M16 and AR15

After reviewing my blog records, I realized that I’d never actually reviewed this particular weapon, though I’d mentioned it in prior blog entries.  As such, some of this might seem repetitive, so if you’re bored, move along, nothing to see here.

M16.   In the late 1950s, a guy named Eugene Stoner invented a new weapon for the US Army, the AR15, to replace the M14, the weapon which replaced the M1 Garand as its standard weapon in the 50s.  Unlike the Garand and M14, the AR15 had no wood, but a triangular plastic foregrip and stock – some thought this made it cheap, like a toy (“the Mattel gun”) – though the German WWII submachine gun, the MP40, came out several decades before and was 100% metal and plastic, a departure from the Bergmann and ERMA submachineguns the Germans were using immediately before.  Also, unlike the M14 calibered in 7.62x51mm, aka .308, the AR15 had a new cartridge and caliber, the .223/5.56mm. 

After some modification (the Air Force adopted the AR15 without nonsense or cluelessness) the Army adopted the AR15 as the M16.  In doing so it modified Stoner’s design slightly and also changed the formula for the .223 ammunition charge.  This caused immense problems when the weapon was used in combat in Vietnam, prompting a change to the M16A1.  Both the M16 and M16A1 are select-fire: they fire semi-auto OR full automatic, thanks to an auto sear inside the weapon.

 

They both have the triangular handguard; these used to be so common but unwanted as to be thrown away, whereas nowadays they’re difficult to find and in high demand, though they will only fit guns with 20” barrels, and many AR15s these days have 16” barrels.

Later on, the military ascertained that full automatic was wasting ammunition, and changed the design to fire three round bursts.   This became the M16A2.  In addition to that change, cosmetically the weapon went from the triangular handguard to a cylindrical handguard.  All of these are with 20” barrels.

Currently the US military is using the M4 Carbine, which has a 14.5” barrel and a vertical foregrip under the handguard.  The M203 grenade launcher has been a popular attachment under the handguard, obviously replacing the foregrip.  The M4A1 brings back the full auto provision instead of the 3 round burst. 

AR15.  In 1963, the civilian, semi-auto only AR15 was introduced.   The internals of the weapon forgo swapping in the auto sear from the M16 and easily converting it to select fire or full auto.  The caliber is the same: .223/5.56.  

In 1993 I purchased a brand new AR15, this was a Colt weapon with a 20” barrel and cylindrical handguard, meaning outwardly it looked identical to an M16A2.  I fired it once at Clark Brothers range in Warrenton, Virginia and sold it, partially in exchange for the Mauser Kar98K (WWII German, built in 1942) which I still have. 

More recently I purchased a Springfield Armory Saint, a more recent AR15 variant with a 16” barrel, new, proprietary handguard, collapsible stock, and other goodies, still in semi-auto format.  A major cosmetic difference is the absence of a carrying handle, which over the years came off once owners decided to fit all sorts of night sights on the top of the receiver, which the carrying handle interferes with.  I’ve fired it more than once, which puts me ahead of my prior ownership.

According to Springfield Armory, it took its time when coming up with the Saint, and when it did so, it took an eclectic mix of all the fancy features which AR15s had developed over the years, in particular (as identified in Springfield’s marketing materials): mid-length gas system w/pinned gas block; flip-up sights; M-LOK handguard (plastic, of course – have yet to see a wood handguard for an AR15); accu-tite tension system (whatever that is); forged upper and lower receivers (the two major sections of the gun itself); and M16 bolt carrier group.  Also, by now the standard magazine capacity is 30 rounds, and the current standard mags are made of plastic instead of steel (Magpul P-Mags). 

As noted, the AR15 is semi-auto only, meaning it fires as quickly as you can pull the trigger.  The M16, M16A1 (full auto) and M16A2 (3 round burst) are legal for civilians but only as Class III weapons, meaning you have to be willing to pay in the neighborhood of $25,000 and wait 6-9 months for the BATF to do a full background check on you.  Most civilians are probably satisfied to pay $500-$1000 for a semi-auto AR15 and leave it at that.  I know I am.

