----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not yet a Virginia Citizens Defense League member? Join VCDL at: http://www.vcdl.org/join
----------------------------------------------------------------------
VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
VA-ALERT archives: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/727/=now
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Lobby Day 2016 - Call for Team Leaders!
2. Plan your schedule NOW to participate in Lobby Day
3. 2016 Traveler’s Guide mail order sale and deadline
4. Gun control FAIL - France
5. Norfolk County Rifle Range makes generous donation to VCDL
6. Tip on filling out a Form 4473 (gun purchase) when you live in a city
7. Anti-gun Goodyear also owns some subsidiaries that you might want to avoid
8. Uh-oh, Governor McAuliffe, gun-free zones aren’t working in Russian government buildings
9. Gun owners don’t fit stereotype in “purple state” Virginia [AUDIO]
10. European events you won’t read about in the press
11. Another violent criminal is killed by a CHP holder in Chicago
12. U.S. Supreme Court to look at domestic-violence firearm-ban
13. Like “2nd Amendment USA Racing” on Facebook
14. Another experience with Virginia law enforcement
15. Correction, there is another 100-yard indoor range in Virginia
16. Virginia firearms instructor looks for truth about limited magazine capacity
********************************************************
1. Lobby Day 2016 - Call for Team Leaders!
********************************************************
Lobby Day is on Monday, January 18, 2016. Once again, we need team leaders who can lead an assembled group of VCDL members and supporters to visit assigned lawmakers.
Leaders will be given packets which describe and assess bills being introduced in the coming session. Those packets will be distributed to the legislators which are assigned to the team.
Each team will be sent in as quickly as it can be assembled with arriving volunteers, irrespective of constituency. It is hoped and expected that once each official VCDL delegations has made its rounds, individual members and leaders will disperse to visit their own delegates and senators, with time for all to assemble at the Bell Tower for our pro-gun rally at 11 AM sharp.
If you can help as a VCDL team leader for lobby day, or want more information, contact Dennis O’Connor at dennis@vcdl.org
********************************************************
2. Plan your schedule NOW to participate in Lobby Day
********************************************************
Our rights are under assault like never before, both at the federal and state level. As our state legislature meets this year to to decide the fate of our rights on a large number of gun related bills, it is of the utmost importance that they see and hear from a huge group of pro-liberty citizens.
Numbers matter. We need YOU to commit to joining one of our teams meeting with legislators.
We want to flood the halls with people wearing our trademark orange Guns Save Live stickers, which we’ll be distributing to the teams.
Because the anti-rights lobby will be there as usual, it is essential that we vastly outnumber them and impress lawmakers with our grassroots voting power.
For now, just save the date and make sure you’re available (as well as your friends, neighbors, significant others, and children). More detailed information will be forthcoming.
Lets all stand together on Lobby Day. You’ll be proud to have stood side-by-side with so many other Virginia gun owners and to have made a difference!
********************************************************
3. 2016 Traveler’s Guide mail order sale and deadline
********************************************************
The 2016 Traveler's Guide to the Firearm Laws of the Fifty States is being ordered and is expected to arrive about the 2nd week in January. If you do not want to wait until the next local gun show, do we have a deal for you!
The VCDL Fulfillment Center has a copy on order with your name on it! If you would like one, we need to receive your order by January 5th.
Orders will be processed in the order in which they are received.
There are two options:
If you want it sent in a sturdier envelope and by priority mail the cost will be $20.00
If you want it sent in a standard manila envelope and by first class mail the cost will be $18.00
If you include a copy of your current unexpired membership card (or a completed application) you can reduce the price by $2.
To order, please send a check or money order made out to "VCDL" to:
VCDL Fulfillment Center
PO Box 254
Garrisonville, Virginia 22463
ATT: Book Sales
NOTE: If you do not place "book sales" on the envelope your purchase could be delayed by as much as 3 weeks. Please help us help you!
Also, please consider including a donation to either the VCDL, the VCDL-PAC or BOTH!
(If you donate to the PAC, please make it a separate check and include your employer and job title. -- Thanks!)
********************************************************
4. Gun control FAIL - France
********************************************************
Member Doug Kinney reminded me of this quote:
“These types of mass shootings don’t happen in other countries.” Barack Obama after the Umpqua Community College massacre.
Oh, yes they do. And some of those shootings in Europe dwarf anything we’ve had in America.
