Assault Rifle Definition

[pbwalker]

I was just reading the Rifleman magazine, from the NRA, seeing it mentioned (as an assault rifle) and have also been wondering about it for some time...

By definition, an Assault Rifle is a selective fire rifle. Correct? (If I am wrong, please let me know)

Aren't we just feeding in to the anti's argument by calling them Assault Rifles as well? Aren't they just semi-automatic rifles?

Thoughts?

[WildBill]

I was just reading the Rifleman magazine, from the NRA, seeing it mentioned and have also been wondering about it for some time...

By definition, an Assault Rifle is a selective fire rifle. Correct? (If I am wrong, please let me know)

Aren't we just feeding in to the anti's argument by calling them Assault Rifles as well? Aren't they just semi-automatic rifles?

Thoughts?

That's the problem. There is no real definition of an assault rifle. That is why some of us humorously call them "Evil Black Rifles." If I had to create a definition it would be "a rifle that is capable of rapid fire which can be carried by infantry soldiers." This definition would include the M1 carbine, AK47 and the AR-15. Of course, fully automatic versions are used by the military, but not by civilians.

The media is very good at creating buzzwords that are poorly defined, but sound good in soundbites. In the 60s the demon firearm was the "Saturday Night Special." This term was supposedly used to describe a cheap or poorly-made handgun which was the weapon of choice for criminals.

[The Annoyed Man]

The media is very good a creating buzzwords that sound good in soundbites. In the 60s the demon firearm was the "Saturday Night Special." This term was supposedly used to describe a cheap or poorly-made handgun which was the weapon of choice for criminals.

Isn't it interesting that, in the 60s, the media insisted that the weapon of choice for criminals was a cheap or poorly-made handgun, and 40 years later, they insist that it is a $1,000 semi-automatic rifle which is almost impossible to conceal.

Suppose a reporter was also an idiot... ...but I repeat myself.

[WildBill]

The media is very good a creating buzzwords that sound good in soundbites. In the 60s the demon firearm was the "Saturday Night Special." This term was supposedly used to describe a cheap or poorly-made handgun which was the weapon of choice for criminals.

Isn't it interesting that, in the 60s, the media insisted that the weapon of choice for criminals was a cheap or poorly-made handgun, and 40 years later, they insist that it is a $1,000 semi-automatic rifle which is almost impossible to conceal.

Suppose a reporter was also an idiot... ...but I repeat myself.

It must be inflation.

[gmckinl]

That's the problem. There is no real definition of an assault rifle.

Actually there is a definition. From the NRA...

ASSAULT RIFLE
By U.S. Army definition, a selective-fire rifle chambered for a cartridge of intermediate power. If applied to any semi-automatic firearm regardless of its cosmetic similarity to a true assault rifle, the term is incorrect.

[WildBill]

That's the problem. There is no real definition of an assault rifle.

Actually there is a definition. From the NRA...

ASSAULT RIFLE
By U.S. Army definition, a selective-fire rifle chambered for a cartridge of intermediate power. If applied to any semi-automatic firearm regardless of its cosmetic similarity to a true assault rifle, the term is incorrect.

Then the media is not using the term correctly. Maybe the U.S. Army needs to set them straight.

[dicion]

Then the media is not using the term correctly. Maybe the U.S. Army needs to set them straight.

Oh they're using it correctly alright... and by correctly, I mean as a 'scary word' to further their goals.

[LongHairedRedneck]

Oh they're using it correctly alright... and by correctly, I mean as a 'scary word' to further their goals.

Hit the nail on the head with that one!!

[surprise_i'm_armed]

The anti's definition of an assault rifle:

Any weapon longer than a handgun. :-)

SIA

[Purplehood]

I would clarify selective-fire to mean "capable of automatic fire". Thats just me.

[TxRVer]

I like the definition on Wikipedia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_rifle" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) It goes into more depth but the four main points are:

* It must be an individual weapon with provision to fire from the shoulder (i.e. a buttstock);
* It must be capable of selective fire;
* It must have an intermediate-power cartridge: more power than a pistol but less than a standard rifle or battle rifle;
* Its ammunition must be supplied from a detachable box magazine.

They also give the medias definition of an assault weapon below that in "assault weapon vs. automatic weapons. There is a big difference between what the military defines as an assault rifle and what the antis call an assault weapon.

[mgood]

You could assault someone with a bolt-action .22LR. (Or a baseball bat, or a kitchen knife, or a shovel.) Or you could go elk hunting with an M1.
Labels like "assault rifle" are names which carry very little meaning to people who actually know something about guns and, as mentioned, are just made up, scary sounding buzzwords the anti-gun media likes to throw around.

[havoc]

I always thought an "assault weapon" was any gun pointed at me, thus, an "assault rifle" was any rifle pointed at me....

[jimlongley]

As pointed out above, "Assault Rifle" is a well defined term, thus when people like myself and many others took the media and Brady Bunch, and anyone else for that matter, to task for using the term improperly, they invented one of their own "Assault Weapon" which is vague and amorphous and can be reshaped to fit whatever the speaker wishes to make it fit.

In my personal lexicon, "Assault Weapon" includes anyTHING that can be used to assault someone, including cars, baseball bats, golf clubs, and pens. Even fists can fit in the category, and in any discussion where the term comes up I usually challenge the speaker to define the difference for me, and they usually can't and just as often then accuse me of being unfair or some such thing.