Two dead in shooting near the Empire State Building

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There's no such thing as an "assault rifle bullet". There are calibers commonly associated with assault rifles or their semi-auto look-alikes (e.g. 5.56X45mm, 7.62X51mm, 5,45X39mm, 7.62X39mm).
There is no reason to believe that a round fired from an assault rifle makes worse wounds. A round from a hunting rifle in a caliber suited for elk like a .300 Winchester magnum (or several others) is much more devastating than a 7.62X39mm round from an AK47.

For an assault rifle to be an assault rifle one of the characteristics is that it be selective fire (semi-auto and full-auto or 3-round burst). An AR-15 is not an assault rifle since it is semi-auto only. An M16 is an assault rifle since it is selective fire. Same goes for the AK47 and AK74 semi-autos. A true assault rifle would be a class III firearm which have been heavily restricted in the US since 1934.

Well what else are we going to call an AR-15?
Correct me if I'm wrong, because i certainly could be, but isn't the AR standing for Assault Rifle?

The first AR15's were built in the late 50's by Armalite and they were selective fire.
When the US military started using some of them in the early 60's (not officially adopted until 1966 or 67) it became the M16 (later M16a1, M16a2, etc).
Colt bought the manufacturing rights in the late 50's. The AR15 under the Colt name was offered as a civilian legal semi-auto in the early 60's and the M16 as the select fire military version.
The semi-auto AR15 has been available on the market since like 1963 or 64 and the world has not come to an end because of them.

Haha, I didn't say it has.
I don't have a problem with AR-15's I used to because I was, like most people ignorant of the facts but I found out about being them semi auto whereas I had thought them all full auto.

I was simply asking you what else you could call an AR other then Assault Rifle.
Assault rifle has become a fairly negative buzz word and I think it might help if it had another name to go by.

This is technical minutia that doesn't help. Not many gang-bangers or other criminals are likely to use a 300 Win Mag to shoot people. If you shot someone with a cannonball it would also do more damage than a single AK47 or AR15 round, but no one does that (it also leaves out being able to shoot more AK/AR rounds a given amount of time.) I doubt many doctors outside of a war zone have seen .30 cal. injuries.

As far as bullets that flip on impact, that is a well-known feature of 5.56 ammo, which to most people who are not interested in the precise details qualifies as "assault weapon ammo."


I suspect that most people are not going by precise legal or technical definitions. I'd guess that if they knew more they would say that they consider an assault rifle to be a rifle with which a person can discharge rounds faster than any other type of rifle except for those that are full-auto.

Or maybe they'd say that an "assault weapon" is what usually turns up in these outrageous mass-shootings and are the weapons of choice of gangs and drug cartels. I know that gun hobbyists/enthusiasts hate to hear it, but some people are attracted to "assault weapons" for the worst reasons EDIT: (they're better and more convenient for killing people that most other types of firearm).

You didn't but that seems to be the feeling with those that like to cringe and criticize without knowing anything about what they're cringing over and criticizing.


And I was briefly explaining the history and how that name came about. It just sort of stuck after the first ones. AR15 is actually a registered Colt trademark and the other AR15 manufacturers use another name. For example: Bushmaster's AR15 type is labeled XM15 but everyone colloquially refers to all of the AR15 types as AR15's regardless of who made them.


Personally, I'm not in to appeasement. The ultimate goal of the anti-gun movement, regardless of their claims, is disarmament and I won't play their game.
If someone buys and AR15 with all the scary accessories or even a single shot .22 it's their property and they can call it whatever they want to including an "assault rifle". It's the wrong terminology but I'm not into becoming a definitions nazi to them except to explain what I already have.

Definitions are what we use to identify, segregate, and explain things. To put it delicately there is a lot of confusion about firearms and what fits into what category.

By assault rifle bullet, I mean a bullet fired from an assault rifle, I'm giving importance mainly to it's muzzle velocity and spinning velocity (yup, there is probably an specific word for that, I don't know it, sorry). As you may see, my knowledge on firearms is not great, but I do have some, and can use it.

