Hahahaha. Are you saying that you can’t research taggant use because you couldn’t get a tax break or incentive from the government? Do you believe that since all innovation stems from the largesse of the government it would be impossible for you to do research with your own money? Or effort? You really fell for the “You didn’t build that” speech, lock, stock, and barrel. :smack:
Your obsessive hatred for the NRA discredited your position. At least you managed to get a little exercise “jumping to conclusions”.
Before we got too far away from this, I just wanted to say thanks for this, assuming that you meant it sincerely.
I’m used to pitched arguments here that do not result in anything more meaningful than counterargument. I felt vituperative when I wrote the initial post to you, and felt a little sheepish about it when you responded thoughtfully.
I think I get too jaded and cynical from my interactions here, so I appreciate the curveball.
So, RTFirefly, our OP. Are we just going to let this thread fade away without an explicit admission that perhaps the NRA is not to blame for the lack of taggants in the Boston marathon bombs after all?
Excellent audio article, NPR is the only station I ever listen to in the car.
But if these bombs weren’t constructed with gunpowder, but fireworks, then it’s sort of a non-starter. The most popular explosive seems to be ANFO for terrorists who really want bang. First World Trade/OKC, neither used gunpowder. I think it was you that labeled these bombers as “morons” because they couldn’t lay their hands on anything more aggressive than black powder. And it appears that you overestimated them, they couldn’t even lay their hands on that.
Are any lobbying groups seeking to limit taggants in fertilizer or fireworks? Or is it just “gun” powders that set us off?
Federal investigators have not revealed what was used to make the bombs. Unused fireworks were found in Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s dorm room at UMass Dartmouth, so it is unclear they used fireworks to make the bombs.
Absolutely. Muzzle loaders - pistols, rifles, and muskets - all use black powder. There are even “Black Powder” hunting seasons that coincide with bow hunting season in some places. There are also black powder six shooters, where each cylinder in the pistol is loaded with powder/patch/ball. Not sure if any of those are currently in production, the whole black powder shooting scene is a pretty small niche, I’ve only seen one muzzle loading rifle fired in my life.
Technically speaking, no gunpowder goes into the production of bullets. Bullets are the projectile shot from the gun, cartridges are the casing/primer/powder/bullet assembly. There is gunpowder in a cartridge.
What other uses are there for gunpowder, other than the manufacture of ammunition? We’ve seen that black powder could be used for fireworks, but are there any applications for smokeless gunpowder other than ammunition? Note that gunpowder is fairly specialized stuff, with different burn rates to be used with different applications.
Ok. Yes. So let’s ask this as a crazy, unfounded hypothetical.
I guess federal investigators have not ruled out a Tea Party membership for Tamerlane Tsarnaev either – weren’t you one of the geniuses predicting that?
OK, I won’t try to educate you about the differences. If you are under the impression they are one in the same, or even if all gun powder is one in the same, then there’s not anything else to discuss.
