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Hilarious--media gets knickers in a knot over minature guns
A CBS station in New York has discovered a new gun menace.
Minature guns. Apart from the fact that they are about two inches long, fire a tiny bullet at 400 feet per second, cost upwards of $5,000, only 50 have been made by this company, and can't be imported into the US, they are the perfect criminal tool.
"These bullets could be aimed at the face." "No SwissMiniGuns have been recovered here yet..."
I suppose the station would be really upset if told that miniature guns have been made for at least three centuries, and were long a "final exam" for high-level European gunsmiths, on the theory that anyone who could build a flintlock that fired a ball the size of matchstick had proven his artistry beyond any doubt.
UPDATE in light of comment: a .092 ball would be about the size of a single No. 8 birdshot, which weighs in at 1.07 grains or 1/400 of an ounce. At 400 feet per second (about a third of the speed at which a shotgun launches birdshot) I doubt it could penetrate the skin. Might leave a red mark, tho.
· media
Comments
Oh my gawd!
CBS is falling all over itself to pat itself on the back for fighting terrorists! To paraphrase Bugs Bunny, what a bunch of maroons.
"CBS 2 News learned of the weapon and passed word on to the ATF. It is an example of officers using the Internet the way some terrorists do but in this case, to combat them."
You go, guys - you're so brave and cutting edge - you'll stop those nasty terrorists from taking over our country with those teeny pea shooters.
Wait a minute. Is this a joke? Am I reading The Onion disguised as CBS news? I honestly cannot believe they were serious when they wrote that drivel. It's really pathetic.
It shoots at 400 fps? I have a 25-year old mail-order Crosman bb/pellet gun that can beat that.
Oh yes, and then we have the obligatory "who _needs_ one of these?" Well, who "needs" a Breitling watch to tell time? Who "needs" a Lamborghini? If I have the cash for such baubles and trinkets, well...
Shaking my head ruefully...
Posted by: Bill at September 12, 2006 05:56 AM
What is the caliber?
Posted by: Kevin P. at September 12, 2006 08:33 AM
"What is the caliber?".
2.34mm, or .092 caliber.
Posted by: BobG at September 12, 2006 09:28 AM
Airsoft pellet guns (which are usually "full sized" shoot a 6mm bb at about 300/320 FPS (off the top of me head), and can break the skin.
F'ing waaa.
I had about 20 of these welts across my lower abdomen from a force on force training session earlier this summer.
Ninnies ought to man the hell up.
Posted by: Petro at September 12, 2006 12:59 PM
If I got shot with one of those, and I found out about it, I'd be *pissed*.
-m@
Posted by: Matt at September 12, 2006 02:42 PM
They had one at the gun show in San Jose (CA) We were lucky the ATF didn't firebomb the exhibition hall then use tractors to push dirt up against all the entrances so us criminals couldn't escape alive to slander the brave agents who were working so hard on behalf of the American People.
Posted by: The Mechanic at September 12, 2006 06:53 PM
But those little guns are so perky!
Posted by: Katie Courage at September 12, 2006 09:42 PM
Hilarious--media gets knickers in a knot over minature guns
Read the headline of the WCBS story, which mentions "mini guns," not "miniature guns."
I'm sure everyone here knows what a mini gun is.
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/equip/m134.htm
"The Air Force GAU-2B/A (Army M134) 7.62mm 'minigun' was designed to provide a light weight high rate of fire armament package for use on helicopters and light fixed-wing aircraft. The basic M61 Vulcan has been simplified and redesigned to fire percussion primed 7.62mm ammunition. The basic M134 can be readily modified to fire other smaller caliber ammunition, such as the XM214 5.56mm 'mini-minigun'. The GAU-17/A utilized on the UH-1N, H-3, and H-60 aircraft, is a crew served, electrically driven, 6 barreled, rotary action, percussion fired weapon, with a maxi-mum rate of fire of 6000 rounds per minute. In the current crew served application the rate of fire is selectable at either 2000 or 4000 rounds per minute."
More info and pictures at http://www.montysminiguns.com/
Posted by: Robert R. at September 12, 2006 09:49 PM
Good Lord, people!
Don't you know someone could lose an eye?!?!?
Posted by: jimmyb at September 13, 2006 12:58 PM
Not maroons, but rather ultra-maroons.
There ain't no shorter wavelength for what comes outa their brains. All we get is high pitched buzzing. Then a pop as the fuse blows.
Posted by: BlacquesJacquesShellacques at September 16, 2006 05:55 PM