.223/5.56.  The two are not exactly the same: a gun chambered for 5.56 can fire .223 without a problem, but a gun chambered for .223 cannot fire 5.56.  I noticed my Saint specifically says “5.56mm” on the barrel.  FYI, most modern weapons have the caliber explicitly labelled on the gun itself (e.g. my Beretta says “9mm Parabellum” on the slide).   

There are two major types of 5.56mm: in M193 format, this has a 55 grain bullet, and in M855 format, it has a 62 grain bullet.   Supposedly M193 (55 grain) does a nice job on flesh but a poor job shooting through doors, windows, clothing, foliage, etc, whereas M855 (62 grain) does a better job of the latter but then simply zips straight through the person you’re trying to kill, without doing much in the way of damage.  Take your pick. 

https://www.ammunitiontogo.com/lodge/m855-vs-m193/  

vs. AK47.  I also have a civilian, semi-auto AK47, a Romanian variant with black stock and foregrip.  Of course it’s in 7.62x39mm caliber.  The Saint has a fairly roundabout way of loading, whereas the AK is simple:  load up the magazine and rack the charging handle.  The conventional wisdom is that AR15s are more accurate than AKs, but below 300 yards the differences are far less substantial.

The strange thing is, I keep hearing that the #1 reason for the .223/5.56 caliber’s adoption was because the rounds are smaller than .308/7.62x51 or .30-06, and so soldiers can carry more of them.  Certainly 5.56 cartridges are clearly smaller than 7.62x39 cartridges.  But when I look at the 30 round AR magazines and compare them with 30 round AK magazines, they aren’t a whole lot smaller.  In absolute terms, a 30 round AK magazine really isn’t all that big, at least as far as I perceive.

Militias.  With the COVID19 virus in the news lately, we’re also seeing an abundance of armed men walking around with rifles, protesting their governors’ demand that they stay at home and behave themselves.  Really, guns are not necessary to effectively protest, but apparently they believe an armed protest to be more persuasive and effective.  And the #1 gun you’ll see them carry is the AR15, in all sorts of different variations.  I haven’t seen one I could specifically identify as a Springfield Armory Saint, but I wasn’t looking too hard.  I’ve yet to hear of an armed protest in Virginia, I’d be more inclined to stay home and go out only for necessities, wearing the mask when I do - and leaving the Saint at home.  That’s as much as I’d care to comment about this at this time.       

Aesthetics

I suppose aesthetics is officially defined as “the philosophy of beauty”, in my book it’s more along the line of “what I consider attractive, regardless of function or practicality”.   The particular application is regard to items which I think have some inherent beauty, at least in my own subjective opinion.

Guns.  I managed to acquire a Springfield Armory Saint, which is a very recent issue of the ever-popular AR15.  The AR15 is the civilian, semi-automatic version of the US military’s famous M16.   Over the years, since its introduction in the early 60’s in our controversial war in Vietnam, the military’s version has undergone several different models.

The original M16 was full auto and had a triangular handguard, that plastic thing in between the magazine (thing which carries all the ammo) and the end of the rifle.  The M16 had various problems, one of which was that the military couldn’t leave Stoner’s original design alone, and these problems were mostly fixed in the first change, the M16A1.   This model still had a triangular handguard.  Both fired full automatic, meaning automatic so long as the trigger is held.  It had a semi-automatic mode  as well.

Eventually the Army realized that soldiers were wasting ammo firing full auto and changed the gun to fire three round bursts.  This was the M16A2.  This model has a cylindrical handguard. 

Eventually they shortened it and gave it a pistol grip under the handguard, and named this the M16A4. 

Back in the early 90s I purchased an AR15, which I later sold.  This one looked exactly like an M16A2, with a 20” barrel and cylindrical handguard.   My Saint has a 16” barrel and a newfangled handguard which actually looks pretty cool.

The “aesthetic” angle comes in here, insofar as I consider both the M16/M16A1 attractive, as I do the M16A2 and the Saint.  One thing I can’t stand is this:  many current AR15s have a weird handguard that looks like it belongs on Playstation or XBOX.  Not sure where they came up with that, but Springfield fixed that problem.  All of these guns fire exactly the same, the aesthetics making no practical difference.   But I can leave my Saint out in the open and love the way it looks, without even firing it.

