealer."
It was one of 13 guns confiscated by police over the past few days, he said.
In addition, police also seized a semiautomatic AK-47, a semiautomatic M-16 and a Thompson submachine gun, and several semiautomatic pistols and revolvers.
So far this year, confiscations number 21, compared to three in January 2005.
In 2005, police confiscated 151 handguns, rifles and shotguns.
Despite the emphasis on getting illegal weapons off the streets, "Guns, drugs and gangs continue to be a problem," said acting Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet.
"The firepower has enormous potential for danger. It's what police officers face every day," he said. "In some cases, police officers are out-gunned by these weapons."
Fitchet pledged that anyone found with an illegal gun or using a gun in the commission of a crime will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Shooting range master Joseph Lech said a bullet fired from an AK-47 cannot only go right through a metal mailbox, it can perforate "both sides" of the standard police-issue protective vest.
"It pierces, goes through the officer, and pierces the back," he said.
Sullivan said when members of the Street Crime Unit seized the fully automatic AK-47 during a drug raid, its owner had a 75-round clip, plus two 30-round and two 20-round clips.
"That's more ammunition than the regular soldier carries in combat," he said, still holding the weapon in his hands.
"Unfortunately, it is not the only one out there," he said.
Do you know what an "assault weapon" is? If you do, please elucidate. Do you think that the public should have fewer options regarding choice of personal firearms than the police?
The Warsaw Ghetto.
Treblinka.
Auschwitz.
Sobibor.
Majdanek.
Belzek.
Should I go on?
The 2nd amendment to the Constitution affirms my God-given right to protect my family and my freedoms from those who would take them away. That's all the reason I need.
Someday, I hope to find an affordable Chinese drum mag.
For anyone unfamiliar with these, unlike the Romanian drum mag (which loads from the top), the Chinese mag opens via a latched cover. Rounds in are placed in the drum. When you want to fire, you wind it up. This means it can be left loaded, without weakening the spring.
Perhaps you could reconcile "less recoil and more power" with common physics. Seems an oxymoronic statement. Look at the definitions of momentum, impulse and power.
Uh, right. So, in your mind "too much" of whatever is automatically a "bad" thing? And you propose to quantify "too much" how? Maybe "too much" is defined as "more than I have"?
Too much horsepower, firepower, audio power. Yeah, maybe we DO need to limit these kinds of things. I mean, what if our Police start running up against more and more thugs who work out for three hours five days a week and are so ripped that they can fold the cops up like a piece of paper and drop them through a mail slot? Yeah. Nobody oughta be allowed to be so buffed. Gottta regulate gyms.
And it's awfully hard to catch a ZR1 'vette when all you've got is a 3.4L Lumina -- even with radio. The Proshces and even the Audi A4's -- can't catch 'em. Nobody should be allowed to buy a car with more power than, say, a 1966 VW Beetle.
Also, there's this thing about loud music. Even in traffic some people just have to have their mariachis blasting out so everyone can hear it for a block or two. Nobody needs that kind of audio power. CAr stereos should be regulated by the DOT and limited to 12 watts per channel. And none of these bolted-into-the-trunk power amps, either; those things are definitely OUT.
Finally, you know there are some houses in town that are just obscene. They really hog up the land and nobody needs that kind of space. We oughta limit home construction to an absolute max of 3,500 sq. ft. Those big places just have too many electrical outlets and too much plumbing, and don't even get me started on heating and cooling costs. Oy vey!
Yeah, THAT'd be "Wonderland", alright. Sheer Nirvana 24/7.
Dream on, pal, we're not buying into your panty-waist nightmare. The misuse of power on the part of the few in no way invalidates the possession of power on the part of the many.
I don’t think I would want to carry one of those.
Also, might be a small point, but these are NOT CLIPS!!! Clips are devices that allow easy feeding of cartridges into a magazine. Magazines are devices that hold the rounds and allow them to be introduced into the weapon's breach.
Consider it like Pornography, it is available to those who want it.
Why should I have to show you a reason? So long as I don't cause harm to anyone elses life, liberty, or property with one, what's the problem?
Perhaps his .300WSM has significantly more mass than his AKM. That'd mean that more energy would be required to overcome the rifle's inertia and push back into his shoulder.
You can buy them in semi auto. Auto Ordnance makes them (I think Kahr owns Auto Ordnance now). I think now that the ban is over they are even selling the drums at full capacity again.
In the past 72 years there has only been 1 recorded crime committed by the owner of a legally owned machinegun. And it was committed by a police officer.
Because they're fun to fire. Is that a good enough reason for you, Mrs. Brady?
Not even supposedly knowledgable folks seem to know this.
< /Pet-Peave Rant>
Gaaaah! I totally missed that. I was more interested in the 75-round part of things. The most rounds I've ever seen in a clip (properly speaking) is about 20. Some early machine guns fed rounds clipped into a rigid tray-like device, instead of a flexible belt.
BTW, AR-15s (can) use clips, as well. 5.56mm rounds are sometimes packed in 10 round (stipper) clips, for easy loading of the 20 and 30 round magazines. There's a little gadget that attaches to the back of the mag, to properly align the clip.
I was gonna say, less than three boxes of ammunition? Sounds like what a soldier would use in about 10 minutes in the Battle of Mogadishu.
I've always wondered how much ammo a soldier goes through, and how much it takes to keep say, a platoon resupplied in a combat zone.
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