Liberty is an inherently offensive lifestyle. Living in a free society guarantees that each one of us will see our most cherished principles and beliefs questioned and in some cases mocked. That psychic discomfort is the price we pay for basic civic peace. It's worth it. It's a pragmatic principle. Defend everyone else's rights, because if you don't there is no one to defend yours. -- MaxedOutMama

I don't just want gun rights... I want individual liberty, a culture of self-reliance....I want the whole bloody thing. -- Kim du Toit

The most glaring example of the cognitive dissonance on the left is the concept that human beings are inherently good, yet at the same time cannot be trusted with any kind of weapon, unless the magic fairy dust of government authority gets sprinkled upon them.-- Moshe Ben-David

The cult of the left believes that it is engaged in a great apocalyptic battle with corporations and industrialists for the ownership of the unthinking masses. Its acolytes see themselves as the individuals who have been "liberated" to think for themselves. They make choices. You however are just a member of the unthinking masses. You are not really a person, but only respond to the agendas of your corporate overlords. If you eat too much, it's because corporations make you eat. If you kill, it's because corporations encourage you to buy guns. You are not an individual. You are a social problem. -- Sultan Knish

All politics in this country now is just dress rehearsal for civil war. -- Billy Beck

Tuesday, July 29, 2003

Past Time for Some Gun Stuff


During the effor to pass the 1986 Firearm Owners Protection Act Representative William Hughes (DGun-ban, NJ) tacked on an amendment that prohibited any new full-auto weapons to enter the civilian market following enaction of the law.

As a practical matter, this didn't make any difference where criminal use is concerned, but it did have two interesting effects. First, manufacturers scrambled to make and register as many new full-auto receivers as they could before the ban took effect, and the existing pool of full-auto weapons suddenly skyrocketed in value. The result was that, essentially overnight, the pool of civilian possessable full-auto weapons doubled. And a lot of people who didn't want one before, did now. Economics 101 - supply and demand.

Now, I'm not really a full-auto fan myself. They're a lot of fun, but horrendously expensive to shoot much (and if you shoot a full-auto, any range time qualifies as "much.") I've always wanted a classic Thompson, though. The Tommy-gun has always seemed a beautiful weapon. The original 1928 model, deeply blued, with a 50-round drum:


is a piece of art. And priced like it.

I wouldn't pass up a belt-fed, either, and for that my tastes run toward the H&K MG3, which was an updated and rechambered MG-42 of WWII vintage. Instead of the original 8x57 round of the MG42, the MG3 fired the standard NATO 7.62x51 (.308) round - at 1200 rounds per minute. That's a sound that has been described as "God tearing phonebooks." Here's one:


These go for in the neighborhood of $8k and up now.

But my real interest in a full-auto weapon is modern. I'm a science-fiction fan, and I like to watch Stargate SG-1. In recent seasons the stars have been carrying the Fabrique Nationale (FN) P90 submachinegun - this little beastie:


FN doesn't sell this gun for civilian use anyway (damnit) but it looks so futuristic I'd really like to have one. It fires an specially designed 5.7x28mm cartridge and the factory round is a 31 grain FMJ with a steel penetrator and aluminum core at 900 rounds per minute. The small diameter (.22 caliber), steel penetrator, and very forward center of gravity allow the projectile to penetrate ballistic armor very well, yet still upset and tumble in the target. It does not, however, fragment well. Expensive, though - FN claims the price per round in 1,000 round lots at about $0.41. OUCH! Magazine capacity is 50. The magazine is perhaps the most unique thing about this unique firearm - it rides on top of the firearm and carries the rounds perpendicular to the axis of the bore. It's not remarkably expensive, either. According to the FN site they sell for $1,350.

However, with the double-whammy of the Hughes Amendment and the fact that FN doesn't sell that weapon on the civilian market, I'll never get one it seems.

(Edited @13:30 to correct the Lautenberg/Hughes amendment error. Specifics of this legislation can be found here and here. I've got no excuse - I'm currently reading the last cite. Thanks to Publicola for setting me straight on that one.)

UPDATE: 13:50 - I swear this is a coincidence (great minds and all that) but Hell in a Handbasket made a post on the P90 Sunday. He even mentions Stargate SG-1. Is that weird or what?

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