Mausers.  These are the most famous bolt-actions.   The original Gewehr 98, introduced in time for the Germans to get nasty against the Chinese in the Boxer Rebellion, then serving as the standard rifle of the Imperial German Army during WWI, is relatively long and has a straight bolt.  It’s an attractive gun.   The carbine I felt looks too short.   In 1935 the Germans split the difference between the two with the Kar98K, which served as the main infantry weapon of the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS during WWII.   In addition to being shorter than the Gewehr 98 and longer than the carbine, it has a turned down bolt.  I purchased one in the 90s and still have it.  That’s another gun I could simply look at and admire without even shooting, though the picture above is a Gewehr 98. 

I also love the look of the Russian PPSh submachinegun with its wood stock, drum magazine and square holed barrel shroud.  These faced the Nazis in WWII but then faced us in Korea when the Chinese and North Koreans used them.  According to my cousin, my uncle tried using one – during his service in 1950-53 (not with a M*A*S*H unit!) - until he attracted friendly fire from neighboring US units.  Oops. 

Cars.   Recently I posted pictures of the ’71-74 AMC Javelin.  That’s the nicest looking AMC there is.  The ’68-70 Dodge Charger is another non-GM looker.  But for all around best looks, Pontiac gets it done.  The ’88-92 Firebird Formula, the ’67-68 Firebird 400, and many of the ’70-81 Formulas and Trans Ams, especially with the ’73-78 simpler pattern Screaming Chicken, are my favorites.   The best would be a ’74 Trans Am SD455 in dark blue with the hood bird.  Dream on.   Again, not all these cars are necessarily fast – a 305-equipped Formula looks just as nice, though isn’t nearly as fast, as its 350-equipped brother, and after 1975 with the introduction of emissions and catalytic converters killing the power, the later second generation Firebirds are slower than their beauty would indicate.   These 70s Firebirds, usually the Trans Ams, also have aluminum dashes.   If I ever get around to restoring my ’76 Esprit, I’ll see about upgrading the dash, as it has the faux-wood dash which was standard on non-Trans Ams. 

Oh, and Rally II wheels are by far my favorite, well over the honeycomb wheels I can’t stand.

Guitars.  I have the good fortune to have collected several guitars:  4 Gibsons (SG, Les Paul, Explorer and Firebird V) and a Stratocaster.  With the exception of the Les Paul, which is in Black Cherry Pearl, the rest of the guitars are in black, or as Gibson calls it, “ebony”.   All of them have rosewood fretboards, including the Stratocaster – I can’t stand maple.  I switched out the Explorer’s white pickguard for a mirror pickguard, and the Firebird’s white pickguard for a black one with the Firebird on it.  I kept the black pickguards on the SG, LP and Stratocaster.  The Stratocaster has the large, ’68-82 headstock typical of ‘70s Stratocasters – Robin Trower and Ritchie Blackmore are most often seen with those.   The SG is a 2013 Standard in ebony, the ’13 Standards being very popular as they are almost identical to the ‘61/62 reissue models.  In fact, I traded my ’89 ’62 Reissue in cherry for the current one, and while cherry was tolerable, ebony is MUCH better.   

Aesthetically I like the smaller pickguard and don’t like the ’67-70 larger one which surrounds the pickups.   Also, whether it’s on a Strat or a Les Paul, I am NOT a fan of sunburst finishes, least of all tobacco or cherry.  Finally, I love the Les Paul script on the headstock, which ruled out a Custom with its inlaid diamond. 

None of these preferences have anything to do with how well the guitar plays or sounds, and the wrong color, pickguard, or a maple neck won’t compromise anyone’s ability to extract heavenly tones with the right amp.   

But some things are nice to look at too, and I keep my guitars out on stands.  They certainly sound nice – either through the Marshall 1x12” Jubilee combo I bought new in 1990, or through the condo-neighbor-annoying half stack (Marshall 100 watt 4100 Dual Reverb through 4x12” 1960AV).

