I'm glad you asked. I guess you missed the fact that I was answering your postulation:

You think about as well as you can spell..

Mass shootings are increasing because young men are seeking notoriety. It has nothing to do with the choice of firearm. The point is, it takes a mentally ill person to kill innocent people they don't know. A normal person does not do that, regardless how many firearms they own. We can stop mass shootings right now by banning gun ownership by males. Women don't do that.

According to the FBI the average home invasion is 3-5 armed individuals. If you are in a gun fight with bad people what type of weapon is a personal choice. For me, I prefer a semi-automatic pistol. One thing for certain. Nobody who has ever won a gun fight complained of having too much ammunition.

You can be certain of this. Criminals don't care how many laws you make nor how many guns you ban, they will still shoot you.

Armed law abiding citizens use their firearm 2.5 million times each year. It is estimated that between 50-75% of those interactions saved lives.

The military chose the 5.56/.223 round to allow troops to carry more rounds into combat. The higher muzzle velocity of 3,250 feet per second created enough terminal force while maintaining lighter recoil for quicker follow up shots.

Nominate for best post of the year.

That is a non-effective plan and would fail from the beginning.

A better plan is to secure our schools in a manner similar to a school in Indiana. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcpsnrxHdCc

This type of retrofit could happen nationwide over the course of summer break. Additionally, states should implement a program like Florida did. The guardian program can be found here: Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program

How about volunteering to protect a school in your area?

Another option would be to arm every adult in the school with a non-lethal option such as the Byrna pepper gun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5db0qRMJSfs

Incidentally, over 200 police departments are looking at the Byrna to replace tazers as their non-lethal option.

What is a hard core mass murderer? The worst school mass murderer used dynamite in Bath, Michigan. With all due respect Jim, firearms, mass shootings and ballistics are not in your wheelhouse. Perhaps stick to subjects you're well versed in.

A firearms is only as effective as the person on the trigger. I'll make a fun wager with you. I'll give you an AR or other semi-automatic rifle of your choice and I will use my 9mm Beretta 92FS semi-automatic handgun. Our target is a 12" x18" steel target at 400 yards. I'm confident I will hit that target before you will. It's simple geometry and ballistics.

Interesting fact. More people are killed each year with hammers and with fists that all rifles combined. What do we do about that?

I wonder if the Founding Fathers would have considered crossbows, bows, spears, javelins, swords, daggers, knives, etc., as "arms"?

I am sure that they would prefer that citizens had FIREARMS. Just for fun, I wonder what OUR country today would rather we had if we were invaded, semi-automatic weapons or bolt action weapons. What would you rather law enforcement have to defend you, a semi-auto pistol or a revolver in the case of a robbery?

This gun control debate is exactly that. Certain folks wish to control the debate, as they would control self defense. Self defense is not considered until certain folks find themselves in a dangerous situation, where immediate action is needed in seconds and the closest police are minutes away.

If you can't protect your own family then how can you protect your country during an invasion? What is the difference between self defense and defending your country, state, neighborhood, family, yourself?

Ignorance begets fear and fear begets irrational reactions.

Remember the Texas MASS shooting by Whitman where 14 were killed and 31 wounded? He started his killing by stabbing family members, then used mostly a bolt action hunting rifle to kill and wound dozens of others. Just a reminder that it is not a particular rifle that is the villain. It is the evil of the person that perpetrates the killings that is at fault. Get rid of the guns and you will still have murders. I believe the first murders in history were by stone and/or stick.

I agree that it will never happen, but for different reasons.

In my opinion the NRA is merely a handy bogieman for the anti-gun folks. The NRA at its peak in 2018 never had more than 5.5 million members. But to NOT blame the NRA would mean that the anti-gun people would have to accept that there are other reasons that so many people own guns, such as law-abiding people strongly supporting the Second Amendment, and the necessity that citizens be armed to protect themselves against government overreach. Things like that.

It is an interesting paradox, though. If one accepts the argument that most Americans strongly favor more stringent laws relating to gun ownership, then natural question is: why don't legislators CHANGE those laws? after all, legislators are elected by citizens, and what legislator would go directly against the wishes of his or her constituents? The words "political suicide" comes to mind. Additionally, the argument that these legislators are bought off by NRA money is patently ridiculous: the NRA doesn't vote.

