[constant thinker]

hmx9123 in regards to the M16, are you sure your not confusing it with the M60. The M16 is definatly and assault rifle. The AR-15 was it's predecessor. The M16 and AR-15 look a lot a like. The M60 on the other hand is definately a machine gun.
M16
http://images.military.com/Data/EQG/M16-1.jpg
AR-15, picture was already provided.

hmx9123, I also like your gun collection.

In genral farming states tend to have lax gun laws and driving age laws too. In Idaho I think it is (maybe Iowa) you can get a learner's permit and 14.

hmx9123, you seam very familiar with gun laws. I'll take your word on the concealment thing. I'm only familiar with gun laws around New Hampshire and from talking with my cousin who owns an AR-15 and an AK-47. He was grandfathered in because he bought the guns before they were banned and he told me both of them were banned because he couldn't buy any new magazines for them.

I also did not know they made a .17 caliber bullet. I have never seen it. Also buckshot was being left out of everything I've said so far because it's many small bullets. As far as the .50 caliber ban in California goes I did not know that it refered to only the .50 BMG. I thought it refered to all .50 caliber weapons. I've heard of the bullets from those ripping through engine blocks!!!!! That's crazy.

P.S. The mauser looks beautiful.

[hmx9123]

Well, I was talking about the NFA definition of a machinegun--that is, any weapon capable of firing more than one round of fixed ammuntion with one pull of the trigger.  I agree, it is not a heavy or even a light machine gun by military definition--it is what the true definition of an assault rifle is--a submachinegun capable of select fire of a smaller cartridge.  There's a lot of definitions to keep up with in terms of the legislation.

The AR-15 wasn't a predecessor--but the problem is that some of the AR-15s made in the 1970s were select fire--thus making them the exact same as an M-16.  Many national guard rifles used in Vietnam were that way.  The M-16 has always been select fire.  The AR-15 is now, and usually was then, a semi-auto only.  However, some of the ARs produced for the national guard were select fire.  As I understand it, it was a different model number, and there were some small differences in parts, such as a moly versus a chromium barrel coating, and a heavier barrel.  I'm not for sure on this, though.

Thanks for the comments on the guns.  The mauser is a gas to shoot.  It was made in 1944 in Germany.  Pretty amazing piece of history.  The really amazing thing about the gun is the shape it's in--something hard to tell from the crappy picture I have of it.  The whole thing is nearly packed in grease new--the bolt is incredibly tight and there is no sloppiness at all.  The gun is devastatingly accurate, too.

Yeah, if you include birdshot, then there's a lot under .22 caliber.  The .17 Remington and .17 HMR are the most common uner .22 in terms of rifles, though.  I saw the world's smallest gun at a gun show once, though--a 1.7mm cartridge.  Total crackup.

The .50 BMG is just an incredible round.  Think of this comparison: the muzzle energy from a .44 magnum is around 1400 ft.-lbs. with a really hot load.  The .50 BMG has 14,000 ft.-lbs.  Depending on the type of bullet, it may very well have gone through an engine block, especially if it were made from aluminum and from a small car.  It's not going to to through a diesel engine or anything, but it is still an incredibly powerful round.  Somewhere on the internet someone posted a video of someone shooting a running lawnmower with a .50 BMG--the lawnmower lurched, and then it had a hole in it the size of a basketball.  Kind of amusing, really.

[jdurg]

Firing guns is a really good way to "feel" physics.  That whole shpeil about 'for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction' has never held truer then when that 7mm magnum load went off.  With, what I have now been informed, is a 4,700 ft/s velocity at the muzzle with a 170 grain bullet, the force needed to push that bullet at that speed is definitely a nice large one.  Hence the pretty severe recoil into my shoulder which took on a nice yellow/purple color over the next couple of days.  

[hmx9123]

This is hilarious.  It's the lawn mower video I mentioned earlier.  It's also a keen demonstration of Newton's Second Law of motion that jdurg mentioned.

http://www.strategypage.com/gallery/images/bfg50_vs_lawnmower.mpg

[constant thinker]

That video is awesome! That's pretty funny. What I like about guns is as jdurg says the physics. It's kind of intresting how something so small (relatively speaking) can carry so much energy. Plus it's just fun to shoot at targets and see how good you are.

[hmx9123]

Not to breathe life back into a dead thread, but I think this is most appropriate here.  This is the sign on the gun range I went to in Reno, NV a few weekends ago.  We saw a guy shooting an UZI on the range there.

BTW, jdurg, what did you wind up buying?  I'm curious.  I'm currently looking for an M1A (the semi-auto version of the old M14), but I don't know when I'll be buying such a beast.

[jdurg]

Not to breathe life back into a dead thread, but I think this is most appropriate here.  This is the sign on the gun range I went to in Reno, NV a few weekends ago.  We saw a guy shooting an UZI on the range there.

BTW, jdurg, what did you wind up buying?  I'm curious.  I'm currently looking for an M1A (the semi-auto version of the old M14), but I don't know when I'll be buying such a beast.

Haven't picked up anything yet.    My hometown REQUIRES three letters of reccomendation in order to apply for a pistol permit and I've been able to get one of my friends to get off his ass and write the letter for me.  In addition, I'm in a bit of an "icky" situation at work and have been working 50 hour work weeks lately and just haven't had time to look further into it.  I still plan on getting myself a nice Walther PPK as well as a Ruger Magnum.  Not 100% set in stone on the calibers yet.