NRA Wish List

I’m suffering writer’s block this Friday.  This is blog #660, and of course I prefer to avoid repeating myself – not that I’m aware of anyone actively searching the blog archives or calling me out on repetitions.  I haven’t seen any memorable films or finished any books, and I suppose there’s a limit to how many times I can bestow praise and esteem on yet more bands distorting Orange amps (what happened to Marshall?  Well, at least Monster Magnet still uses those) while invoking bongs, blunts, 4:20 etc.  Nor am I inclined to talk about drugs, legal or otherwise, constantly, or bitch yet again about the guy in the White House.

I’ve already commented at length fairly recently about my arsenal, such as it is, so I’ll wax poetic about the weapons I want.

Class III.  Technically full-auto weapons are legal if you the patience to go through the BATF procedures.  The issue really isn’t paperwork, it’s money:  these guns had to have been in the US before 1986, so regardless of how many million were made during WWII, if it wasn’t brought into the US before 1986, it can’t be brought in now.  The biggest problem is that they are EXPENSIVE.   Of course they go through ammo quickly as full auto weapons, but they’re expensive to buy.   Unless someone knows of a PPSH for less than $1000?  I didn’t think so.

Having said that, my Class III Wishlist would be:

1.         MG34 or MG42.  German WWII machine guns.   [8mm Mauser.]

2.         MP EMP aka Erma.  A German submachine gun used in the Spanish Civil War and by SS units during WWII.  Wood stock with a foregrip and slits in the cooling sleeve.  [9mm]

3.         PPSH SMG.  Famous Russian WWII submachine gun, used a 71 round drum magazine.  Also used by North Koreans and Chinese during the Korean War.  This has a fairly high rate of fire, 900 rpm. [7.62x25mm].

Normal Weapons Ordinary People Can Afford.

Luger.  We have the replica, but actual Lugers are not that expensive – well, aside from those chambered in .45.  I just never got around to buying one.  [9mm]

Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mark III.   The WWI variant.   Classic bolt action, [.303 caliber, as invoked in “Breaker Morant”].  As seen in countless movies if the British or Canadians are involved.

Springfield Armory Saint.   I sold my AR15 awhile ago, replaced it more recently with an AK47, but I dare say anyone’s arsenal should include an AR15.  This is the most recent version with all the refinements, but remarkably it costs less than $1000.   And it looks nice, though I miss the M16-looking ones; the one I used to own looked exactly like an M16.  Nowadays too many have some bizarre handguard that looks like there should be a gaming computer somewhere inside.  [.223/5.56mm]

FN FAL.  Eons ago we bought toy versions of this in Belgium, of all places.  It’s semi-auto. The Brazilian Army uses them, and with Bolso taking power I’m sure the Exercito Brasileiro will get more publicity in the near future.   I’d go with the 21” variant.  DSArms sells one for a sane price.   [.308 (7.62x51) (actually the two aren’t EXACTLY the same but whatever)]. 

Gewehr 98.  The original Mauser rifle for the German Army, first used by Germans in the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 in China, then throughout WWI, until replaced in the 1930s by the 98K.  Best seen in “All Quiet on the Western Front”. [8mm Mauser.]

Gewehr 43.   Since I already have a WWII Mauser 98K, this would be next step.  Germany’s copy of the Garand, i.e. its attempt at a semi-auto infantry rifle to replace the bolt-action K98 and thus come even with US forces, didn’t do too well, and the STG44 was more popular with Fascists even if made in similar numbers (400,000).  I saw one at a gun show for $2800.  Maybe I’ll find one for cheaper when I actually have the money.  Not counting on it.  [8mm Mauser.]  

My Arsenal

Guns are in the news again.  My Facebook posts put me on the NRA side of this issue, though I am a civilian with no combat experience and also no personal experience with violent crime, either as victim or aggressor.  I do like guns, however, and over the years have accumulated a few.  Here is my arsenal, such as it is.

Beretta 92FS.   Handgun, 9mm caliber. For quite some time, the standard issue handgun of the US military.   Beretta has the distinction of being the oldest Italian gunmaker – since the 1500s – and about the only one which knew what they were doing during WWII, such that Germans would use Beretta submachine guns themselves.  This gun also shows up in popular culture, notably “Lethal Weapon” (the gun Riggs, i.e. Mel Gibson, carries) as well as the first “Boondock Saints” film.  9mm, with a double stacked 15 round magazine.  It’s on the large side, about the largest gun you can reasonably carry concealed.

