Major03
Ultimate Member
I have yet to hear a concise, informed and intelligent counter argument to this question.
My strategy is to turn the safety issue on its head.
Interested in your opinions / feedback
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Case for why an AR-15 with standard capacity magazines
I would like to begin by establishing some credibility on the subject of the type of firearms being considered in this bill. I am a Marine Corps infantry officer, and served both as an enlisted Marine and commissioned officer for a total of 10 years active duty and 4 years reserve. I have extensive training in both U.S. and foreign small arms to include; handguns, combat shotguns, assault rifles and machine guns. I qualified as expert on both the M16A2 service rifle and M9 service pistol. I am a lifetime shooting enthusiast, and continue to enjoy the shooting sports. Due to my experience, I would categorize myself as an expert in the employment of such weapons.
Arguments regarding the interpretation of the Bill of Rights and the Constitutionality of the proposed laws aside, I believe that most Americans understand and support a citizen’s right to defend themselves within the boundaries of their homes / property. It is a common question nowadays to hear “why does anyone NEED an AR-15 or other assault weapon with high capacity magazines to defend themselves? They serve no REASONABLE purpose in our society. They have no place.” Why not use other tools for this purpose? Vice President Biden has suggested to the American public to use shotguns. Handguns are also commonly put to this purpose.
I would like to address this specific question.
There is a reason the Department for Homeland Security recently submitted a requisition for 7000 AR-15 variant select fire rifles with standard capacity magazines for personal defense. It’s the same reason why most SWAT or emergency response teams in law enforcement chose to arm their teams with such a tool. It is because it is the best tool for the job when it comes to effectively and safely eliminating a threat.
In a scenario where someone is defending themselves during a home invasion, I think we can all agree that the safety of innocent bystanders is paramount.
Precise shot placement is a key factor in choosing a defensive firearm for home defense. The combination of weapon and caliber must be such that it is easy and intuitive for the defender to quickly engage the target that is attacking them with as little chance of missing and hitting an unintended target as possible. This is of particular concern when defending oneself inside a building where innocent people may be located in adjacent rooms behind walls, and therefore unseen by the defender.
Another key factor in the choice of firearm is that the projectile must be able to deliver enough energy into their attacker to incapacitate them, but also limited enough energy that the projectile will not over penetrate. The caliber choice should be such as to minimize the chance of the projectile exiting the intended target and causing damage to others. It should also rapidly lose energy if the defender misses their intended target, minimizing the risk to innocent people who may be in adjacent rooms and behind walls. It is a delicate balance to achieve.
The combination of the AR-15 style platform and the caliber (.223 Remington / 5.56mm NATO) is ideal for home defense situations. It is both highly accurate, helping to ensure that the defender hits only the target that is a threat, and FBI ballistics tests prove it over penetrates less than pistol calibers / standard 00 Buck shotgun shells and higher powered popular hunting calibers. Both reasons are why SWAT teams in our country almost universally arm their entry teams with AR-15 variants, replacing the MP-5 sub-machine gun and its 9mm pistol cartridge as the weapon of choice.
Handguns, a popular choice for many Americans, require a much higher degree of training to accurately and safely use. By their nature, they have short barrels and therefore a very short site radius. This means that very minute variances in alignment of the sites produces great variances in where the bullet impacts. In layman’s terms, it’s much harder to align your sites and to hit what you’re aiming at. This is difficult to do under perfect conditions with a stationary target; it is exceptionally difficult to do under duress and an active target. Their compact size, which makes them very desirable for concealment purposed, proves to be their shortcoming in a home defense situation, when concealment is moot.
Shotguns, another popular choice for a defensive weapon, are also inherently less precise. A shotgun, depending on the shell loaded, will fire multiple projectiles with each pull of the trigger. At ranges inside of 20m, the shot pattern will be tight enough to still require the same amount of aiming as the rifle, however the ergonomics of the weapon are worse and the sites are typically inferior to a rifle, making the shotgun harder to aim accurately. Any further than 20m, and the shot loses lethality and the pattern spreads to a degree that the pattern may completely miss a target that is only partially exposed behind cover. Due to multiple projectiles being fired, a miss can result in greater opportunity in hitting innocent bystanders. If using a pump action shotgun, follow up shots are slower and usually require the shooter to reestablish their site alignment before a safe follow up shot can be safely fired. When loaded with shot adequate to incapacitate an attacker, the shotgun produces far more recoil, which makes the shotgun more intimidating to train with and learn to use safely for people with smaller physiques, and the recoil also makes accurate follow up shots slower.
When you divorce emotion and look at the facts, when one chooses to exercise the right to protect and defend themselves and those they love, choosing an AR-15 style semi-automatic firearm is the safest, most ethical and most reasonable choice.
