he History of the Rifle" on the History Channel, Friday, 10/23

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Last night I watched "The History of the Rifle" on the History Channel which featured the M16, its history and its future. This was a new offering so I thought it might be interesting. Early on in the program, they spent about 10 minutes going over the infamous North Hollywood shootout in 1997 which involved two BG's in a bank robbery. As I'm sure everyone's aware, these guys used real AK-47s and a real M16 - in other words actual assault rifles, not semi-automatic versions.

One of the people giving commentary was a SWAT officer who was there and involved in the gunfight. In fact, he was the one who got down on the road and shot the second BG in the ankle with his rifle, causing the BG to go down and quit the fight. But this SWAT officer was clueless about the 7.63x39 round. He made this outlandish statement which just blew me away (paraphrased) when he talked about the AK.

"This gun shoots a bullet that will go through a tank".

Now first off, WTF! I mean, here is a highly trained LEO who should know better and he makes a statement like this. And the worse part is the fact that there will be people who watch that program and they will believe this nonsense because, after all, a SWAT officer said it so it must be true.

Nuts.

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Ask any "gun nut" who deals with LEOs on a regular basis and they will tell you that most cops are clueless when it comes to guns. I know instructors who have had to show veterancops how to field strip their ownservice weapons.

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Gordie wrote:

Ask any "gun nut" who deals with LEOs on a regular basis and they will tell you that most cops are clueless when it comes to guns. I know instructors who have had to show veterancops how to field strip their ownservice weapons.

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This guy just hit the nail on the head 10x.

I believe they also used an HK91. Could he have been refering to that? It would only make the statement slightly less idiotic, but still...

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Gordie wrote:

Ask any "gun nut" who deals with LEOs on a regular basis and they will tell you that most cops are clueless when it comes to guns. I know instructors who have had to show veterancops how to field strip their ownservice weapons.

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I know, but I didn't want to say this since I was not of a mind to offend any of our LEO members. I have met some who are just as knowledgeable as those steeped in gun culture and some who are pretty much ignorant in these areas. I knew one who wished he didn't have to carry his sidearm. Made me want to ask him what made him want to enter law enforcement with that sort of attitude.

Most LEOs I've had the pleasure to know, are not as knowledgeable as I am, but are very open to discussions about guns in general. They've been fine with my approach and the fact that I carry, too.

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It will go through a tank, I've done it myself. As long as you're talking about a propane tank.

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zoom6zoom wrote:

It will go through a tank, I've done it myself. As long as you're talking about a propane tank.

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Heh, heh. Yeah, or perhaps a plastic play toy.

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Cops and guns? Try this: Back in the '70s Robert Daley wrote an excellent book about the NYPD titled "Target Blue" in which he devoted a chapter to cops' attitudes toward guns. Among the hilarious anecdotes was the one about a captain who, having managed to cock his revolver and not knowing how to uncock it, decided to remedy the situation by firing it into a toilet bowl. There are other stories just as good.

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Yeah, I watched that too and couldn't believe what I heard, so I called in the SO and we tried for a while to find some way that statement would be true ... the only way would have been if one of the BG's was firing a .50 cal.

What I think is really sad about that situation and could have prevented such a bad public relations incident is that none of the LEO made a head shot. If you watch the whole overhead video, there are at least 4 opportunities where a head shot would have been possible, even with a hand gun. The only problem is that LEO are not trained to shoot tactically, "two to the chest, one to the head." Rather they are trained to shoot defensively, "centermass only."

Of course, it wasn't too long ago when all the LEO where I am from failed to qualify ... all of them! That was the year that the city council voted to build an LEO pistol range on some city property. Now, I can tell when qualifications are comming as all the LEO's go 10-8 at the range for a couple of weeks before.

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Gordie wrote:

Ask any "gun nut" who deals with LEOs on a regular basis and they will tell you that most cops are clueless when it comes to guns. I know instructors who have had to show veterancops how to field strip their ownservice weapons.

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Simple he was trying to make himself sound like an expert to those who have even less on the facts then that moron does People like himself do more damage then good. I still stick by that almost all leos consider themselves superior then the lonely civilian knows. These shows should really get the NRA to give them a TRUE expert on the matter.

I saw the show and wanted to do a face palm.