-
Doug also noted that in Virginia, where firearms ownership is widespread, that terrorists in suicide vests are like free Tannerite.
-
Member Bill Huckleberry sent me this link to a story pondering what might have happened in the Bataclan Theater in Paris if French citizens were allowed to carry firearms for self-defense:
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/201 ... unted.html
********************************************************
5. Norfolk County Rifle Range makes generous donation to VCDL
********************************************************
Last week I was invited to give an annual talk to the membership of the Norfolk County Rifle Range (NCRR). They are one extremely active group and apparently have received a prestigious NRA award for that. Every time I have spoken at one of their meetings it is to a packed room with well over 100 attendees (the club has 500 members).
While the meeting is open to the public, I don’t advertise it on VA-ALERT simply because the meeting is standing-room-only without bringing in a lot of guests.
The president of the club handed me a generous donation for VCDL after my talk. VCDL thanks the NCRR for their strong support over the years!
********************************************************
6. Tip on filling out a Form 4473 (gun purchase) when you live in a city
********************************************************
EM Dave Knight discovered an issue with a dealer and felt the issue could be more widespread.
The issue was how to fill-in the “County” box on a Form 4473 when purchasing a firearm.
If you live in an INDEPENDENT CITY, such as Radford, you should put “Radford” in the “City" box and "Radford City” in the “County” box.
If you live in a town or a NON-independent city, then use the county name where you reside. For example, if you live in Midlothian, you would put “Midlothian" as the city and “Chesterfield" as the county.
If you live in a county, then use the county name where you reside for both fields. For example, you would put “Prince George" as the city and “Prince George" as the county.
Sigh. And Lori Haas likes to say that teddy bears are more regulated than guns. Do any of you remember ever having to worry about any of this when buying a teddy bear?
********************************************************
7. Anti-gun Goodyear also owns some subsidiaries that you might want to avoid
********************************************************
A member reminded me that anti-gun Goodyear has some subsidiary companies that gun owners might want to avoid, too (such as Dunlop and other brands):
http://www.goodyear.eu/corporate_emea/o ... brands.jsp
********************************************************
8. Uh-oh, Governor McAuliffe, gun-free zones aren’t working in Russian government buildings
********************************************************
EM Leyla Myers, who is an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, send me a link to an article in a Russian newspaper. As an immigrant from a place with few rights, Leyla appreciates our rights, especially the right to keep and bear arms, more than way too many native-born Americans do.
She translates the headline as, "in the US there is a large public movement to stop so called Gun-Free zones, because the criminals naturally go to those places where law abiding people are unarmed.”
The article is about a businessman who got an AK into a Russian government building (all of which are “gun-free zones”) and murdered government workers there. Leyla said some of the other links in the story are about other murders in gun-free government buildings.
Leyla notes:
"Well, what do you know? These 'safe' places in European countries that the President and his anti friends like to talk about are not so safe. The government buildings there are not safe. The people in Russia are actually forming public groups to get more rights for self-defense and for more gun ownership by regular people. The lady in the picture [in the article below] is the leader of 'rights to arms' movement."
http://lenta.ru/articles/2015/10/25/guns/
********************************************************
9. Gun owners don’t fit stereotype in “purple state” Virginia [AUDIO]
********************************************************
Here is a story about the inclusiveness and acceptance that gun owners give each other, regardless of race, religion, or sexual preferences.
Note how Mr. Subrahanian, a self-described liberal, is afraid to tell his anti-gun friends that he is a gun owner for fear of being rejected, yet finds easy acceptance by fellow gun owners.
This is pretty standard stuff for gun owners, but for the non-gun-owning community, it is probably a huge eye opener, as the antis have vilified gun owners, saying we are bigots, racists, and dangerous. It’s all lies, of course. We are far, far more inclusive than the antis could ever hope to be and that may end up being another saving grace.
http://m.wamu.org/#/programs/metro_conn ... tereotypes
or
http://tinyurl.com/pt5hjqx
Gun Owners Don't Always Fit The Stereotypes In 'Purple State' Virginia
By: Karen Turner
October 30, 2015
Adith Subramanian is shooting rounds at the NRA headquarters range in Fairfax, Virginia. He’s surrounded by more typical examples of gun owners — white, male, middle aged. White men are the most statistically likely group to own guns, making up 60 percent of all gun owners in the U.S., while accounting for just 31 percent of the country’s total population.
