No One Hunts With An ‘Assault Weapon’ or Do They? – Gun Control Lies Files

Opinion

Bushmaster A-TACS Predator Rifle
Bushmaster A-TACS Predator Rifle or Hunting Assault Weapon you decide?

New Jersey--(Ammoland.com)- With fall a mere few weeks away, and with it the start of the traditional hunting season Nationwide, I thought it would be timely to discuss another in the endless list of lies foisted on a largely ignorant public and intentionally myopic media by Gun Control Advocates, their supporters, and Politicians.

That being the trite and well-worn buzz phrases that “no one hunts with an assault rifle” or “assault rifles” are not used for hunting or other similar, slightly altered, but massively imbecilic and obtuse comments.

As with all things related to the arguments for and supportive of gun control, these arguments and justifications are not based on facts or actual knowledge of the subject, they are squarely in the realm of emotionally driven salesmanship.

There is one thing the gun control advocates are right about though, and one thing only. They are right when they state “no one hunts with an assault rifle”, because true, actual “assault rifles” have been heavily regulated by the Federal Government since the National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Gun Owners Protection Act of 1986.

The laws codified in these two pieces of Federal Legislation, applicable Nationwide, have created and ensured a highly restricted market for “assault rifles”, which are defined as select fire, fully automatic, military firearms. The process to legally obtain and own these firearms includes an extensive background check by the ATF/FBI, a process that can take up to 6 months, registration of the weapon with the Federal Govt, in most jurisdictions the signature of the local Chief Law Enforcement Officer on a Federal Form, attesting to the Chief’s personal knowledge that the person has no criminal history or violent tendencies (essentially a second background check), payment of a 200 dollar fee for the “Tax Stamp” to the Federal Government, the requirement to keep the registration paperwork/approvals with the weapon at all times and a requirement to notify the ATF anytime the owner wishes to take the firearm across State lines for any reason.

Due to the above, the market for real “assault weapons” is restricted to the near-exclusive realm of wealthy collectors and aficionados, with prices at retail starting at roughly 5,000 dollars per firearm depending on type and desirability and increasing exponentially from there into the price range of a new mid-range luxury car or a sizable down payment on a house.

Given these facts, that anyone can verify with only a few minutes of searching the web, what then do the Anti-Gunners and their acolytes mean when they claim “no one hunts with an assault rifle”? What they are referring to are semi-automatic only rifles, that share only an outward appearance to their military counterparts, thus making them look “scary” and worthy of banishment.

The shocking thing is, the various Anti-gun groups have openly admitted to this!

Josh Sugarmann, head of the rabidly Anti-Gun Violence Policy Center said as much in a publicized interview.

“Assault weapons — The weapon’s menacing looks, coupled with the public’s confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons— anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun—can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons. In addition, few people can envision a practical use for these weapons.” ~ Josh Sugarmann, Assault Weapons and Accessories in America, 1988

Read that again. The titular head of one of the most zealous and deceptive Anti-Gun Groups in the Country is publicly admitting to intentionally inventing a phrase out of thin air, to manufacture confusion and then take advantage of that confusion, to market his desires to the public at large and the media. A more pure example of unadulterated propaganda is difficult to imagine.

The follow-on question then becomes, if we know people are not, in fact, hunting with actual assault weapons, as should be abundantly clear, are they hunting with what the various Anti Gun groups and their supporters falsely label as “assault weapons”?

It turns out, they are!
California ( Gun Banner Heaven), Wisconsin, Indiana, Alaska, West Virginia, Texas, Illinois, New York State, Missouri, Nebraska, Florida, Utah, Minnesota, Oregon, Louisiana, Montana, Maine, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Michigan, Georgia, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona are all States where hunting with what gun control supporters like to call “assault rifles” is completely legal. This list is by no means all-inclusive of every State that permits hunting with semi-automatic “assault rifles”, but does show that no less than half the States in the Country allow hunting with these firearms, representing millions of hunters, from every geographical region imaginable and 100’s of millions of dollars of tax revenue and license fees that go back to Federal and State Wildlife Conservation efforts.

For an incredibly detailed analysis of hunting, fishing, and other outdoorsman-related activities, feel free to follow this link https://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/fhw06-nat.pdf to a report compiled by the US Dept of Fish and Game.

Given what I’ve just related, it should be abundantly obvious that hunting with semi-automatic “assault rifles” is the norm, not the exception, and certainly not the definitive “no one hunts with “assault rifles” exclamations of gun control supporters.

But recognizing such facts does not support the gun grabbers’ agendas. So they will loudly claim to anyone that will listen that millions of people equate to “no one,” just as they deny that hundreds of thousands of people defend their lives or the lives of their loved ones with a firearm in public annually.

Or perhaps more realistically, the claims of “no one does” is really an unintentional revealing of their contempt and arrogance for anyone that does not agree with them, and we are “nobodies” as far as they are concerned. It is this mindset, the hubris, bigotry, and dismissive attitude towards hunters and gun owners that has led to the marginalization and eventually the destruction of the gun control movement as a viable force in American Society.

Gun Control Groups and the supporters, including those in media and the halls of power are completely unable and or unwilling to grasp the fact that continuing to spout Great Lies on a grand scale. In the days of new media, where anyone willing can rapidly discover the facts is what destroys any credibility they might once have enjoyed.


