Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Real firepower on streets
The Republican ^ | Wednesday, February 01, 2006 | PATRICK JOHNSON

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.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: banglist; bradywatch; donutwatch; hoplophobes
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-114 next last
To: holymoly
I don't think I'd want to load it. Lol.

Might not be to bad if you used a LULA

81 posted on 02/01/2006 9:49:09 AM PST by Tree of Liberty (requiescat in pace, President Reagan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 73 | View Replies]

To: Flavius Josephus
So, what I've been calling my Speed Loader is actually a "clip?"

Prefacing by saying that I'm very far from being an expert in revolvers and their terminology (or auto-loaders, for that matter), I'd hazard to say yes, especially with the familial resemblance between speed loaders and half-moon clips.

82 posted on 02/01/2006 9:52:57 AM PST by Tree of Liberty (requiescat in pace, President Reagan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 63 | View Replies]

To: from occupied ga
Personally I think that any gun you can afford you ought to be able to buy.

I couldn't agree more. Artificial price increases, such as those resulting from "Saturday Night Special" laws, are akin to poll taxes in that they prohibit the exercise of a right by making it economically unviable to do so.

83 posted on 02/01/2006 9:54:59 AM PST by Tree of Liberty (requiescat in pace, President Reagan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 80 | View Replies]

To: marine86297
Wow. What a great reply. That pretty much said it all..."even the DUmmies..." (who neither appreciate it, or in many cases want it out of sheer "taking of granted" what they have.)

I guess, for me, this kind of sums it up:

Many of the most vociferous opponents of the military do not realize that in a REAL repressive government, THEY would be the first one to get a knock on the door in the middle of the night.

84 posted on 02/01/2006 10:01:18 AM PST by rlmorel ("Innocence seldom utters outraged shrieks. Guilt does." Whittaker Chambers)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: HKMk23

LOL! VERY well said-I really like the way you put it!


85 posted on 02/01/2006 10:05:57 AM PST by rlmorel ("Innocence seldom utters outraged shrieks. Guilt does." Whittaker Chambers)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: popdonnelly

To be honest, I don't see any reason assault weapons should be sold to the public.



You seem to be forgetting the entire purpose of the Second Amendment. Those of assault weapons are precisely the kind of weapon the founders would have it tended to be sold to the public. Maybe you could take a lesson from a Democrat:

"Certainly one of the chief guarantees of freedom under any government, no matter how popular and respected, is the right of citizens to keep and bear arms. This is not to say that firearms should not be very carefully used, and that definite safety rules of precaution should not be taught and enforced. But the right of citizens to bear arms is just one more guarantee against arbitrary government, one more safeguard against tyranny which now appears remote in America, but which historically has proved to be always possible"

Senator Hubert H. Humphrey (D) Minn.
"Know Your Lawmakers" Guns (magazine), February, 1960, p. 4.


86 posted on 02/01/2006 10:08:16 AM PST by Atlas Sneezed (Your FRiendly FReeper Patent Attorney)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies]

To: Tree of Liberty
Thanks for the tip & link. I may look for/at one of those at the next gun show.

Currently, I use one of these along w. my SKS stripper clips to load my 20 & 30 rd mags.

It works pretty well.

87 posted on 02/01/2006 10:10:51 AM PST by holymoly (Ahhhhh. Beer so cold it hurts my teeth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 81 | View Replies]

To: Sam Cree

Yes. The heart of the matter. They have contempt for the average citizen,and do not believe you have the capability to think for yourself, nor the willpower to accept the responsibility for doing so.

Sadly, much of the demographic supporting liberal politics falls into two categories: Those who think they are the smartest and should make all decisions, and those who are willing to let them do so.


88 posted on 02/01/2006 10:11:11 AM PST by rlmorel ("Innocence seldom utters outraged shrieks. Guilt does." Whittaker Chambers)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: holymoly

My pleasure. Just wish I had the ability to use one out here behind enemy lines in California.


89 posted on 02/01/2006 10:15:22 AM PST by Tree of Liberty (requiescat in pace, President Reagan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 87 | View Replies]

To: Flavius Josephus

Most Marines in my time, 86-97, carried 7, 30 round magazines (1 in the weapon and 3 in each of 2 magazine puches) that would be a total of 210 rounds. Most guys I knew carried enough to refill each one at least once.