No. Gun laws don't change because America's legislators by and large won't risk their careers by supporting something their constituents DON'T want to change.

“Arms” were a means to repel government tyranny (British or other) which happened to be devices like cannons and flintlocks back in the day.

The right to bear arms came from the 1689 English Bill of Rights. It was copied verbatim into a draft that made the top 10 list for our Bill of Rights. It provided the citizenry a means to get rid of James II which the newest William and Mary happily conceded to sign onto.

It had made it from the 4th most important priority to the 2nd by final adoption. It was and is still very significant to maintenance of freedom and democracy.

Just look at what Hollywood does with guns. There are shows that kill many people every show. Gun control is just about control.

So was their attire. Can anyone imagine George Washington or Thomas Jefferson in a wife beater shirt with a crass logo on it, wearing baggy shorts and Nike sneakers with no socks (hosiery) topped off with a baseball cap worn backwards? Maybe having some piercings, multiple earrings and facial tattoos?

Now it is all I can imagine.

Originally Posted by jimjamuser View Post
Lighter recoil is an equally important reason for the military going to the 22 caliber cartridge. Teaching recruits to handle higher recoil cartridges would be more difficult and time-consuming.

I believe you are mistaken, but I am willing to research it. Are you sure you meant to say the military went to a 22 caliber cartridge?

Interesting fact. More people are killed each year with hammers and with fists that all rifles combined. What do we do about that?


OK, anyone caught using their arms and fists to kill someone has their arms cut off and incinerated, then make them wear a t-shirt that says arms are meant for hugging.

Practice
 

When we went to Barstow/Ft. Irwin to practice, some rifles had 22 adapters to save on ammunition costs. It wasn’t a caliber used for wartime. Basic training installations and academy programs almost always used 22s for practice.

Thank you for clearing that up. I guess the caliber does not matter too much if you are looking to get the movements into memory.

I'm sorry to question you but I just do not see that as being true. Of course if you gave my Mother in Law an AR15, and I had a pump action shotgun there is a CHANCE I could fire more quickly. In the hands of shooters with similar skills I do not see a pump action ever being as fast (and definitely not as accurate) as a semi auto.

The second amendment
 

The 2nd amendment is meant to protect the citizenry from governmental over-reach not to protect the government from the citizens. As well as personal protection from would be attacks from criminals.

I always wanted to purchase a 1911, as that was the gun I was taught on. This was before the government switched to the 92 9mm Beretta.
It is just imo a superior simple consistent choice. Price and comfort always lead me to purchase something different.

Fortunate
 

We are certainly fortunate that many mass shooters don’t use shotguns. They are much more devastating in certain situations. Imagine if a pump with extenders was used in Uvalde. There would have been a lot more victims than we had for sure.

Bingo.

Maybe we should be thankful for media vilifying the AR-15 - type weapon instead of other freely-available weapons that could cause a lot more damage.

Australia did NOT disarm its citizens. And I would NOT recommend that for America. Australia DID melt down its semi-auto rifles which were causing its mass murders to increase. After Australia did that, mass murders went to zero. That is what I am saying and it is a historic lesson that America should be aware of (most aren't) and seek to emulate. The US has an INCREASING mass murder PROBLEM and the Australian example is a SOLUTION. This mass murder PROBLEM likely will increase more and could come to TV Land, which has some soft targets like big churches and the squares. At least I have proposed a SOLUTION to this problem. It may not be a perfect solution because it would change the status quo and the hooks in America by the gun lobby. I am not for gun confiscation in America or for taking away the means to prevent government tyranny. I am for sporting rifles that could be used in the RARE case of an American government going crazy ballistic against its citizens. These AR-15-type weapons and Russian Ak-47-type rifles are just OVERKILL for US civilian use and are the weapons of choice for mass murderers. I am saying that there should be a BALANCE between what the NRA wants to see a US citizen and the wanton, INCREASING mass murders of children and adults that we ARE experiencing and that we WILL be experiencing. BALANCE is everything!
As far as Australia and COVID go.......I don't live in Australia, so I am not expert enough on the Australian medical system and the severity of its Covid outbreak to say whether they did the wrong thing or the right thing in THEIR case. I just applaud their SOLUTION to their mass murder problem and I WISH that America could follow their example!

