Free Republic

American troops are testing a new 12 gauge automatic shotgun in Iraq. Weighing 10.5 pounds unloaded, the Auto Assault 12 has a rate of fire of 360 rounds per minute, and uses either an 8-round box magazine or a 20 round drum magazine. Recoil on the system has been reduced to that of a light rifle, due to a sophisticated recoil system. The low rate of fire makes it possible to easily fire bursts of one, two, or three shots and is capable of using and mixing all types of 12 gauge ammunition. Allegedly, Iraqi insurgents have little respect for...

HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- Erosion by wind and water is a big part of the story at Makoshika State Park, a place of badlands and dinosaur fossils, bobcats and bluebirds. Now some people who enjoy firing guns at a range there fear erosion of what they have come to view as an entitlement. The state parks agency plans to eliminate a decades-old rifle range at Makoshika, a rolling expanse of peculiar sandstone formations in eastern Montana. The 11,500-acre park gets about 54,000 visits a year, and is especially popular among gun enthusiasts in Glendive, about a quarter-mile from the rifle...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Former District of Columbia Mayor Marion Barry was robbed at gunpoint at his apartment by some youths who had helped him carry his groceries. Barry, who wasn't injured in the Monday night robbery, said he gave the youths a couple of dollars for helping unload groceries from his car and they left. They returned, however, and after Barry let them into his Southeast apartment, they pointed a gun at his head and took his wallet, which contained cash and credit cards... "Obviously, I'm traumatized. To have a pistol cocked in your face is not something you cannot...

BATON ROUGE, La. -- As fearful residents rush to stock up on guns, Wal-Mart, one of the region's biggest suppliers, abruptly stopped selling them at 40 stores scattered throughout the Gulf Coast. -snip- Wal-Mart's decision to stop gun sales also earned it praise from several customers, who said police would protect them from any trouble. ''Why can't we get along? This is a time of crisis," said Mike White of Kenner, La. He said people who need guns for legitimate reasons, such as hunting, would not be buying now.