SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
The Center for American Progress reports
Before Stephen Paddock opened fire at a country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip last October, killing 58 and wounding hundreds, most Americans probably hadn't heard of bump-fire stocks--add-ons that lets a semiautomatic rifle fire as quickly as a machine gun. Until that mass shooting, they were a novelty known only among firing-range enthusiasts and Cool Gun YouTube.
Within months of Las Vegas, lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation[1] to outlaw the devices, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, or ATF, announced plans to ban them through regulation.[2]
But gun control advocates warn bump stocks are just one part of a much bigger problem. A flood of new gun technologies is pushing the envelope on what a civilian can legally own, skirting laws that have kept the most dangerous weapons off the street for decades.
[...] Weapons like machine guns, silencers, and short-barreled rifles and shotguns are regulated under the National Firearms Act of 1934 and subsequent amendments. To own one of those weapons, a civilian has to go through a lengthy approval process and pay a special tax. The job of deciding whether a gun falls under NFA's restrictions falls to ATF.
Gun manufacturers have used the law's technicalities to create guns that are just as powerful, and deadly, as restricted weapons but without the added tax and strict regulations.
Take the SAINT, by Springfield Armory. It's an AR-15 with a 30-round magazine and a 7.5-inch barrel. That's shorter than the legal rifle length under federal law. But instead of a shoulder stock, the SAINT has a "stabilizing brace" or "forearm brace"--a device designed to attach to a shooter's forearm for one-handed firing rather than resting against their shoulder. By ATF's definition, the SAINT is a pistol, not a rifle, because it isn't meant to be fired from the shoulder. So anyone who can pass a federal background check can buy one online for $989.
[...] Stabilizing braces aren't the only new gun tech to skirt around the National Firearms Act. Franklin Armory's Binary Trigger System fires two rounds with every shot--one when the trigger is depressed and one when it's released, doubling the rate of fire. Like bump stocks and stabilizing braces, binary triggers aren't currently regulated under the National Firearms Act.
In one YouTube video, a man uses a binary trigger to fire a 30-round magazine in less than five seconds. In another, a binary trigger beats out a fully-automatic weapon.
[1] Bogus link in TFA. Fixed in TFS.
[2] Content is behind scripts.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Sunday June 24 2018, @04:13PM (1 child)
Spray & pray vs. aimed fire. If I was in the crosshairs, I'd rather be in the first situation. Secondly, even under a gun banner's dream of Australian style restrictions, firearms will still exist and be used: https://ssaa.org.au/disciplines/single-action/ [ssaa.org.au]
And if you don't think an Old West style of single action revolver (meaning the hammer must be manually cocked for each shot, you can't just pull the trigger again after a cartridge is fired, you must cock the hammer manually) can't be shot fast or accurately, check out Bob Munden's balloon trick where he pops two balloons spaced eight feet apart with a single action revolver and does it so fast, the two shots sound like one shot. You can't really tell its two shots without the aid of slow motion video. See here at about 56 seconds in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5WjkI5FuP0 [youtube.com]
I'd much rather be shot at by some kid who thinks he's all badass with his black rifle, using spray & pray techniques from a weapon with poor ergonomics making accuracy difficult (e.g., an AR pistol like the SAINT), or accessories prone to jamming (like drum mags), than by someone who knows how to shoot and has a manually operated rifle or pistol.
(Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Sunday June 24 2018, @06:49PM
Fun fact; most revolvers can have a higher rate of fire than a semi-auto weapon.
The rate of fire of a revolver is limited only by how fast the trigger can be pulled. The rate of fire on a semi-auto is limited by how fast the bolt can eject the spent case and load new round. And no mater how fast you pull the trigger on a semi-auto it will never get faster. Best I've heard is 2 to 3 rounds per second.
But I've seen 16 rounds go through a revolver in under 3 seconds, including a reload. A basic semi-auto can't match that rate of fire.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."