The frontline, in the deep doo-doo, troops carry a helluva lot more than that. Multiply that by an avg. of 13 guys to a squad x 3-4 squads per platoon and that equals a sh*tload of ammo, and that's just the M-16's we're not even counting the SAWs, M240s, etc.

The dipsh*t in the report does not have a clue.

Semper Fidelis


90 posted on 02/01/2006 10:29:37 AM PST by marine86297 (I'll never forgive Clinton for Somalia, my blood is on his hands)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 60 | View Replies]

To: Tree of Liberty
Artificial price increases, such as those resulting from "Saturday Night Special" laws, are akin to poll taxes in that they prohibit the exercise of a right by making it economically unviable to do so.

Have you checked on the price of a Ma Deuce recently? $50k. Solely due to the REPUBLICAN sponsored '86 machine gun ban.

91 posted on 02/01/2006 10:30:02 AM PST by from occupied ga (Peace through superior firepower)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 83 | View Replies]

To: holymoly
Sullivan showed what an assault rifle, illegally converted into a machine gun capable of firing as many as 400 rounds per minute, can do For those who don't know much about firearms, this statmenet is B.S.

Next, some DA reporter will be writing 24,000 rounds an hour

92 posted on 02/01/2006 10:44:25 AM PST by paul51 (11 September 2001 - Never forget)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: popdonnelly
To be honest, I don't see any reason assault weapons should be sold to the public.

To be honest, people like you scare me.

93 posted on 02/01/2006 10:49:30 AM PST by paul51 (11 September 2001 - Never forget)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies]

To: Tree of Liberty

Sorry. Bzzzt! Momentum is conserved. mv(slug)=mv(rifle)


94 posted on 02/01/2006 11:31:32 AM PST by dhuffman@awod.com (The conspiracy of ignorance masquerades as common sense.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]

To: popdonnelly

Spoken like a true Liberal. If the government ever goes bad, you would want a gun (the deadlier the better) to preserve your personal liberty. Or do you prefer to be led away to the gulag like a sheep to the slaughter? You say it can't/hasn't happened? Fool.


95 posted on 02/01/2006 11:52:15 AM PST by TexasRepublic (BALLISTIC CATHARSIS: perforating uncooperative objects with chunks of lead)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies]

To: Centurion2000
The Second Amendment requires that "assault weapons' be sold to the public? lol
96 posted on 02/01/2006 12:00:10 PM PST by verity (The MSM is comprised of useless eaters)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 65 | View Replies]

To: verity
Well, it would seem to follow the warped logic of Miller.
97 posted on 02/01/2006 12:07:10 PM PST by Tree of Liberty (requiescat in pace, President Reagan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 96 | View Replies]

To: popdonnelly
popdonnelly said; "To be honest, I don't see any reason assault weapons should be sold to the public."

You don't expect the manufacturers to just give them away, do you? How else is the public supposed to get them?

Or are you buying into the counter-revolutionary nonsense of the liberals? The men at Lexington and Concord who risked or sacrificed their lives to protect your freedoms did so in order to deny the government the power to confiscate the arms of the citizenry. Why do you wish to make their sacrifices worthless?

98 posted on 02/01/2006 1:41:12 PM PST by William Tell (RKBA for California (rkba.members.sonic.net) - Volunteer by contacting Dave at rkba@sonic.net)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies]

To: ArrogantBustard
Yep, have some of those for my M1A. I'm grinching about people calling the "magazine" a "clip", since these are clearly separate devices. It really raises the hair on the back of my neck when gun owners misuse the term.

I sure hope you are not one of those. ;-D

99 posted on 02/01/2006 3:28:51 PM PST by GingisK
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 58 | View Replies]

To: Brucifer; ArrogantBustard
I took a liberal Canadian to the range, and treated him to an FAL, an M1A, a Galil, and an O3-A3. Also an assortment of pistols. He was scared stiff at first, but did run through a lot of ammo in the end.

He said he'd hate to have his wife know he went to range and had fun.

I'll keep working on him.

100 posted on 02/01/2006 3:32:33 PM PST by GingisK
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 59 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-114 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson