Fate of military arms part of larger gun issues

The Washington Times (AP) ^ | Dec 1, 2003 | Tom Stuckey

[El Gato]

A report by the Justice Department

I'll bet it was the Reno Justice Department. No one else seems to have seem those sorts of results, even using the same raw data.

[El Gato]

"I fired M16s in the Army reserves, and nobody needs them," he said. "These weapons are designed to kill people, not a deer."

That's because the catridge they fire is too underpowered to reliably kill a deer cleanly, as is prohibited for deer hunting in many states for that reason.

[El Gato]

If I have a human intruder in my house, I'd want a gun designed to kill humans, not deer.

Since deer are generally a little bigger than humans, anything that will kill a deer cleanly will kill a human just as well. Of course it might also go through the intended target, out through the wall and kill the neighbor down the block as well. Shotguns do have their advantages in such a situtation, most especially the short barrelled ones forbidden to mere mortals without permission and a tax stamp.