About Dan Roberts

More articles, commentary and information by D. Roberts available at That Every Man Be Armed.com

Dan Roberts

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DR.P

Interesting that people are saying you can’t bring down moose, elk or hogs with one round….it seems to me you’re not using the right ammo or taking a well-placed shot. I hunt with a break-action rifle, utilizing wildcat rounds I designed myself (for power, performance, and efficiency) to use against the specific animal I am hunting. Do some homework, build your round, and I guarantee you’ll drop an animal with one shot. I have dropped 400lb hogs where they are standing using wildcat rounds. You don’t NEED more ammunition and semi-auto speed (though it could be helpful), what you really… Read more »

Ronald Blair

I carried the M16 in Nam, and I hunt. As to using the AR15 version for hunting, It depends on what you are hunting. Hogs- maybe. They can come out of the brush or palmetto and be on you fast, you can bring the rifle to bear quickly, and it will certainly kill a hog.. Rabbits or squirrels — not if you plan to eat them. A 22 does the job and doesn’t tear them up. Deer? I would prefer a heavier round than a 223. the light, high velocity, round will certainly kill them, but it tumbles on striking,… Read more »

graham logan

First of all what is the point of hunting with an assault weapon it would pepper venison and you wold have fr!@#$ holes in it.The deer should be killed with a bolt action not an Ar-15 or any other assault weapon ! Mind My comment I am just a kid and I wanted to say something so.

A

Anyone that says that you don’t need 5 shots or whatever to take down their game really know nothing about hunting. I am a hunter. I have fired mtiple shots at a deer and I can tell you with all honesty I am a good shot. People that don’t hunt might think that a animal walks up and you drop it with one shot, but some times the animal is running and so it might be harder to hit. But other times if an animal is charging you like a moose and they do charge I have met Simone who… Read more »

Robert Krawiec

Just because your magazine can hold 20 doesn't mean you have to put 20 in it. In Minnesota we can carry a handgun as well while we hunt. Magazine capacity is not the issue, how a gun looks is not the issue,some hunters have always used the most modern equipment available. All the returning veterans have used what they carried while in the service. Also the 2nd Amendment has nothing to do with hunting

Martin

The Founding Fathers of this country did not pass the Second Amendment simply to protect an individual's ability to hunt and take game. Remember that point, always. When you think about the need, or even the usefullness, of semi-autos loaded with 10, 20, or 30 round clips, think about the fundamental reason why the Second Amendment was passed. Don't limit yourself to the issue of hunting. I'll agree, we don't need them today or tomorrow to protect our liberty, but who knows what the world will be like in a distant future. People that argue we no longer need firearms… Read more »

M3

yep

PavePusher

@ ben: Sir, just because someone hunts with a rifle capable of containing more than 5 rounds, doesn't at all mean that they are using more, or even that many. If I was hunting with anyone that needed to blaze away five times to hit their target, i'd take that rifle away from them and test either their aim or their scope's zero. Your assumptions and bigotry are, however, noted… and dismissed.

Next?

3D

All this talk of marksmanship, bringing down game, and a 5-round limit is quite amusing. The ones in the woods with the firearms aren't the only hunters. How many rounds would you feel comfortable with when a charging grizzly suddenly appeared at 30 feet? Or a pack of wolves coming for you?

Tred Law

Hog Hunting is Best with an Assault Weapon..

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Mike the Limey

A friend of mine took a 500lb cow elk using his 6.8SPC AR-15 a few years ago.

He didn't need or use a standard capacity magazine for the task; he used a low capacity 5rd. one, thus proving the versatility of his so-called "assault weapon".

He has a .223 upper for it too & uses that combined with low capacity 20rd. magazines for 'yote hunting.

Should he ever need the amount of ammunition carried in a standard 25 or 30rd. magazine, he can switch to it in a moment.

C L

A) Agreed that more than one or two shots for big game should be all that is necessary, varmint hunting (i.e. prarie rats) multiple shots are the norm. With that said, most state laws that allow Semi auto rifles to hunt big game also have magazine capacity restrictions(similar to shotgun limits for bird hunting) However: With the ever increasing possibility of inadvertantly wandering into a marijuana plantation, meth lab, or illegal alien transportation holding area, semiauto with more than 5 rounds may be needed for personal selfdefense. Which the nutcase liberals do not want us to do. 2) the term… Read more »

Brian

"Ben" apparently has never set up on a coyote stand and called in (7) or (9) coyotes at one time as I have!! LOL Thats where my bolt .308 just doesn't cut it, and my AR with a 30 round mag is lead spitting perfection!! Quit arguing over weps and just hunt !! "patsy"

HarleyD

Henery:

Ben is right on the mark about marksmanship skills if you can't bring down you game with less than 5 shots. If there are multiple animals, as you insinuate, they are not going to stand around long enough to fire more than 5 accurate shots without being out of range, or sight, anyway

Tred Law

So I am a bad hunter because my lever action 22 holds 20+ shorts rounds, F@#@ that…

Henery

Ben; that is just an ignorant statement and shows you complete lack of understanding of hunting in general. There are so many reasons why you would want to hold multiple shots, like the plain convenience of not having to reload, and it has nothing to do with marksman skill. A few quick example of hunting that needs multiple shots include, hogs, prairie dogs, rabbit, wolf, bear and coyote hunting.

ben

If you are hunting with an "assault rifle," or a weapon that holds more than 5 rounds then you're pretty much an idiot anyway. If you need more than 5 shots to bring down your game then you have no business hunting; you should be at the target range perfecting your aim.

graham logan

It will take a while because sometimes it takes more than 5 shots when you try to kill a big elk.If u miss you have 30 more rounds to go through.