Sorry, but I have done plenty of hunting. I have a mounted pronghorn antelope to prove that. I shot a badger with a bow and arrow. I have shot many squirrels, pheasants, doves, crows, quail, rabbits, and snakes with a Noble manufactured 16 gauge shotgun that my parents gave me for a present when I was 12. I had a large collection of antique military bolt action rifles which I restored and did some gunsmithing on. I had a subscription to outdoor life for 20 years, and also some gun magazines when they were devoted to hunting rifles. About 1980 the gun magazines started to run articles mostly about modern military man killing rifles and I STOPPED buying them. I also hunted fish underwater with a speargun extensively when I lived in Miami. Saw many large barracuda and sea turtles but never a shark underwater. My father caught one while we were fishing. I also carried a rifle for protection one summer in bear country in Alaska. And about 5 years ago, I hunted in the Ocala national forest off of rt.42 near TV Land.
........ So, basically, I have seen my share of hunting and fishing activity. I am not some newbie as might be imagined. When I talk about guns, I have a background. Some can disagree with my conclusions but they can't discount me as some neophyte!

I think I said that a single shot was light and many expert hunters carried them for non-dangerous game trophy hunting. As far as hunters are so safe and conscientious ......I can't tell you how many times on the opening day of deer season, that I have observed hunters pointing their guns at me and using their scope to determine if I was a deer or whatever. I have seen pheasant hunters get sprayed luckily at long distances by shot pellets from other hunters. And I have seen pictures of farmers that have written "COW" on their animals right before opening day - when most of the hunters are completely DRUNK. I have no illusions about the accuracy of the shots of these drunk hunters. Trust me, don't go hunting eastern deer in any eastern state with thick forests on opening day without a bulletproof vest!

Yes for wolves, but they mainly get shot when they are stationary with the !st shot. If there is ANY cover nearby the wolf will disappear before a 2nd shot can happen.
.......Antelope are a lot easier to shoot because their usual habitat is the flat open plains. Their only defense is their keen eyesight, but ANY hunter that can hit them at 200 yards will be successful. Incidentally, I hunted antelope with a bow for 2 weeks. I did not cheat and make a blind at a water hole and wait for them like a terrorist like most hunters do . I actually gave them a sporting chance by stalking them. Stalking in that case meant CRAWLING for 150 yards through thorny cacti to get within 50 yards of them. It was virtually impossible, but it was the greatest hunt that I ever involved myself with. Most of the time the herd spooked. It was hard to wait to they ALL had their heads done and eating. I got lots of cuts and discomfort in those 2 weeks and I never got one with a bow. But, it was great outdoor activity and a lot of meditation thrown in. Most people think that hunters just open the car door and the game is right there to be shot. But, hunting is much MORE than that. It transports you back in time to a period when man's hunting skills determined if he or she ate or starved. Plus hunting helps a person to understand and appreciate the environment.

In all 2 person interactions, there is an oscillation of time periods when one is the teacher and the other is the student.

OK but so too has the population.

I appreciate the invitation. Unfortunately, I am not of great physical health at the time being. If that improves, I would take you up on that offer and we could also do something really interesting like shoot at quail in the air with bows and special arrows. That beats punching holes in paper......in my opinion.

I would prefer a short-barreled shotgun for home defense. I don't have access to FBI statistics on home invasions, but I would think that it would usually be ONLY 1 or 2 home burglars. Maybe if they were burglarizing Mark Zuckerberg's house or some other 1 % er, then they might take a GANG of 5 co-crooks with them. Most crooks probably don't have 5 friends that they trust. Maybe some gang bangers could team up to do one house, but color me skeptical.

I would prefer a short-barreled shotgun for home defense. I don't have access to FBI statistics on home invasions, but I would think that it would usually be ONLY 1 or 2 home burglars. Maybe if they were burglarizing Mark Zuckerberg's house or some other 1 % er, then they might take a GANG of 5 co-crooks with them. Most crooks probably don't have 5 friends that they trust. Maybe some gang bangers could team up to do one house, but color me skeptical.

Agreed. That is pretty much what I said.

