Local gun shops see spikes in AR-15 rifle sales after school shooting

[Soeroah]

Just because they don't 'need' it doesn't mean they shouldn't have it. Guns are more than just defensive things these days. Besides, if we didn't have things we don't 'need', we... well... Literally wouldn't be having this conversation on computers on a game forum with high speed internet.


I actually question that.. While I have no evidence and this is just speculation of the situation... Most people going out and buying stuff probably pay attention to legislation and are informed.. And probably if they take things like law seriously, they take gun safety seriously as well. Of course, with so many guns, and so many people with guns.. Even if "A small percentage" of owners are irresponsible.. That's still like, hundreds of thousands of people or something.

I meant "don't need and shouldn't" as two distinct statements, not "don't need and thus shouldn't". I don't believe the average citizen needs a powerful weapon, and I also think they shouldn't, because as far as I'm concerned, the risks outweigh the benefits. I would argue the point of guns being "more than just defensive things these days" is exactly the problem. When the idea behind guns were just self-defence, sure, maybe that would work, but I struggle to see the reasoning behind having more powerful guns when you can defend yourself just as easily with a baseline one.

Maybe most people who buy guns are doing it legally and are informed, but a trend I've noticed lately is every time there's a mass shooting, gun sales spike. If I were prone to conspiracy theories I'd wonder about how the NRA and the gun industry profit every time a mass shooting happens, but that would be a stretch.

Look, I'm not completely anti-gun. I don't have a problem with people legally owning personal, concealable fire arms if it makes them feel better, stored safely, with proper background checks, mandatory training and keeping ammunition and the gun separate and locked up. But that increasingly doesn't seem to be the case. There are stories of people just buying guns without any kind of checks because of a loophole allowing private sales to take place without regulation, people who use their parent's or grandparent's easily accessible guns in their murderspree, people who use Legal Gun + Legal Modification to make an illegal gun.

I don't see why anyone needs any weapon that looks like it game out of a military training camp.

[Sorcath]

They shoulodnt even allow heavy machine guns for citizens , appart from police etc

They aren't machine guns.

[Gutpile]

They shoulodnt even allow heavy machine guns for citizens , appart from police etc

Jesus fuck. Now the stupidity has evolved them from machine guns into heavy machine guns. What's next? AR-15s are rocket launchers?

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I don't see why anyone needs any weapon that looks like it game out of a military training camp.

Nobody gives a fuck what you think they need. So the mean black rifle is bad because of how it looks, huh?

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I'm curious as to what you imply with "effective self-defense". Thieves hightail it at the first sign of confrontation and robbers too if possible when they realize they've lost the upper hand. Warning- and wounding-shots should be part of training instead of only teaching shoot to kill which might be called for in some scenarios and situations but certainly not every one you can think of... I just think rules of engagement for police should be looked at as well as that's where the smart trigger happy loons tend to flock together.

You couldn't be any more ignorant about this subject. Well, at least you didn't suggest shooting the gun out of the bad guy's hand, so there's that.

[madmossy]

If you live in a society where you feel you "NEED" a firearm, big or small to be safe, well then something is clearly wrong with your "society"

[tankbug]

The whole mentality of "warning shots" and "wounding shots" is all fine and dandy in a perfect world, but in reality they can be highly ineffective in a self defense situation. The fact that trying to accurately land a "wounding shot" in a self defense situation is extremely hard and risky to do, even for trained professionals, is more than enough reason to completely count it out. There are SO MANY variables involved in a situation where anything less than aiming center mass and emptying the mag is considered highly stupid/ineffective that even most cops aren't trained to do anything other than aim center mass and empty the mag. And there's a damn good reason for it. Example: Shooting someone in the leg is not only extremely hard to do (especially in a quick, high intensity scenario), but it still allows them to shoot back.

Some cops (or quite a few, as we have seen) use lethal force at range on people armed with knives or similar objects, unarmed but aggressive people, or just people fleeing. It's not about defending themselves, but seeing suspects as "bad guys" who must be subdued or killed, and only slight resistance puts them in the latter category. I don't know if they're trained like soldiers fighting a war, if it's just a macho, western lawman culture thing going on, but if they kill a fleeing, unarmed suspect in fear of their own life, they're so goddamn paranoid or blind that they should never have worn a badge.

[Zephyr Storm]

If you live in a society where you feel you "NEED" a firearm, big or small to be safe, well then something is clearly wrong with your "society"

Yes, because criminals clearly always conform to society's laws.

[Gutpile]

The level of ignorance and stupidity in this thread regarding guns and their use in self defense situations is only topped by the ridiculous and moronic proclamations of those stating what kinds of guns other people need.

Yeah, this is mmo-c alright.

[Zephyr Storm]

Some cops (or quite a few, as we have seen) use lethal force at range on people armed with knives or similar objects, unarmed but aggressive people, or just people fleeing. It's not about defending themselves, but seeing suspects as "bad guys" who must be subdued or killed, and only slight resistance puts them in the latter category. I don't know if they're trained like soldiers fighting a war, if it's just a macho, western lawman culture thing going on, but if they kill a fleeing, unarmed suspect in fear of their own life, they're so goddamn paranoid or blind that they should never have worn a badge.

The discussion has nothing to do with how cops handle themselves morally and ethically (that's an entirely different matter). It's about how an ordinary citizen can't be expected to pull off amazing "wounding shots" in a stressful, potentially life threatening, self defense situation when even law enforcement isn't trained to do "wounding shots" because of how highly ineffective and idiotic those types of shots are in the first place.

[Gutpile]

The discussion has nothing to do with how cops handle themselves (that's an entirely different matter). It's about how an ordinary citizen can't be expected to pull off amazing "wounding shots" in a stressful, potentially life threatening, self defense situation when even law enforcement isn't trained to do "wounding shots" because of how highly ineffective and idiotic they are in the first place.