Subramanian does not fit this profile. “I would describe myself as probably the last person you would expect to own guns,” he says. “I’m a very liberal minded person, I’m a vegan.”
Subramanian is in the minority among gun owners in the United States — he’s the son of Indian immigrants, a vegan and a centrist with socially liberal views. In Northern Virginia, a traditionally firearm-friendly state, growing diversity has fostered a cultural mix amidst the gun community.
A big tent for gun owners?
Gun control remains a heated issue in the upcoming election in Virginia, which has become more of a “purple” state in recent years. In the wake of several high profile shootings, gun control advocates feel that Virginia is the first in a wave of pro-gun states moving in a more restrictive direction.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe has signed executive orders on several prohibitive measures, including banning open carry in government buildings. Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety, a pro gun control group, is investing in Virginia’s election this year, spending $1.5 million on pro gun control candidate Jeremy McPike’s campaign. It’s a sign of a possible paradigm shift in a state that NRA headquarters calls home.
As a vegan of Indian descent, Adith Subramanian says he doesn't quite fit the mold of your stereotypical gun owner. (Karen Turner/WAMU)
For Subramanian, who is opposed to most gun control measures, Virginia’s relaxed laws regarding gun ownership were a major reason he chose to move there.
“When I moved to the area for my job, I had a choice between D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Simply because of Virginia’s gun laws, that was the driving point to move to Virginia,” he says. Subramanian works in Maryland, and adds, “My commute is twice as long as it would be, my apartment is significantly smaller because I’m not in Maryland. But to me, it’s worth it because the cost of moving to Maryland or D.C. is dying from not being able to defend myself.”
Subramanian grew up in a very pro gun control household. He cites the anti-gun culture in India, where his parents are from, as the reason for their resistance when he bought his first firearm. His introduction came in college, where he picked up guns for sporting reasons. As he delved into personal research about the function of guns in society, he became increasingly supportive of looser regulations.
Subramanian says he was very aware of the fact that he was typically the only person of color at the range.
“My experiences as a minority gun owner initially started pretty nervous,” he says. “I was very intimidated initially because I had the stereotypes in my head that guns were the white, male Republican thing to have.” He says he now feels fully accepted by the gun community. “All gun owners just want to share their passion. That’s really all it is.”
Among his more liberal or vegan friends, Subramanian still feels like the minority. “I do not mention guns around them at all. I have before once or twice, and it’s usually ended with me being looked down upon for owning guns.” [PVC: Some friends those are. I’d be looking for new ones.]
He compares his veganism to his gun ownership, saying he came into them in similar ways — research that led to a belief that these personal choices are better for society. When it comes to owning guns, Subramanian cites the personal protection element as a major reason.
“A gun is the ultimate equalizer,” he says. Though he does not feel particularly targeted for being a minority, he mentioned self defense as a motivation to own guns for everyone, including more marginalized groups. “Minorities, LGBTQ, women, and all of those fringe communities you’re talking about can really benefit from firearms because they’re communities where, when they are attacked, no one’s going in there with a fair fight.”
That’s one reason for owning a gun for John Maher, owner of the restaurant bar The Rogue Gentleman in Richmond, Virginia.
“I originally bought it just for target shooting and for the sport of guns and weapons. As a gay individual, it’s always gonna be, I think, helpful to have just in case things happen in this world,” he says.
Maher says he generally feels very safe, and that Richmond is increasingly becoming a more progressive city. But he can point to one incident that caused him to start openly carrying his firearm.
“My now fiance and I were outside of a restaurant bar and some people drove by, we were saying goodbye and holding hands or something and they had just yelled 'fag' out the window. For some reason that just ignited something inside of me. And knowing that I had the ability to respond to them and also have something there, ‘cause it was multiple people, that could back up who I am and what I say, was a nice feeling to have," Maher says.
Maher says he’s a proud gun owner with good friends in the gun community. But he also says he tends to keep quiet about his politics at the range. He describes himself as a near socialist democrat.
“It’s definitely a right wing, red state, straight male world. And there’s women there too, and that’s great, but to be in my position, I just tend to stay quiet and shoot my gun and practice what I need to do, and leave,” he says.
