In article .com>,
"Sandi" > wrote:

> Dan Abel wrote:

> > Perhaps you read it but don't remember what it said. It said
> basically
> > that an assault rifle is an assault rifle, because it's an assault
> rifle.
> >
> > I'm still waiting for Sandi to post a definition of an assault rifle
> (what
> > makes it different from a hunting rifle).
>
> Sorry to not respond in a timely manner...the trials of a third world
> country. The internet was down for a while.


Thanks for responding. And I'm a patient person.



> If I had to use a definition of "assault rifle" I tend to go with this
> one: an intermediate-caliber selective-fire rifle, that is, a weapon
> which can be fired fully automatically or semi-automatically at the
> option of the user, using ammunition more powerful than pistol
> ammunition but not so powerful as a standard rifle cartridges.
> Furthermore, the term "assault rifle" derives from a translation of the
> German term sturmgewehr, the tag given to the intermediate caliber
> selective-fire weapons previously known as MP 43 and MP 44
> (maschinenpistole, or submachinegun, of 1943 and 1944).


That's a good definition, but not useful to us who live in the land of
fruit and nuts (California), or indeed all of the US. Fully automatic
guns have been almost impossible to buy legally for a long time. When
California passed its ban on assault rifles, they were referring strictly
to semi-automatic weapons. Many of these weapons also came as hunting
rifles, with the very same action and caliber, and interchangeable
magazines.



> >From "The Semantics of Firearms"
> http://web4.integraonline.com/~bbroa..._Firearms.html

Excellent reference.

--
Dan Abel
Sonoma State University
AIS