Posted on 01/11/2013 1:32:16 PM PST by marktwain
I am a 19-year-old volunteer firefighter living in New York. I also own an AR-15 rifle that is ban compliant. This means that I have spent well over a thousand dollars buying and modifying the rifle to make it legal in NY State, something that people in other states with less violent crime do not need to do. My AR-15 is the best home defense weapon possible for me to own in NY. As I am not yet 21, I cannot apply for a permit to purchase a pistol. Even so, I believe that my rifle is perfect for me. I hope I never need to use it to protect myself or those I love, but I know that it is the best possible firearm to do so with. Why does a person need a semi-automatic rifle with a magazine that contains over 10 rounds? It is because it is the best thing available for me to protect myself and my family with. As a firefighter, I feel that all first responders should have the best and most protective gear and tools . . .
Even if I was not a firefighter, didn’t Governor Cuomo say in his State of the State speech that all citizens are first responders? I am the person that goes into your house when it is burning, so why should I not be able to protect myself in the best way possible? A semiautomatic rifle in .223 caliber is the best tool for a citizen to protect oneself at home against a violent person.
Why a semiautomatic rifle? There are several reasons why I believe that a semi-automatic rifle, specifically one in .223 caliber, is the best defensive weapon at home. Here is why:
It has been shown that a rifle shooting .223 is much less likely to cause collateral damage when compared to a shotgun or even a pistol shooting most common calibers. This means that a .223 bullet carries much less energy after going through a wall or window than a pistol bullet or a shotgun pellet. In the event of a missed shot, a .223 rifle is less dangerous than almost any other effective firearm. The round is also fairly small, much smaller than most other common rifle rounds, allowing for a person to easily fire without losing control of the weapon.
Also, because NY State forces law abiding citizens to swap a flash hider for a muzzle brake, my rifle is even more controllable. Basically, a muzzle brake reduces felt recoil and muzzle climb whereas a flash hider reduces the flash when firing, lessening the damage to a person’s vision in darkness. NY outlaws flash hiders. An AR-15 with a muzzle brake is perfect for most people, including women because it has less recoil than a handgun yet is more powerful and safe.
A shotgun has massive recoil and easily goes through walls and kills the people on the other side. A shotgun also fires multiple pellets that spread out when fired, greatly increasing the chances of injuring or killing any people behind the target. The semi-automatic in .223 is safer to use than a pistol or a shotgun.
An AR-15 or other semiautomatic rifle is simply more manageable to use in a house than most other rifles or shotguns. Most AR-15s, such as mine, have 16 inch barrels, and are considerably shorter than a shotgun. My rifle is 36 inches long. Most common shotguns have a barrel length of 26 inches and an overall length of 48 inches. A shorter rifle is much easier to use in a house and has much less area for a violent criminal to grab if attempting to take my weapon from me.
The pistol grip that is commonly pointed at as an evil feature also greatly increases my ability to maintain control over my rifle, both when shooting and in the event of a violent criminal trying to take it from me as I protect those I love. And no, it does not allow for “accurate spray firing from the hip.” Having a pistol grip would make my rifle illegal if the upcoming ban passes.
Why else is a rifle similar to the AR-15 such a superior home defense firearm?
Attachments. The design of an AR-15 allows for a person to mount a staggering variety of attachments to it. For example, my rifle has a holographic sight and a flashlight on it. Both of these things increase the safety of all people near me if I ever needed to protect myself and my family. My sight greatly helps me aim accurately in the dark or in bright sunlight. Most shotguns and many rifles are not able to have optics such as holographic sights mounted, making accurate and safe use in the dark extremely difficult and slow. The flashlight enables me to identify anyone in the dark, completely eliminating the possibility of friendly fire. Once again, most firearms cannot mount a flashlight.
The final advantage is the ability to use a magazine. I can easily check to make sure that I have ammo in my rifle. I can also easily swap for a full magazine if I do not. My magazines, which were rather costly to purchase because of NY ban on “high capacity” magazines produced after 1994 hold 20 rounds.
Why so many? My question to you is: would you rather have more than you need or not enough? Even if all I had were 10 round magazines, the fact that it can accept detachable magazines would ban my home defense weapon if the upcoming ban happens.
I have shot roughly 2500 rounds this year through my rifle and am completely comfortable with it. I have not injured, killed, or threatened anyone with it.
I used my own money to purchase and train with my rifle. I am a firefighter who doesn’t get paid to save people. I use the best possible tools available to protect you and your loved ones in an emergency, so why shouldn’t I be allowed to use the best tools available to protect myself and my loved ones?
You are exactly right.
I watched Ben Shapiro on Piers Morgan’s CNN show last night and to watch a Liberal’s mindset on display is fascinating.
Piers could not believe that any rational citizen would believe it’s government could ever become tyrannical, in the US. I thought it would have been a great time for Ben to say, I can’t buy an AK-47 but Nappy, Holder and Obama were fine giving them to drug cartels.