Josh Karrasch says his gun shop — the Gun Dude, in Falls Church, VA, caters to non-traditional gun owners.
Complex gun culture in a "purple" state
In Falls Church, gun shop owner Josh Karrasch has built a business catering to these non-traditional gun owners. He says that minorities, women, and LGBTQ gun owners are a “poorly catered to” group among firearm businesses. Since opening his shop — The Gun Dude — in January this year, he has found himself increasingly shaping his business around this customer base.
Karrasch modeled his gun shop after the Apple Store and works to create a non-intimidating environment for “first time buyers” and “folks who don’t feel comfortable walking through the classic firearms store.” The walls are adorned with paintings by local artists, there are couches to hang out on, and free coffee.
“I just know what my customers have told me when they walk through the door and their response is that 'this just isn’t what I expected,' or 'this isn’t what I’m used to seeing when I walk into a firearms store,'” he says.
Every month, The Gun Dude hosts a free spaghetti dinner for patrons, or anyone in the community, who wants to gather. Amidst display guns tethered to the walls, a diverse crowd of all races, genders and ages gathers for the free dinner. There are politically left-leaning attendees as well, some of who refused interview due to their liberal career fields.
An attendee named Gabe, who didn’t want his last name used, says he likes seeing this inclusive crowd. “A lot of people think that gun owners just kind of stay in their house, lock their doors, kind of closed people — when gun owners aren’t really like that. A lot of the gun owners in the Northern Virginia area are pretty open people. Out in the public you don’t really see them until you get to an environment like this.”
It’s a type of environment that may be unique to Virginia. For Adith Subramanian, it feels like home.
“It’s hard to find a place that I can live where I can go to a vegan restaurant and then go shooting in the same day.”
********************************************************
10. European events you won’t read about in the press
********************************************************
This from a member I know, who is currently in Europe:
British Police; just to give you a update on the “reliability” of the British Police and what they report and don’t report. They have been caught by BBC lying about rape as they classified it as “personal attack” to KEEP the real rape rate in England down, same with violent crime. The British Police are notorious for either “understating or just plain old out lying” about the real crime rate in England—bad for the tourist trade and such. I knew the former Chief of Police for London and he moved to Florida because as he told me when I saw him the US, he could not own a gun to protect himself so he moved to Florida. The English Police tell everyone to do nothing if someone breaks in, just give them everything, and God help you if you defend yourself in your home as you will be liable and this is from the country where one’s home is their castle—not anymore.
Europe is going to hell in a hand basket and the majority of the so called “immigrants” are males between 21 - 35 with no families. But the majority will tell the newspapers, NGOs and such, they left because the war was so bad but when they get a job and such will send for their wives and children. Being stupid, I would ask the simple question, why did you leave you wife and children behind if it is so bad? In Austria, you cannot find a shotgun as they are all sold out and the majority by women. Poland is arming all their shooting associations which is like our shooting clubs in which the adults teach the younger ones (14 - 21) how to shoot and do it safety. The Polish military is now arming them ALL with AK-47s and ALL are taking oaths (voluntarily) to “defend Poland and their people to the death”. It is a pretty neat ceremony as the head General is there when the oath is taken. Of course, if Russia was only 4 hours away I would be doing the same. Don’t hear about that in the news do you?
Even now, many are on pins and needles as over 2,000 pounds of C4 was stolen from the French military base in the south two months ago on a Saturday night and wasn’t discovered until Monday—God forbid that the French would patrol on the weekend. Did you hear about the Belgium military base that a arab drove up to and started firing? The Belgium military returned fire but did not hit him and he drove away. Of course, the Belgium military hasn't fired a shot in anger since 1940, so what do you expect?
********************************************************
11. Another violent criminal is killed by a CHP holder in Chicago
********************************************************
Hmmm - the world was supposed to come to a bloody end if citizens were allowed to carry handguns in Illinois. Funny how the antis are wrong all the time and never apologize for it.
Thanks to Bill Albritton for the link:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/11/01/po ... tcmp=hppop
or
http://tinyurl.com/po2lkhc
Police: Concealed carry license holder kills armed gunman
CHICAGO –
An armed man attempting to rob a neighborhood store was shot and killed by a customer who had a concealed carry license, Chicago police said Sunday.
