Bernie was on Meet the Press yesterday morning. He came right out in favor of an "assault weapons" ban and a ban on "armor piercing bullets". This isn't going to improve his vote in NH, where most of us believe you ought to have a piece in the house, just in case. He must think his lead in NH is strong enough to beat Hillary and it's worth it to gain support among the lefties in the larger democratic party.
Amusingly enough, the Bern is raving against imaginary objects. "Assault rifles" are the same as deer rifles in anyway that you can measure. Except deer rifles are usually chambered for more powerful cartridges. My ancient Marlin 30-30 lever action hits harder than the 223 round of the AR15.
Any bullet will pierce armor if it is going fast enough. Real rifles (say 30-06) will pierce any armor light enough for a man to carry. For that matter 223 assault rifles will pierce quarter inch mild steel, although they won't pierce a quarter inch of armor steel. Standard bullets come with a full copper jacket over the lead slug which holds the bullet together as it hits the target. Standard full jacketed bullets are the right choice to defeat body armor. The other type of bullet has a soft nose and is supposed to expand when it hits, making a bigger wound. These are sold for hunting, although a Geneva convention from the 19th century outlaws their use in warfare. All US military ammunition is full jacketed to be in compliance with that convention.
So when Bernie comes out against "armor piercing bullets" he is really talking about all standard ammunition. Which might be his point.
No comments:
Post a Comment