[QUOTE=kung fu lola]
But how many rounds can they fire in half a minute? How much ammo can they hold at one time? I know I can look this up myself, but the more I read of your posts the more I trust that you will be factual, and many 'net sites aren’t upfront about their biases. I guess what I am saying is that if I HAD to choose, I would rather have two or three people mortally wounded than twenty or thirty perforated.
[/QUOTE]
I appreciate that you trust that I’m giving you honest information. I try to - if you have to deceive to try to make a point, it’s probably not a point worth making.
This is an odd place we’re going with this thread, comparing the practical effect of various tools in a killing spree, but…
Pump action shotguns? IIRC 8 round magazine tubes are fairly common, and could be spent in 30 seconds. The reloading obviously is a slower process. But the ability to strictly put out rounds isn’t the only factor. Shotguns aren’t the “point in the general direction of the target and fire” guns that they’re portrayed in popular culture to be, but they require less skill to hit a target at close range than a rifle. And each individual hit is going to give far more lethal force than a rifle. And depending on the shells, choke, etc., in a crowded area scenario, each shotgun round has the potential to kill multiple people.
However, if you had someone who was very familiar with the weaponry, and was well trained, a semi-automatic rifle would probably be more versatile and be able to cause more damage all around. But that’s skill you’d only see out of ex-military or a dedicated hobbyist. For most purposes, the shotgun would be better.
But even considering that, take this example.
The mini-14, pictured here is a gas-powered semi-automatic .223 caliber rifle fed with a detachable magazines. It’s very common, and looks pretty much like a conventional rifle.
The AR-15, pictured here is a gas-powered semi-automatic .223 caliber rifle fed with a detachable magazine. It’s very common, and yet looks like a scary military weapon.
The former is not considered an “assault weapon” while the latter is. And in case you didn’t notice, I used the same words to describe each. Because they function identically - you get one round per trigger pull and you swap magazines, and they shoot the same rounds. They have the same capabilities. Either would be roughly equally effective in a killing spree. The only difference is cosmetic. And yet one is a menace to society and needs to be banned, and the other one is just a fun varmint hunting rifle.