Ages ago I bought one new, then sold it to a friend.  More recently I bought a used one at a gun show in Manassas – so I’ve owned two, though not at the same time.  For a brief time, I had a concealed weapon permit and carried the new Beretta, but not on a regular basis.   

Mauser KAR98K.  Bolt action rifle, 8mm Mauser (7.92x57) caliber.   In 1898 Mauser finally made a bolt action rifle for the Imperial German Army, the Gewehr 98.  Shortly after, they came up with a much shorter carbine.  Fast forward to the 1930s, and they simply decided to split the difference with one rifle in between the two in length and just go with that as standard issue for everyone.  It’s bolt action with a 5 round double stacked internal magazine, which can be fed from stripper clips.  The bolt is turned down.

There are millions of copies of the 98 model alone, with Yugoslavia being responsible for a lot of them – their M48, made shortly after WWII, is probably the most common, though they were making copies before WWII.  Spain, Belgium, Argentina, Poland, Turkey and China are other big Mauser fans; Mausers were so common and popular in China that the Chinese simply referred to all rifles as Mausers.   [Incidentally, up until 1937 the Germans were supplying Chiang Kai-Shek and his Nationalist Chinese army not merely with Mauser rifles but also the M1935 helmets most often associated with WWII German soldiers, so Chinese soldiers in the early stages of the war, 1937, have a distinct German appearance.]  The US Springfield was such a blatant copy of the Mauser that we ended up paying Mauser royalties on that rifle.  I made it a point to get an actual WWII German K98. 

Ages ago when living in Paris and buying German WWII stuff from the local store, OPTAS, I picked up the bayonet that goes to this gun.  Decades later, immediately after acquiring the rifle, I pulled out the bayonet, and it fit exactly.  Awesome.

This was the standard infantry rifle of the German Army during WWII, plus the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine (to the extent the air force and navy need infantry weapons) and the ever-popular Waffen SS.  According to the markings, this rifle was made in 1942 by Steyr, which used Mauthausen camp workers to make their weapons.  Note, because quantities of the more advanced Gewehr 43 (semi-auto) and StG44 (select-fire assault rifle) were limited, no more than about 400,000 of each, the bolt-action K98 remained in production throughout the war.  

Mosin-Nagant 91/30.  Bolt action rifle, 7.62x54R caliber.   One of the earlier bolt action models, a joint design of Belgium and Russia.  This served as Russia’s #1 rifle in the Russo-Japanese War (1905), WWI + the Russian Civil War, then WWII, though by that time the PPSH submachine gun became more popular.  It’s usually seen with a spike bayonet on the end (which I have).   This is the full-size rifle, with bolt facing straight out, not the carbine version or the sniper version (bolt turned down).  Best chance of seeing this on countless Soviet propaganda posters.  Vasili Zaitsev, the famous Soviet sniper played by Jude Law in “Enema at the Gates”,  used the sniper version.  [His fictional rival, Major Koenig, played by Ed Harris, of course uses the Mauser Kar98k.]

Model 1917 Enfield, bolt action rifle, .30-06 caliber.   My mother’s father, i.e. my grandfather, served in the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in France during WWI.   Our soldiers in the trenches facing off against the Kaiser used either the 1903 Springfield (the more famous and popular model) or this one, the Enfield.  In practice, 75% used this one.  My grandfather died when I was a baby, and no one else in the family knows which one he carried, so I played the odds and got this one.  It’s about as fun to shoot as any other bolt action and fires the same caliber as the Springfield, BAR, M1 Garand and any .30 Browning machine gun.   I have the bayonet as well, something long enough to make the Huns nervous.

AK47.  Semi-auto rifle, 7.62x39mm caliber.   A few years ago, a shooter caused the Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus, New Jersey to be shut down briefly, although he didn’t actually shoot anyone.  I realized that my three bolt actions, though firing full power rifle rounds, were not really suitable for contemporary “s**t hits the fan” circumstances, so a modern semi-auto rifle was probably a better bet.  I bought this one.   It’s all black (no wood hardware).  I never bothered to get the bayonet for this one.   Although it won’t fire full-auto, cosmetically it looks identical to the familiar rifle of the modern Red Army, the Warsaw Pact, and countless guerilla and jihad groups. 

