American Gun Ownership Highest In 18 Years

[Ed Anger]

The potato should make it lighter.

POLISH POTATO DENSE AND STRONG.

[Habbaku]

 

[derspiess]

So the ATF backed off of a threatened ban on certain 5.56mm ammo.  I'm sightly disappointed, because I could have sold off my XM855 stockpile for HUGE PROFIT.

[CountDeMoney]

What "certain" 5.56 mm ammo were they "threatening" to "ban"?

[Grey Fox]

We need to update the title of the thread. It's 3.5 years old now.

[CountDeMoney]

God Shoots Himself While Cleaning Gun
News in Brief • God • guns • News • ISSUE 51•10 • Mar 10, 2015

THE HEAVENS—Calling it a careless mistake that was thankfully less serious than it could have been, the Lord God, Maker of Heaven and Earth, admitted Tuesday that He accidentally shot Himself in the thigh while cleaning His Beretta 9 mm semiautomatic pistol. "I was just buffing up the trigger guard when all of a sudden the thing goes off," said God, chastising Himself for leaving the safety off and forgetting to keep the muzzle pointed away from Him. "I really should have checked to make sure the chamber was empty. Thank goodness it wasn't my AK or my Mossberg 500 Persuader—then there could have been some real damage." Our Holy Father added that He anticipated a speedy recovery, vowing that He'd be back out at Heaven's shooting range as early as tomorrow.

[lustindarkness]

We need to update the title of the thread. It's 3.5 years old now.

I just saw this on Yahoo! http://news.yahoo.com/major-survey-shows-gun-ownership-132558989.html

Major survey shows gun ownership declining

Major survey shows gun ownership and hunting at record lows

[mongers]

We need to update the title of the thread. It's 3.5 years old now.

"American Gun Ownership Highest In 3.5 Years" ?

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

What "certain" 5.56 mm ammo were they "threatening" to "ban"?

The XM855 steel-core MIL-SPEC rounds commonly known as "green tips".  Some shooters prefer them to the XM193 lead-core MIL-SPEC rounds.

I haven't followed the issue much, though, so I don't know the details.  All I know is the ATF suddenly got a bug up its ass about steel-core 5.56 rounds, causing the gun nuts to claim it was a back door attempt to ban AR-pattern rifles.

[derspiess]

What "certain" 5.56 mm ammo were they "threatening" to "ban"?

Are you Yi-ing me or do you honestly not know?

Assuming the latter, the ATF wanted to ban 5.56x45mm ammo manufactured to M855 specifications.  M855 ammo has steel in the core of the projectile that helps it penetrate better than some other 5.56/.223 ammo.  ATF's rationale was that they had the authority to ban it under the 1980s legislation banning armor piercing "cop killer" pistol bullets.  The 5.56x45mm round is a rifle round and is used primarily in sporting rifles, most commonly AR-pattern rifles.  Thus, the ATF's position up until recently was that it was exempt from the law. 

Now AR pistols do exist and have for a while but they are not considered a threat to cops.  It seems odd that out of the blue the ATF decided to change its position and go after this popular ammo.  It's not like we've had an epidemic of cops getting shot by gangbangers wielding AR pistols with those goofy-looking buffer tubes sticking out of the back of the receiver.  But it does match the administration's stated desire to use executive measures to go after firearms it doesn't like.

[CountDeMoney]

What "certain" 5.56 mm ammo were they "threatening" to "ban"?

Are you Yi-ing me or do you honestly not know?

I 1) honestly did not know, and 2) am wary of your definitions of "threaten" and "ban" when it comes to gun nut bullshit. 

[derspiess]

What "certain" 5.56 mm ammo were they "threatening" to "ban"?

Are you Yi-ing me or do you honestly not know?

I 1) honestly did not know, and 2) am wary of your definitions of "threaten" and "ban" when it comes to gun nut bullshit. 

Feel free to do your own research.  In a sense the issue was a bit overblown.  They weren't going after all 5.56 ammo, just a fairly popular version.  Had it been banned (and the way the communication was worded they left the door open for doing so in the future), life would go on.  There are plenty of other flavors of 5.56/.223 out there.

I'm surprised they decided against banning the ammo (for now) because they previously had used similar rationale to ban importation of the super-cheap Russian surplus 7n6 5.45x39 ammo, which was so cheap that manufacturers started making AR rifles and components chambered for that round.

[derspiess]

So yesterday I got to shoot a gun I never knew existed.  It was a Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector revolver made on contract for the Canadian army and chambered in .455-- a Canadian soldier carried it in WWII.  I'm not a huge revolver guy but it was a pleasure to shoot.  Very smooth double action.

Also got to shoot a Luger in .30 Luger with the shoulder stock attached and an M-1 carbine for the first time.

[Ed Anger]

The m-1 carbine is a sweet weapon. 

[derspiess]

Yep, very pleasant. Almost feels like a toy after shooting a high powered rifle, though. I'd like to have one, but in 9mm.