Posted on 01/21/2012 7:12:01 PM PST by SwinneySwitch
STARR COUNTY - Valley ranchers say they are arming themselves with high-powered rifles to protect their property.
Ranchers say handguns aren't enough anymore. They need more firepower. An AK-47 semiautomatic assault rifle holds 30 rounds. It protects this ranch in Starr County, hundreds of acres.
"It does have fire power and it's reliable," says the rancher.
Barbed wire fencing doesn't keep illegal immigrants off the property anymore. This rancher doesn't care about the illegals. He worries about the smugglers protecting their loads.
"I don't think they would have any conscience of taking someone's life," the rancher says.
He saw that will to kill firsthand. A smuggler shot at him on his own land.
"One round was fired at me, and it missed my head by about two feet," says the rancher.
He says there's only way to react.
"Fire all the rounds you have, reload, and do it again," says the rancher.
That's why he carries an assault rifle. He's not the only one.
Erick Kruger owns the armory gun store in McAllen. He says AK-47 and AR15 assault rifles are always popular weapons. He says spillover violence in the Valley is propelling assault rifle business.
"Countless people have come in here and said, ‘Man, they broke into my house' or ‘we've had a home invasion. We want to get a gun,'" says Kruger.
"It gives you a better sense of security," says the rancher.
The rancher says that security only goes so far.
"No matter how well armed you are, these cartels, Zetas, whoever, they're going to have you outgunned anyway," says the rancher.
He says all he can do is load his gun and hope he never needs to fire it again. That rancher says smuggling activity on his land slowed during hunting season. He says that happens every year. He expects it to pick back up in the next couple of weeks.
Black Jack never caught Pancho.
If we really wanted to seal the border, it could be done in a matter of months.
Build a Israeli style fense{ 16 feet high and 6 feet deep}.
Train civil minded citizens to monitor the border until we have enough border patrol agents.
A couple of dozen helicoptors and armored vehicles and there you have it.
Make sure you have a watchdog, or if the environment is right, geese. Put the geese in a fenced in perimeter. I understand that even in Vietnam geese were used as perimeter guards, and they make a loud noise when disturbed.
************************
Pheasants are equally as good as “watch birds” when disturbed by anything quietly approaching them.
If we really wanted to seal the border, it could be done in a matter of months.
Build a Israeli style fense{ 16 feet high and 6 feet deep}.
*****************************
From your spelling of “fense”, I presume you’re not in the USA. An Israel-type fence would work well in California, Arizona and New Mexico, where there is solid ground.
The Texas-Mexico border is in the middle of a river. Some folks just don’t have a clue regarding the building of a fence.... including that idiot Mitt Romney who says he would push for a full border fence. Another Yankee fool (MR) with no idea of what goes on on the Southern border.
Well, sorry for the mis-spelling of “Fence”. I assure you I am a US citizen,but calling someone a “Yankee Fool”. really!!! Building a fence is the best way of securing the border. But hey, what do I know. I am only a yankee fool.
You are so much smarter.....And I am glad you elevated the conversation with a personal attack.
People like you bore me.
There are other considerations – I agree a semi auto AK variant is a fine choice, for several reasons: yes, the .308 packs more wallop by a significant amount. However, 7.62X51 NATO and 308 Winchester are not always interchangeable. In tight chambers, NATO spec 7.62X51 sometimes fails to extract – the dimensions of the two cartridges are not identical. If your rifle has a chamber that will digest either, fine – but in a SHTF situation, you cannot be ammo picky. The AK, (mine’s a WASR), does not possess the intrinsic accuracy of a sporting 308, but how accurate do you need to be? “Minute of trespasser’s chest cavity” seems sufficient to me. Also, cheap 7.62X39 is plentiful and dirt cheap. Steel cased Russian ammo works fine in the semi AK. All day long. The WASR can be had for a couple of hundred bucks – with accessories and magazines. It’s tough and has Kalashnikov reliability. It can be disassembled and cleaned very easily - motor oil works fine as lubricant. It fires when wet and dirty – all the time. I grew up with an M16 in my hands and I respect the system very much. BUT – it is expensive, dirt sensitive and ammo availability can be limited and/or expensive. The SMLE is awesome, but again, ammo availability is the problem.
Short range weapon. Just in the .22 mag range
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The tommy is shorter range.
>>Tommy guns are antiques. The modern incarnation of that concept would be the FN-P90
>>Good luck getting full auto though.
>
>Short range weapon. Just in the .22 mag range. Wouldn’t want to get shot with one but it wouldn’t be in my top 10 choices.
I have a PS-90, the semi-auto version, with which I went out shooting w/ my brother and brother-in-law this week.
We hit the 300 yd target a couple of times, mostly my brother, but the fault isn’t the weapon or the round so much as my being out of practice shooting in conjunction with worsening eyes.
My PS-90 would be my weapon-of-choice in a mob-fight, especially considering the 50rd mags.
And you say the AR 10 is better because of the ammo, or for some other reason?
Our family (finally) moved their deer hunting camp from down near Eagle Pass, north to safer country. Sad that it had to happen.
I’d love to see a military/assault rifle chambered for .243 ...
Read it again Yor. The poster called Mitt a yankee fool. Not you.
We really need to get these damn firearms laws relaxed. The P90 is probably the best civilian militia type firearm ever invented. Everyone should have one in their home. If I could get one, I’d go with a full auto P90 with a suppressor and armor piercing ammo and advanced optics. No question about it.
That’s really what it was designed for, close quarters. I’ve handled them, they are nice.
If you want to truly suppress it you’ll have to have subsonic ammo and then you have basically an expensive, quiet .22 LR. The weapon has it’s place, up close, extended pistol range, but more than that I’ll stick with .223, 7.62x39 and 30-06.
Yeah, they’re both carbines designed around a pistol cartridge. Nothing wrong with that, it has it’s place, just not ideal for all situations.
I did not refer to you as a Yankee fool. Here’s what I said: “... including that idiot Mitt Romney who says he would push for a full border fence. Another Yankee fool (MR) with no idea of what goes on on the Southern border.”
Notice that I was referring to Romney and that’s why I had (MR) in that sentence; specifically because I did not want you to think I was referring to you.
I dont’ care about the sonic boom of the bullet. No one can tell from what direction the shot came from by listening to the sonic crack of a bullet.
The 5.7 is not a typical pistol cartridge. It’s closer to a 223 than a 45, especially with armor piercing ammo.
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.