A masked man, later identified as 55-year-old Reginald Gildersleeve, walked into the store and currency exchange about 7 p.m. Saturday on the city's southwest side, displayed a handgun and announced a robbery to an employee, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. The gunman next pointed his weapon at another employee and forced her to the back of the store.
The armed customer then fatally shot the man multiple times, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Gildersleeve was pronounced dead on the scene at 7:10 p.m., according to police and the Cook County medical examiner's office. He had an extensive criminal history, including prior arrests for robbery, the Sun-Times reported. Gildersleeve was set to have an autopsy performed on Sunday, according to the Chicago Tribune.
It wasn't immediately clear whether the customer, who has not been identified, will face charges. Guglielmi said the case is under review by local prosecutors, but the preliminary details suggest that the customer was not at fault.
"We're looking at it as a self-defense issue at this point," he said.
Last month, a Michigan woman with a concealed carry license shot at shoplifters fleeing a Detroit-area Home Depot store, flattening a tire of their SUV. No one was hurt, and the suspected shoplifters were arrested several days later. The woman faces up to 90 days in jail after pleading no contest to a charge of reckless discharge of a firearm. Two other shootings in which citizens fired at lawbreakers or potential lawbreakers also happened in September in Michigan.
"It's a slippery slope" when it comes to the question of whether citizens who are licensed to carry guns should intervene in dangerous situations, if at all, Guglielmi said.
"You have situations like this," he said, referring to the foiled Chicago robbery in which no one else was hurt. "And you have situations that end tragically. The department is not going to advocate for what people should or shouldn't do.”
********************************************************
12. U.S. Supreme Court to look at domestic-violence firearm-ban
********************************************************
The Supreme Court is going to hear a case dealing with whether a "reckless” misdemeanor (or simple assault) crime qualifies as a misdemeanor crime of domestic abuse for purposes of taking away someone’s right to possess firearms. The Court chickened out on hearing a second part, dealing with whether it is constitutional to take away someone’s right to possess a firearm for a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction at all. It clearly is unconstitutional, but the Court don’t want to touch it.
Member Bill Huckleberry sent the link:
http://jurist.org/paperchase/2015/11/su ... docket.php
or
http://tinyurl.com/p7b6y4j
********************************************************
13. Like “2nd Amendment USA Racing” on Facebook
********************************************************
I received this email from member David Link:
I am currently here in Key West to watch the World Championship Offshore Powerboat Race.
I met the owner of the 2nd Amendment USA boat today. Most of the these boat owners have major corporate or business sponsors to help fund these $1mil+ race teams . However, this owner is funding his entire racing operation himself as he wants to bring awareness to the importance of 2A rights when he brings his team to various races across the USA.
Philip, how AWESOME is this owner to put his own money where his mouth is?!?! His team even won the "Top Gun" 1st place award in his class at 121mph at Lake of the Ozarks shootout event!!
I told him I am a member of the VCDL and share his interest in this most important right that is ALWAYS under assault by the left. He kindly asked if our members would "like" his 2nd Amendment USA Racing team on Facebook.
Here’s the Facebook link:
https://www.facebook.com/2ndAmendmentOf ... g/?fref=ts
********************************************************
14. Another experience with Virginia law enforcement
********************************************************
I received this from member Michael Smth:
You can add my experience as a pleasant one. I was pulled over by a Virginia State Trooper at night for having a tail light out.
The first thing the officer asked was if I "had a gun on me." Obviously his computer had told him I have a concealed carry permit. Well, I grinned -- still holding the steering wheel, "It's not on me but over there.” I head motioned to indicate where I kept it---and told him that I do have a CHP.
I was careful to wait for his instruction and told him where my license and registration were before slowly getting them out.
I wondered out loud why he pulled me as I was sure I hadn't broken any laws. He then told me about the non-working tail-light---and after examining my license and registration did not give me a ticket.
I think that if you are nervous at being pulled over (who isn't?) telling the officer something like, “Sorry, I am nervous as I'm not used to being pulled over," would be helpful. Take a deep breath, as the officer is only doing his job. Have a "disarming attitude" -- is that a pun?
BTW, if bulbs start failing you may as well go ahead and replace them all.
********************************************************
15. Correction, there is another 100-yard indoor range in Virginia
********************************************************
In item #5 of the November 9, 2015 Update (“Safeside Tactical opens a second range in Roanoke area”), it was incorrectly stated that Safeside was the only range on the east coast with an indoor 100-yard range.
