Posted on 02/16/2003 8:38:11 PM PST by conservativefromGa
John Strauss
Assault rifles offer a bit too much for home defense
February 14, 2003
As store shelves throughout the city are emptied of duct tape and plastic sheeting by people concerned about terrorist attacks, other folks think the best defense is a good offense.
Don Davis said gun sales at his Westside store have doubled since the latest terrorism alert. He said the $599 AK-47 is a top seller.
Davis became locally famous a few years ago with endlessly repeated TV commercials in which he cocked a finger at the camera and cackled, "Folks, I don't want to make money -- I just love to sell guns."
It turns out that terrorism sells.
"For me, when times are bad, business is good," Davis said Thursday.
He was at a trade show in Florida this week, shopping for gas masks for customers suddenly nervous about chemical or biological attacks.
At his Don's Guns, manager Ben Chance let me test-fire the AK-47 and a $999 Bushmaster, similar to the military M-16, in the store's indoor range.
The Bushmaster delivers a high-velocity round very accurately with little kick. The AK-47 will give you a jolt, but with that kick you get a larger round capable, they say, of going through a car's engine block.
Just what you need to stop terrorists invading your subdivision.
Of course, some people might end up with guns simply for home protection. And if that's the case, Chance says, an old-fashioned shotgun might do the trick.
"A 12-gauge is a nice gun to have in the house. You don't have to aim the gun. You just point it in the general vicinity, and you're actually going to hit what you're pointing toward, because (the shot) scatters."
Business also was up at 500 Guns on the Westside and at Pop Guns Trading Post on the Eastside. But managers at those stores said that had more to do with the arrival of income tax refund checks than Osama bin Laden or Saddam Hussein.
"There have been a few people come in and express concern," said Mike Hilton, the manager at Pop Guns. "But overall, people tend to be pretty complacent about it, to be honest."
Hilton said he recommends that someone who wants a gun take a training course. Then, once he has an idea of their skill level, he'll suggest a firearm -- often a small revolver.
He's not big on the AK-47 in this case. If used for self-defense, it's likely to "overpenetrate" -- go right through the attacker, through the wall of your home, through the wall of the next house and into somebody there.
Guy Montgomery, manager of 500 Guns, also recommends a revolver -- not a battlefield rifle -- for home defense.
Still, there's a magnetism about the assault weapons. Firing one of these guns is the shooting equivalent of twisting the throttle on a squat Harley -- lots of noise and simple, raw power.
They're fun, but they may not be real practical.
So if you're convinced al-Qaida is down the street and you want to establish a defensive perimeter in the front hallway, do the neighbors a favor.
Just borrow dad's old shotgun.
But hey I do like that Steyr AMR......just can't get ammo for it in Texas.............yet :o)
Stay Safe !
As to the .460, I have observed a trend . When I give someone two rounds to shoot, they will usually give one of em back after the first is fired :o)
Stay Safe !!
Kiddies,don't try this at home! It is VERY dangerous to plunge anything this hot into either oil or water. In one case you can get fire,and in the other you get steam. Either one will require a trip to a burn unit. If you have never had any experience with metal-hardening through quenching,LEAVE IT ALONE!
True, but you most likely wouldn't be doing this unless you had just a wee bit o machining experience anyway. It's not like you can do this on your kitchen stove :-)
This is only one, I fished out of the great flood of '27, when I lost all mine.
I bet the skins'd make you some DAMN nice boots, too.
Scouts out! Cavalry Ho!
You're right, and the .223 isn't a "high-powered" round as was widely reported back during the D.C. shootings. Anyone who's fired a .30-06 or bigger, and then a .223, could tell you the difference between "high-powered" and "high-velocity" (yes, the NRA has a "high-powered" category which includes the .223, but just because the NRA says it doesn't make it right).
I remember back in the late 80s, during media-induced hysteria over the Uzi carbine, one of the Commie networks showed an Uzi being fired at concrete blocks, which naturally disintegrated. They went on to talk about the "ultra-powerful 9mm bullet" as if it were a Phaser. Even on the rare occasion when someone in the media tries to tell the full story about firearms, they fail miserably.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
On that note, have you seen the gyrations and heard the squeaking and beeping of some Leftist weaklings over the new S&W .50 cal revolver? This piece has them in a fear frenzy! Do a search on FR for the articles, it almost seems that those who are speaking out about this weapon are pissing their panties even as they speak!
You might be surprised at what some people will try.
Try adding one of those forearms with the pistol grip; I found that it really helps control and soften the felt recoil.
Nope I wouldn't be surprised - that's why they have the Darwin Awards. About 4 years ago a couple of bright lights from south of the border were working construction in Athens GA (about 50 miles from Atlanta) when they had trouble with the hydraulics on the bucket of their front end loader. They shut it off (with the bucket raised and full of dirt) got under the bucket and disconnected the hydraulic line. Scrunch. Both DOA. Look at it this way. If someone can't harden steel without damaging themselves, what are they likely to do reloading? Would you want to fire one of their reloads? I wouldn't.
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