They want us broke, sick and disarmed. That’s the goal. Monitored, restricted and appeasing to the Ruling Class from our meager station (think Hunger Games-Brave New World-1984).
Obama is a lawless Communist Kenyan Muslim Thug. He cares nothing about our land, our borders, our economy, our faith or our safety. He is truly an anti-American criminal. We will be in camps if the 2nd Amendment is revoked.
Ping!
Linked to Facebook.
nothing wll deter the left from confiscating (AND profitting off of confiscated) guns- Confiscating guns is goign to be a HUGE cash cow for the left, and nothing will prevent them from dissarming law abiding citizens. The left IS goign to ban guns- period-Noone will stand up agaisnt it, and the left will simply keep goign until it’s neaqrly impossible to own even a pellet gun
A man, sigh. And with the instinct to protect his family, too.
Maybe Andrew Cuomo could seek the advice of another man for a second man’s opinion on this, as I son’t imagine he has.
He has bodyguards. He could start there. They protect his family (while he’s the governor) as well as their own. Am sure they’d have a lot to say on this.
That'll have been God's own lightning bolt that set it ablaze and who am I to challenge that.
The whole letter could have been condensed to one sentence.
“ Because I can within the LAW.”
Nuff said!
The Parable of the Foolish Farmer-
After the fox raided the henhouse,
the farmer pulled out all the teeth of his dogs because the fox is a dog with teeth and
because his dogs have teeth too. Only police dogs will be allowed to have teeth,
he stated. That way the hens will be safe.
> shot 2500 rounds
Bet he’s regretting that right now!
I bet he will regret it!
Happy to report I was out shooting my LR308 today. Cuomo the commie would crap is he saw that pattern. Suffice to say there is no X left in the target and did not fire more than half a magazine.
Some NRA guy was on the radio on the way home stating the Kenyan does not have the votes in Congress to pass an AR ban at this time. Hope he was right because I would hate to become a felon.
Someone should tell this kid that only the special are allowed to defend themselves. Such as Coomo and Bloomers.
“We will be in camps if the 2nd Amendment is revoked.”
And...fascist bureaucrats and politicians will be decorating lampposts from sea to shining sea.
Yin & yang, FRiend.
I read an email that only 3% of the population is needed to overthrow the Government.
If we have 310,000,000 people and say 1/2 are kids under 16 and over 65, less 20,000,000 illegals, who will most likely go back to Mexico or join Government forces against us, we are left with +/- 135,000,000 men and women.
We would need 10 million dedicated people to make this happen against the asshat Commies. They have no reluctance to use our own weapons against us, I feat the most and some soldiers (mainly minority) and the Civilian Force Obama promised would kill some of us.
I am unsure if the military would go door-to-door killing Ma and Pa Kettle, but it could happen. The wildcard is would that 19-year old PVC from Oklahoma City, Bangor or Bakersfield hurt his own countrymen, even if they are not his color or creed?
Hard thoughts, but we knew Obama and the Progressives’ agenda was to make us die early.
Rather civil war is coming.
I have been predicting for a long time now, that a second American civil war is coming.
People will simply hid their guns, that is all.
“I have been predicting for a long time now, that a second American civil war is coming.”
Yes and when the South cuts off the oil and gas they will surrender in a month. The Yankees forget that the industrial might of this country is now in the South and that the South has risen again. I don’t care how much the financial centers feel about the rest of the country, if you can’t feed yourself your ....ed.
These are my first words as a Freeper:
I’m only 32 years old, but I’m seeing my late teens logic in this kid:
Replacement improved cylinder shotgun barrels of 18-21 inches are readily available for popular models. If not, a competent gunsmith can shorten a barrel for a modest price.
Within effective range, the spread of shot from a shotgun barrel is not that extreme, fist to softball sized spread.
A break/comp does make it more controllable, and obnoxious. Imagine firing that thing indoors, possibly w/o ear-pro. Additionally, the recoil on an AR based platform is minimal, as the barrel/bolt-carrier/receiver extension are all in line. The recoil impulse goes directly into the shoulder.
Yes, AR pattern weapons are awesome platforms, but for home def, I resort to my old 500 ATP Mossberg with the 18” barrel. I don’t believe in chambering a round to let someone know you have a shotgun, that may or may not embolden in intruder.
If a 5-8 round magazine tube of #4 or 00 buck isn’t sufficient for the job at hand, if there is enough of a threat to merit high capacity magazines especially in an HD situation, you REALLY need to think about why there are/were so many people coming into your home in the middle of the night.
I used to believe that a shotgun with wooden furniture would not be seen as an assault weapon, now I’m not so sure.
Finally, granted I see things differently than this kid, I sure do appreciate that he’s not cowering down as a gun owner. We need more like him.
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.