Several members contacted me to point out that Elite Shooting in Manassas has an eight-lane, 100-yeard, indoor range and has been operating for over a year.
Here is a link to Elite Shooting:
http://www.eliteshootingsports.com/t-el ... anges.aspx
********************************************************
16. Virginia firearms instructor looks for truth about limited magazine capacity
********************************************************
Member Michael Nelson is a firearms instructor here in Virginia. He did some extensive testing over a long period of time and put together this very interesting report on whether magazine capacity reduction would minimize casualties in a mass shooting situation:
Fairytales, misunderstandings, or lies:
The truth about standard capacity magazines, and the impact on potential
Active-shooter incident survival for the armed and unarmed citizen.
I decided about 16 months ago to undertake a study to determine the effect of standard capacity magazines vs low capacity mags on citizen survival in active-shooter incidents. I used information gleaned from publically available sources for some of the data (The FBI 2013 UCR; Crime in Virginia 2013 Virginia State Police; Unified Crime Report for New York State 2010) and the results of voluntary testing of 300 students in firearms classes. The results were conclusive, and are presented here for your consideration and use in deciding for yourself if low capacity magazines (for you and the criminal) help or hinder your chances of surviving an active-shooter incident. I will present my conclusions, but ultimately if you use these data in your own decisions and arguments, no matter your conclusions, then I will have achieved my goal.
I listed the sources of my publically available statistics above, and you can read for yourself the actual data and metadata in those publications. I will not formally cite each data point in an informal venue such as this. My data from classes is derived from classes ranging from basic handgun, to advanced handgun and Virginia DCJS qualifying classes. Students were grouped into two categories: Inexperienced shooters, defined as having from no shooting experience to those who are familiar with handgun shooting, but shoot less than 6 times / year, were designated Group A. And experienced shooters, defined as those with 2 years of law enforcement or competitive shooting experience; instructors with at least 5 years’ experience, both who must shoot at least monthly, were delineated as Group B. There were 150 students in each group for a total sample size of 300.
In the Crime in Virginia 2013 report, in the front matter under “facts at a glance” the 6th bullet point states “Firearms represent 20% of all known weapons used in aggravated assaults.” This seems to be about the average in states with “shall issue” concealed carry permits; states that are “may issue” have a higher percentage of weapons in the firearm category.
From the above mentioned public sources, it is clear that civilians defending themselves from violent attacks face similar conditions as those experienced by law enforcement. When stating the reason behind the recent shift to higher capacity handguns, law enforcement agencies’ most often stated reason is because on average between 65% - 80% of shots fired miss the attacker entirely, and of those that do hit between 50%-60% actually expand as designed, meaning that in 40%-50% of the shots that do hit the assailant, they fail to expand and act more like ball ammunition.
In the 2010 New York State report, in New York City officers fired 368 rounds to stop 24 attackers for a hit rate of 6.5%. Only the fact that the officers had standard capacity mags (as opposed to low capacity mags) were they able to stop the vast majority of threats. Nationwide, only one or two torso hits occur on a violent assailant regardless of the number of rounds fired. And in shootings where the attacker was stopped within seconds, the average penetration of the lethal wounds was 16”, which supports the FBI’s 13”-18” minimum penetration requirement. In none of the studied autopsies did fragmentation play a roll. Also to be noted, in looking at all the reports cited here from 2000 – 2010, there were no reports of injury or death from defensive shooting over-penetration, while there were a few incidents where bullets missing the target did cause collateral injury.
So from these data, we can also deduce that out of 16 rounds (15 mag +1) we can expect 3-4 to hit the target, 1 or 2 in the torso. Out of 18 rounds (17 mag +1) we get 4-5 hits, but still 1-2 in the torso.
Before I present my opinion on these stats, let us first review the data from the actual student testing.
I designed this study to attempt to confirm or refute the popular ideas that civilians do not need standard capacity magazines like law enforcement has, and that by limiting the capacity to 10 or fewer rounds we will 1) significantly slow down an active shooter’s ability to hit a large number of subjects, and 2) would allow opportunities for bystanders to rush and tackle the criminal while they are reloading. I will refer the reader to look above to see the definitions of Group A (A) and Group B (B).