[Update 4/19/20].  AR15.  Semi-auto rifle, 5.56mm (.223) caliber.  Back around 1994 I purchased a new one, with a full 20" barrel and cylindrical handguard, looking exactly like an M16A2.  I took it to the range in Warrenton (Clark Brothers) once, and soon after sold it.  More recently I finally managed to replace it with a Springfield Armory Saint.  This has a 16" barrel, collapsing stock, and various other goodies which I'm not fully aware of, except to understand that Springfield took its time to develop its own AR15, and when they did so, they chose to incorporate all the design features which have been developed over the years for civilian AR15s.   They even designed their own proprietary handguard.  I'm very pleased with it.  

And in the past…

Walther PP.  Handgun, .380 caliber.  Just a little bigger than the famous PPK (“Bond, James Bond”), in the same caliber.  This has a smaller 7 round single stack magazine. 

....

Upcoming?  Well, not in the market for any more purchases, but I would love an FN FAL, which would give me a semi-auto weapon in .308 (7.62x51) caliber.  Moreover my budget precludes any Class III (full auto) weapons, which are insanely expensive.

As noted, I haven’t been in a situation to use any of these in combat or crime.  I take them to the range – NRA or otherwise – and fire them there.  Bolt actions are actually a bit more fun to shoot than semi-autos, as you have to work the bolt after each shot and load the internal magazine.  With semi-auto you simply pull the trigger over and over again, reloading via magazine.  In the event I need a gun, I have several choices. 

Morbidly curious:  most plausible victims.   Since I haven’t killed anyone with any weapon I’ve ever owned, who has?  Several are vintage military weapons, acquired well downstream of whoever might have originally wielded the weapon in any combat situation.

The AR15 and AK47 are/were semi-auto civilian weapons, as was the PP.   I sold the AR15 to a friend, and bought the AK47, and the PP, from the same friend, whose character is known as definitely non-criminal.  So no blood at all on those. 

Beretta.  “Defense contractor surplus” is what I was told.  Meaning some Blackhawk mercenary might have shot someone in Baghdad.  Most plausible victim:  JIHADI.

Mauser.  As noted, made in 1942, at a concentration camp.  By this time the Einsatzgruppen were phased out in favor of the death camps.  The rifle could have gone straight into the hands of a local SS camp guard, issued to a Waffen SS soldier, or a Wehrmacht soldier.   In that case the likely victims would be, A) concentration camp inmate, B) Russian soldier, or C) Allied soldier.  I’d say B is most likely.

Mosin-Nagant.   This appears to be Soviet era.  Possibly used to kill a kulak, though more likely fired at a “Fritz”.  Perhaps reissued in Korea, in which case the targets would be UN soldiers, but WWII is the most likely scenario.  Most plausible victim: WWII German soldier.

Enfield.  Some were issued to US troops in the far East, some to British Home Guard, but most to US soldiers fighting in France in WWI.   Most plausible victim:  WWI German soldier.  (Sorry, Kevin).

America's Guerilla Army

July 4^th is coming up soon, and remarkably I have a revolutionary topic to discuss.  How convenient…

This is yet another salvo of mine in the gun control war, currently being waged on Facebook as well as in the country at large, and those sitting down in Congress types who know what’s best for everyone else.  Regrettably, the “hand control” advocates on the Interweb or Book of Faces can’t resist starting off with benign patronizing, followed by outright insults when you don’t agree with their wisdom (?) and logic, such as it is.  So much of this will be preaching to the choir.  So be it.  If any of my readers are actually undecided on this issue, by all means listen up. 

AR15.  The sad joke about this is that as military weapons go, the AR15 would be almost at the bottom – just above bolt-action rifles and muzzle loaders.  It can’t even fire full auto, or even 3 round bursts.  The Army uses the select-fire M16A2 (semi-auto/3 round burst) which replaced the M16 and M16A1, which could fire full auto.  It has full auto .308 machine guns and the beloved M2 .50 caliber machine gun.  Add to this: grenades, grenade launchers, mortars, light artillery, heavy artillery, APVs, tanks, and also ground attack by helicopters and the US Air Force, both F16s and the big B52s.  Plus strategic nuclear weapons – so far only employed against Japanese civilians.