Major J E Farley, USMCR
My strategy is to turn the safety issue on its head.
Interested in your opinions / feedback
============================================
Case for why an AR-15 with standard capacity magazines
I would like to begin by establishing some credibility on the subject of the type of firearms being considered in this bill. I am a Marine Corps infantry officer, and served both as an enlisted Marine and commissioned officer for a total of 10 years active duty and 4 years reserve. I have extensive training in both U.S. and foreign small arms to include; handguns, combat shotguns, assault rifles and machine guns. I qualified as expert on both the M16A2 service rifle and M9 service pistol. I am a lifetime shooting enthusiast, and continue to enjoy the shooting sports. Due to my experience, I would categorize myself as an expert in the employment of such weapons.
Arguments regarding the interpretation of the Bill of Rights and the Constitutionality of the proposed laws aside, I believe that most Americans understand and support a citizen’s right to defend themselves within the boundaries of their homes / property. It is a common question nowadays to hear “why does anyone NEED an AR-15 or other assault weapon with high capacity magazines to defend themselves? They serve no REASONABLE purpose in our society. They have no place.” Why not use other tools for this purpose? Vice President Biden has suggested to the American public to use shotguns. Handguns are also commonly put to this purpose.
I would like to address this specific question.
There is a reason the Department for Homeland Security recently submitted a requisition for 7000 AR-15 variant select fire rifles with standard capacity magazines for personal defense. It’s the same reason why most SWAT or emergency response teams in law enforcement chose to arm their teams with such a tool. It is because it is the best tool for the job when it comes to effectively and safely eliminating a threat.
In a scenario where someone is defending themselves during a home invasion, I think we can all agree that the safety of innocent bystanders is paramount.
Precise shot placement is a key factor in choosing a defensive firearm for home defense. The combination of weapon and caliber must be such that it is easy and intuitive for the defender to quickly engage the target that is attacking them with as little chance of missing and hitting an unintended target as possible. This is of particular concern when defending oneself inside a building where innocent people may be located in adjacent rooms behind walls, and therefore unseen by the defender.
Another key factor in the choice of firearm is that the projectile must be able to deliver enough energy into their attacker to incapacitate them, but also limited enough energy that the projectile will not over penetrate. The caliber choice should be such as to minimize the chance of the projectile exiting the intended target and causing damage to others. It should also rapidly lose energy if the defender misses their intended target, minimizing the risk to innocent people who may be in adjacent rooms and behind walls. It is a delicate balance to achieve.
The combination of the AR-15 style platform and the caliber (.223 Remington / 5.56mm NATO) is ideal for home defense situations. It is both highly accurate, helping to ensure that the defender hits only the target that is a threat, and FBI ballistics tests prove it over penetrates less than pistol calibers / standard 00 Buck shotgun shells and higher powered popular hunting calibers. Both reasons are why SWAT teams in our country almost universally arm their entry teams with AR-15 variants, replacing the MP-5 sub-machine gun and its 9mm pistol cartridge as the weapon of choice.
Handguns, a popular choice for many Americans, require a much higher degree of training to accurately and safely use. By their nature, they have short barrels and therefore a very short site radius. This means that very minute variances in alignment of the sites produces great variances in where the bullet impacts. In layman’s terms, it’s much harder to align your sites and to hit what you’re aiming at. This is difficult to do under perfect conditions with a stationary target; it is exceptionally difficult to do under duress and an active target. Their compact size, which makes them very desirable for concealment purposed, proves to be their shortcoming in a home defense situation, when concealment is moot.
Shotguns, another popular choice for a defensive weapon, are also inherently less precise. A shotgun, depending on the shell loaded, will fire multiple projectiles with each pull of the trigger. At ranges inside of 20m, the shot pattern will be tight enough to still require the same amount of aiming as the rifle, however the ergonomics of the weapon are worse and the sites are typically inferior to a rifle, making the shotgun harder to aim accurately. Any further than 20m, and the shot loses lethality and the pattern spreads to a degree that the pattern may completely miss a target that is only partially exposed behind cover. Due to multiple projectiles being fired, a miss can result in greater opportunity in hitting innocent bystanders. If using a pump action shotgun, follow up shots are slower and usually require the shooter to reestablish their site alignment before a safe follow up shot can be safely fired. When loaded with shot adequate to incapacitate an attacker, the shotgun produces far more recoil, which makes the shotgun more intimidating to train with and learn to use safely for people with smaller physiques, and the recoil also makes accurate follow up shots slower.
When you divorce emotion and look at the facts, when one chooses to exercise the right to protect and defend themselves and those they love, choosing an AR-15 style semi-automatic firearm is the safest, most ethical and most reasonable choice.
Major J E Farley, USMCR