In both groups, all students were timed for firing a fixed number of rounds – thirty – in 2 15-round magazines, 3 10-round magazine, and 5 6-round magazines for pistol, and 1 30-round vs 2 15-round magazines for the M4 carbine. To test for the ‘tackle the shooter’ theory, I had a “shooter” in the lane, and behind the line had an “attacker” in a crouched position rush towards a dummy 25-feet away and try to make contact with it before the shooter could reload and fire another round. When the shooter fired a random number of rounds, and started to reload, the bystander, once recognizing a reload was underway, was to sprint as fast as possible and touch the dummy. So at no time was the bystander on the firing line – they were always well behind the line.
For the first test – magazine change time – to determine the extent having smaller capacity magazines affected the amount of time it took a shooter to reload and shoot a standard number of rounds, here are the results:
Group A (inexperienced) averaged 22.9 seconds to fire 2 15-round magazines; 25.51 seconds for 3 10-round magazines; and 26.93 seconds for 5 6-round magazines in the pistol test, and 14.56 seconds for 1 30-round and 16.63 seconds for 2 15-rounds magazines. In Group A the difference between pistol reloading from 2 15-round magazines to 5 6-round magazines was 4.03 seconds, and for the M4 between 1 30-rounds and 2 15-round magazines was 2.07 seconds.
Group B (experienced) averaged 20.64 seconds to fire 2 15-round magazines; 18.5 seconds for 3 10-rounds magazines; and 21.45 seconds for 5 6-round magazines in the pistol, and 13.16 sec for 1 30-round magazine; 13.58 sec for 2 15-rounds magazines on the M4. In group B the difference between pistol reloading from 2 15-round magazines to 5 6-round magazines was 0.81 seconds, and for the M4 between 1 30-round magazine and 2 15-round magazines was 0.42 seconds.
So for inexperienced active shooters, we save only a total of 4 seconds by going from 2 15-round magazines to 5 6-round magazines in pistols, and only 2 seconds with a modern sporting rifle using 2 15-round magazines vs 1 30-round magazine. In the experienced group, this paltry savings drops even lower: in pistols we save 0.81 of a second by changing from 2 15-round magazines to 5 6-round magazines. And for the M4 we save 0.42 seconds by going to lower capacity mags.
For the tackle-the-shooter test, from 25 feet away, here are the results:
Group A shooters - the bystander averaged 13 feet before the post reload shot, and for Group B shooters, the bystander averaged 6 feet before the post reload shot. *Note – in Group A 6 out of 150 (approx. 4%) bystanders reached the dummy prior to a post reload shot, and in Group B none of the bystanders reached the dummy in time. In a best case scenario, with a very inexperienced shooter, a bystander has a 96% chance on failing to rush the shooter. Stress and multiple rushers could not be safely replicated at our range.
From this study we can see that magazine restrictions do not slow down the pace of a firearm assault by any appreciable amount. Furthermore, low capacity mags do not create a realistic opportunity for bystanders to tackle an active shooter while they are reloading. When you consider the hit potential and effectiveness of pistol bullets mentioned in the beginning of this article, limiting the magazine capacity does make it less likely that a victim defending themselves will be successful in stopping the threat to life that prompted the use of deadly force, and when one considers the uptick of multiple attacker incidents in the Commonwealth, we put them at an even worse advantage than we surmised here against a single attacker.
I would also like to point out one more problematic fact for those who think more gun restrictions will protect law enforcement officers better. From the Crime in Virginia 2013 report from the State Police, on page 56 we find the numbers of officers assaulted by weapon type. The results are eye opening.
Personal weapon (knifes, brass knuckles, impact weapons, etc) 73.6%
Other (bats, chains, brooms, sticks etc) 11.2%
No Weapon (unarmed assault) 6.1%
Motor vehicle 4.4%
Firearms 3.7%
Unknown 1%
These are just the facts; please do not hate the State Police for providing the truth to the citizens of the Commonwealth. We would do far more good in helping our officers if we implemented “common-sense laws” regulating brooms, sticks, knifes, and vehicles, than we would putting more firearms laws on the books.
Michael Nelson is an Archaeologist who owns a consulting firm that does archaeology, geophysical survey, and image analysis. He also owns Highland Tactical Solutions, LLC, a firearms sales, training, and appraisals company. He is a certified NRA instructor and range safety officer.
***************************************************************************
VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to
Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org [http://www.vcdl.org/]