But it happens in the movies and TV all the time!

[Realtalk]

Jesus fuck. Now the stupidity has evolved them from machine guns into heavy machine guns. What's next? AR-15s are rocket launchers?

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In 1958, ArmaLite submitted ten AR-15 and one hundred 25-round magazines for CONARC testing. The tests found that a 5- to 7-man team armed with AR-15s has the same firepower as 11-man team armed with M14s. That soldiers armed with AR-15s could carry three times more ammunition as those armed with M14s (649 rounds vs 220 rounds). And, that the AR-15 was three times more reliable than the M14 rifle. However, General Maxwell Taylor, then Army Chief of Staff, "vetoed" the AR-15 in favor of the M14. In 1959, ArmaLite now frustrated with the lack of results and suffering ongoing financial difficulties, sold its rights to the AR-10 and AR-15 to Colt.

Whether full automatic or as fast as you can pull trigger. Please tell me again that these were designed other than to kill mass amount people. I really need a good laugh.

[Tiwack]

Jesus fuck. Now the stupidity has evolved them from machine guns into heavy machine guns. What's next? AR-15s are rocket launchers?

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Nobody gives a fuck what you think they need. So the mean black rifle is bad because of how it looks, huh?

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You couldn't be any more ignorant about this subject. Well, at least you didn't suggest shooting the gun out of the bad guy's hand, so there's that.

If being curious to outside perspectives is ignorant then i'm guilty though I much prefer that to the opposite close-minded scenario you seem to be practicing.

[Soeroah]

Nobody gives a fuck what you think they need. So the mean black rifle is bad because of how it looks, huh?

Ah, so the AR-15 has the same firepower and effectiveness as a handgun?

[Zephyr Storm]

Ah, so the AR-15 has the same firepower and effectiveness as a handgun?

You wouldn't be making a comment like that if you understood what different calibers of weapons did. A close range shot from a .44 caliber or .50 caliber handgun will do far more damage than a close range shot of an AR-15 that is chambered to only shoot a .22 caliber bullet.

[Mekh]

You wouldn't be making a comment like that if you understood what different calibers of weapons did. A close range shot from a .44 caliber or .50 caliber handgun will do far more damage than a close range shot of an AR-15 that is chambered to only shoot a .22 caliber bullet.

Oddly enough school shootings and general mass shootings with a .50 AE Desert Eagle have not been an issue so far AFAIK. If I had to guess, it's because in spite of being semi-auto, the RPM of the DEagle (or any high calibre hand cannon) is way lower than that of a bump-stocked or even stock AR-15.

[Gutpile]

Oddly enough school shootings and general mass shootings with a .50 AE Desert Eagle have not been an issue so far AFAIK. If I had to guess, it's because in spite of being semi-auto, the RPM of the DEagle (or any high calibre hand cannon) is way lower than that of a bump-stocked or even stock AR-15.

The Virginia Tech shooter killed 32 people and wounded 17 with a Glock 9mm pistol and a Walther P22 .22cal pistol.

[tankbug]

The discussion has nothing to do with how cops handle themselves morally and ethically (that's an entirely different matter). It's about how an ordinary citizen can't be expected to pull off amazing "wounding shots" in a stressful, potentially life threatening, self defense situation when even law enforcement isn't trained to do "wounding shots" because of how highly ineffective and idiotic those types of shots are in the first place.

I think it's "funny" how you don't need training in wielding the power to quickly and easily taking many people's lives. Perhaps people shouldn't be trusted with that. If people are often in danger of criminal acts, perhaps they should only be able to get less-lethal alternatives, like tasers or specialized riot weapons to defend themselves.

[Mekh]

The Virginia Tech shooter killed 32 people and wounded 17 with a Glock 9mm pistol and a Walther P22 .22cal pistol.

And I said .50 AE. Different recoil. Like knock-it-in-your-face-or-out-of-your-hands-if-unprepared recoil. You don't double-tap with that because the second shot will most likely miss, even with an experienced shooter


(Vid description says, shooter has got a bad hand after surgery.)

[Vankrys]

The Virginia Tech shooter killed 32 people and wounded 17 with a Glock 9mm pistol and a Walther P22 .22cal pistol.

You make it sound cool, you worship him. Seriously?

[Soeroah]

You wouldn't be making a comment like that if you understood what different calibers of weapons did. A close range shot from a .44 caliber or .50 caliber handgun will do far more damage than a close range shot of an AR-15 that is chambered to only shoot a .22 caliber bullet.

I suppose I'd probably know more about guns if I lived in a country where mass shootings were a common occurrence. I just three hours ago found out I was once in a house that had a gun in it as a four year old.

[Zephyr Storm]

Oddly enough school shootings and general mass shootings with a .50 AE Desert Eagle have not been an issue so far AFAIK. If I had to guess, it's because in spite of being semi-auto, the RPM of the DEagle (or any high calibre hand cannon) is way lower than that of a bump-stocked or even stock AR-15.

My comment had nothing to do with that. Was merely pointing out the flaw in the comment the other poster was making.

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I think it's "funny" how you don't need training in wielding the power to quickly and easily taking many people's lives. Perhaps people shouldn't be trusted with that. If people are often in danger of criminal acts, perhaps they should only be able to get less-lethal alternatives, like tasers or specialized riot weapons to defend themselves.

*sigh*

Can we all come live in this magical fairy tale land that has unicorns that fart rainbows? It sounds like a nice place.

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You make it sound cool, you worship him. Seriously?

He was merely making a point. Don't get your panties in a wad.

I must have also missed the memo where stating facts was considered the same as worshiping something.