Texas Shooting

[Kane]

It's a combination of things - they feel like freedums are going away so they want to defend it to the death/cold dead hands. Right now there's a persistent ammo shortage - makes everything more expensive. I did however notice that 1,000 rounds of 9mm were going for $334 - I spent a second considering it. But I can make ammo/have it made for me so it's less of a concern.

I will say that for some people...they legitimately just like to build guns. They buy the upper and lower, get the kits, and then mod it out however they like and then see the quality of craftsmanship once it's tested. It's a hobby - some I know don't even shoot them (really weird but alright).

[John Galt]

i hunt with a remington 760. the gun was my grandfather's. box magazine pump action rifle. it's really all you need for deer. but I can see a rancher having legitimate use for an AR. quick, light, small caliber gun that's useful for pests and small predators that has basically no kick. in several states it's not even legal to hunt deer with a typical AR because the ammo is only 223, but for coyotes or whatever stalking your calves I can see it being useful. is it so useful that literally anyone should be able to buy one with no oversight? no. no I don't think so. I think we should follow the model for automatic weapons: tax stamps, registration and identification (have to send your fingerprints to the FBI) for all transfer of ownership. we should also raise the age of majority. i know you are were idiots, same as me, when you were children. i mean, jesus christ, my handle is john f**k galt

[Spider]

[Winchester]

[Eternal]

Interesting commentary regarding semi-automatic rifles. Outside of law enforcement and the military, semi-automatic rifles are effectively illegal in Australia except for farmers and professional hunters\pest controllers.

[Kane]

'Mericuh.

As an American it's so weird to hear that - I grew up shooting semi-auto 10-22s. Then my friend got a Springfield M1903, M1 Garand, we got a mosin nagant (M1891), and I could keep going. That would probably help a lot though - reload times go way up.

It's also weird how easy it is to get a gun that's illegal in some states...just by driving across state lines. It makes a mockery of the states that try to regulate them.

[Eternal]

One of the key changes made during the 1996 gun reforms, other than tighter restrictions on semi-automatic rifles, was standardising firearm licensing laws across the states. Indeed I would argue that it is that agreement between the states to standardise the laws that is the key to Australia's gun reform success.

However, the one ingredient that Australia had going for it before the 1996 firearm reforms came into place that the USA does not is the requirement for firearm owners to have some kind of license. Australia, like Britain and New Zealand and indeed most countries of the world all require people to apply for a license before they can get or use a firearm. My understanding is that the USA has no such requirement.

[Kane]

Depends on what you're buying and how you're buying it but for the most part yes - if you try you can get a gun without registering it.

You can still purchase fully automatic weapons in the US (depending on state) but those DO require lengthy background checks, large sums of money (just to process the request and purchase a machine gun - new automatics were made illegal but those around before 1986 are still fair game), and registration with the ATF.