If one single bullet connects, it can do a lot of damage. Now, I'm here to inform myself rather than argue, so I must ask. A hunting rifle's bullet (meaning by this, a bullet fired from a hunting rifle) may be deadlier as well, from what Mike said, but which of the two is better suited to wound the most people in a given amount of time? I could fire 30 rounds from an AK-47, one trigger pull from each other, before having to reload. And they may not be as deadly as a big game hunting rifle, but they are still more dangerous than your average handgun. What is a legitimate use for a semi-auto anyway?

Leave it to a liberal to raise gun control talking points over a massacre caused by the police.

Perhaps we need to limit the cops' magazine capacities to limit the number of bystanders they shoot?

The rounds that assault rifles and their semi-auto counterparts shoot are intermediate rounds as opposed to full power.
Example: During WW2 the Germans used the 8X57mm Mauser round in their rifles and machine-guns. This was a full power round suited for slow fire in a rifle or automatic fire in a heavier machine-gun being fired from a tripod or bipod. With that you're shooting a 7.92mm diameter bullet weighing 196 grains at about 2500 fps (feet per second).
The Germans invented and fielded the first assault rifle, the sturmgewehr, during WW2. To make the new weapon compact enough and controllable enough in both semi-auto and full auto they needed a less potent yet still effective round and that lead to the shorter 7.92X33mm kurz round. Same diameter projectile but lighter (122 grains I think) at about 2300 fps.

After that came the AK47 with a similar round.
Later still the M16 with a similar round but lighter, smaller in diameter, and faster.
In a nutshell assault rifles shoot less potent ammo than a full size battle rifle or big game rifle.

As far as magazine capacity goes the weapon is only as good as the operator.

And don't forget how the anti's screech about how only the police have the training and competence to use firearms.

An assault rifle wound causes a small entry wound and a huge exit wound, because of all the spinning and tumbling. It causes strong hydrostatic shock too, which harms the body beyond the point of direct impact, it may even cause brain damage without hitting anywhere near the head. A good shot may easily cause dismemberment too.

Got a phone call from my father, and I seized the opportunity . 2200 fps is still really fast and harmful. Maybe battle rifles and big game rifles are worse, but assault rifles are quite a bit nastier than handguns, and nasty enough to easily kill or maim. That's as far as I can take this, really, I don't know enough on US gun law and gun culture to reach strong and fact-backed conclusions regarding the legality of semi-auto assault rifles.

Which one is better to kill a lot of people in a given amount of time, between a big game hunting rifle and a semi-automatic assault rifle, this time assuming both shooters are equally skilled with their respective weapons?

Yes how dare we.



Anyone who practices with a gun can reload a gun in a matter of seconds, they're only missing out on 2 or so rounds to reload.
So the difference between a 30 round magazine and 3 ten round magazines is that you'll shoot 4-6 rounds less in the same time switching the 10 round magazines.

Shatbat you are confused with the terminology. I don't blame you, media does its best to do just that.

A semi-automatic firearm,is a firearm which automatically reloads, but will only fire one round per trigger pull.
So any modern pistol or rifle as well as some shotguns I believe.
Fully automatic is a firearm that will continue to fire so long as the trigger is pressed and there is ammunition in the magazine.
So machine guns and military "assault rifles"

Single Action - Each pull of the trigger releases the hammer, you have to manually cock it each time.
This would be your old old revolvers, pump shotguns and bolt action rifles.
Double action - Each pull of the trigger both cocks and releases the hammer.
This would be newer revolvers and any modern semi-auto/full auto gun.

Knowing the terms will help clear a lot of confusion I think.

I don't think you get it.....

Cops shooting into a crowd of people, whoops their bad. Cops do stuff like this more than they you think, just like when they do chases they are really putting more people at risk than if they let the person run and get them later.

This is a prime example of cops being held to a lower standard of marksmanship and liability than a civilian permit holder. At worst, the cops will get fired, but a civilian would have their head mounted on top of the Washington bridge if they shot like that!