Oh, by the way:  this business of “The Founding Fathers never imagined the AR15.”  Are you assuming that the Founding Fathers believed that military technology in the late 1700s would NEVER progress?  That black powder, muzzle-loading muskets were as far as any army could ever go?  Highly presumptuous.  Of course, there is no evidence for that position.  I’d say the Founding Fathers could better imagine better versions of firearms – which they had then – than they could the Internet, but you don’t hear liberals admitting that the First Amendment doesn’t apply to the Internet. 

“We, the Militia”.  Thank God the First Amendment protects the right of free speech, religion, and assembly – of the militia.  That the Fourth Amendment protects…the militia…from unreasonable searches and seizures.  That the Fifth Amendment prevents the Militia from testifying against itself.  Thanks to the Sixth Amendment, the Militia has a right to a speedy and fair trial.  The Militia merits a jury trial – by a peer of militias (Seventh) – and no excessive bail will keep the militia locked up or subject to cruel or unusual punishments (Eighth).  The Founding Fathers – including NRA Founder James Madison – didn’t really mean “people” when they said “people” could bear arms.  They meant that the armed forces had the right to bear arms.  What a radical idea!  That’s why it’s sandwiched between the first and third amendments (no militia quartered among the militia, without the consent of the militia).  In the Militia’s Bill of Rights.  If it comes to a toss between Chief Justice Warren Burger and James Madison as to what the Founding Fathers intended, I’ll pick Madison.  Not only was he there, he was one of them.

Anyhow.  SO then the liberals sneer that civilians armed with AR15s would be no match for SEAL Team Six.   “Black Hawk Down”, people.  Mobs of angry, well-armed Somalis made life very difficult for us in Mogadishu.   Mobs of angry, well-armed Americans can make life very difficult for regular US soldiers, just like the Viet Cong made life difficult for US soldiers in Vietnam, the Taliban did so – and continues to do so – in Afghanistan, and Iraqi rebels did in Iraq.  This despite all the horrendous damage that our advanced military technology could inflict on our opponents.  Funny how the liberals who laugh about the VC or Taliban giving our much-vaunted high tech military a hard time conveniently change their tune when the roles are reversed.

And that’s US soldiers fighting against foreign guerillas.   You really cannot assume the reliability of ordinary soldiers sent to fight against their own people.  All bets are off.  Sure, there will be some hardcore nuts who “love the smell of napalm in the morning” – and who are as likely to be shot from behind as from the front. 

During our own War of Independence, we did raise conventional forces, trained by Baron von Steuben, but we never had enough to avoid relying upon irregulars.  Von Lettow-Vorbeck, arguably the best guerilla warfare leader Germany ever produced (yes, I know that’s a very small group), knew that guerillas do not necessarily have to overcome conventional forces on the battlefield to be strategically effective: they can tie down such forces and spread them out.  Every Commonwealth unit wasting its time chasing VLV and his Askaris around Tanzania and Mozambique was a unit that wasn’t fighting at the Somme.  And every now and then – early 1800s Haiti, Dien Bien Phu in 1954 – a guerilla army will defeat a conventional army.  In our case it would simply be enough to make a constant nuisance to the conventional forces.  If we ran out of patience in Vietnam and Iraq, we’ll certainly run out of patience fighting ourselves. 

Che Guevara.  Here’s another funny thing.  Liberals love Che Guevara.  Wasn’t he brave?  He fought against Batista (who ran away quickly); he fought in the Congo; and then he fought in Bolivia, until taken down by the Bolivian Army assisted by Felix Rodriguez and the CIA.  You would think that liberals would be cradling their semi-auto AK47s and training in the backwoods like Che and the VC: “Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh!”  But they didn’t do that when Reagan was president.  They didn’t even do that when George W. Bush was President AND we had the Patriot Act, which might have inspired some to prepare against a right-wing dictatorship.  Should we be surprised?  If liberals think the AR15 – a civilian, semi-auto version of a full-auto military rifle - is the pinnacle of military technology and get PTSD simply firing one, no wonder they lack the courage to emulate their hero.