I stated that my plan was ONLY ideal and would not fly in the US. I agree with hardening schools. And I wonder if giving the teachers rubber bullet guns would be helpful? That is only a suggestion. Or even flare pistols which would be somewhat effective and VERY inexpensive. And more teachers would be inclined to carry non-lethal weapons.

The size of the inside of the barrel for the .223 caliber AR-15 military-style weapon is the same as the 22 caliber RIMFIRE cartridge that is generally used for "plinking" and shooting small pests. The .223 cartridge has room for much more powder and therefore more velocity. The bullet length and construction are different between the two as is the barrel twist and other factors.

More people may be killed in TOTAL every year with hammers. But, it is harder to kill 4 or more people at one time with a hammer than with a semi-auto rifle. People can be killed with cars or rocks or even electrocuted on purpose. Hammers and rocks can not be restricted by law, but semi-auto rifles that are preferred by mass murderers COULD BE restricted by law. A simple logical law would be that you must be age 21 or older to purchase a semi-auto rifle.

Yes there are adapters that allow you to shoot a 22 rimfire in a AR-15 style rifle. It is possible to shoot a 30 cal M-1 carbine cartridge in a 30-06 rifle........or even smaller pistol cartridges.

You have a right to question that. It was a pretty startling opinion that I have about that. Your left hand on the pump can apply more force and speed than the blowback of the gasses used in many semi-autos like the AK-47. The gases have a long path to travel. Some semi-autos are recoil operated so they would be faster than the gas blowback system. A luger is a recoil reload system using a toggle bolt system. Ever notice how slow the toggle moves? A pump shotgun could certainly reload faster than that system.

I agree and have also stated that a short barrel shotgun would be the best home defense system. Also, the shot would be less likely to penetrate walls and injure someone unintentionally.

Yes, Australia did in fact disarm their citizens by taking away their arms by decree and force of law. Disarming its citizens to a certain point is disarming nonetheless.

Australias gun law (NFA) went into affect in 1996 after the Port Arthur massacre. The US and Australia both define a mass shooting as 5 or more dead or injured. Since 1997, Australia has 17 mass killing events. Your claim of zero is false.

What you wish for is not a solution at all. Removing all semi-automatic rifles will not stop mass killings. Your proposal is to punish law abiding citizens while ignoring those with evil in their heart. Your proposal does not affect the bad guy but adversely affects the good guy. One man with a semi-automatic pistol stopped a mass shooter at the mall in Indiana. When the average response time for law enforcement is 10 minutes, can we estimate how many people would have died that day waiting for the Police? Jonathan Sapirman exited the mens bathroom and began shooting people in the food court. It took 15 seconds for a good citizen with a handgun to stop that threat. Sapirman killed 3 people and injured 2 while firing 24 rounds. When he was killed he had over 100 rounds on him. If Elisha Dicken had not killed Sapirman so quickly we can deduce that with the first magazine there were 5 casualties. He still had four more magazines. There would have likely been 20 more casualties and at the same rate in stead of 3 dead and 2 injured, the total would have been 15 dead and 10 injured. We can safely credit Dicken with saving 12 lives or more.

At this point I have to assume you did not go to any of the links I previously provided including the two videos. The two solutions I have proposed would virtually eliminate school mass shootings.

I agree with you that mass shootings will likely increase. That is because our Federal, State and Local governments have created the conditions. Along with the media, they have created the motive. Notoriety. This is a real world video game and these young men are vying for the high score. To stop mass shootings/killings we have to remove the motive. Their name should not be known. We have to stop glorifying these killings by adding another name to the list of famous killers. The lockdowns forced kids to stay home for nearly two years. What did they do for boredom and inability to be with their peers and to touch their peers?

Perhaps we need copy cat good samaritans? Millions of law abiding responsible gun owning Americans armed and trained to stop the bad guy in 15 seconds.

That sounds reasonable. Let's go to the range so you can teach me something.

Not true, Jim. The weapon of choice for mass murderers is a handgun, not a rifle. That is very easily verified with a little Google search.

Ramos had 77 minutes alone with two classrooms of children. He could have killed just as many by strangling them with his bare hands.

Remove motive and opportunity and so many lives would be spared.