Show of hands: How many of you gun control advocates actually believe what the Brady website tells you? Today I'm going to point out every single outright lie in just one pamphlet and prove to you exactly why the assertions are false.
And flip...
Today's tissue of lies is the Brady assault weapon FAQ
Read along as I "shoot down" false assertions and ask yourself "why am I getting my information from these people?"
Assertion #1: "Standard hunting rifles are usually equipped with no more than 3 or 4-shot magazines"
Here's the list of the 9 most popular bolt-action hunting rifles sold in the U.S.
popup warning
Savage model 110: 3-5 round internal magazine depending on caliber.
Winchester model 70: 3-6 round magazine depending on model and caliber.
Browning A-bolt: 3-5 round capacity
Remington model 700: 4-5 round internal capacity
Ruger 77: 6-10 round magazine
Sako 75: 5-6 round magazine
Tikka T3: 3-5 round magazine
Weatherby MkV: 4-5 round magazine
Weatherby Vanguard: 3-5 round magazine
And the 5 most popular semiautomatic hunting rifles
popup warning
Ruger model 44: 4 round magazine
Remington 7400: 3-10 round magazine depending on model
Browning BAR: 3-4 round magazine
Ruger 99/44: 4 round magazine
Benelli R1: 3 round magazine
Assertion #2:"A folding stock on a rifle or shotgun...sacrifices accuracy for concealability and for mobility in close combat."
Completely false. The purpose of a folding stock is compact storage and portability. Simple exercise in applying the laws of physics to realize that firing a rifle without a buttstock is 1) tiring and 2) a waste of ammunition.
Assertion #3a: "A pistol grip on a rifle or shotgun... facilitates firing from the hip"
Okay, anybody familiar with ergonomics? Imagine you are holding a pistol grip down by your hip. Now imagine the recoil force pushing it back. Can you say "carpal tunnel"?
A pistol grip is decidedly inferior to a comb stock for "firing from the hip" for exactly this reason. Quite the contrary, pistol-grip rifles are designed to be fired from the shoulder.
Assertion 3b: "...allowing the shooter to spray-fire the weapon."
I'm inclined to give them a pass on this one, since "spray fire" isn't actually possible with a semiautomatic rifle. "Bump-fire" is more accurate, and the angle of the grip has no effect on this whatsoever.
Assertion 3c: " A pistol grip also helps the shooter stabilize the firearm during rapid fire..." Quite the contrary. A comb grip places the hand more in line with the recoil, whereas the pistol grip places the hand underneath. When a pistol grip rifle is fired, the muzzle tends to climb during recoil.
Assertion 3d: "...and makes it easier to shoot assault rifles one-handed."
I suppose I can't really answer this one, as neither I nor anybody I know has ever tried to fire a pistol gripped "assault rifle" one handed. I'm sure it's cool-looking in the movies, but we don't have the money to waste on ammo. Rifles are kinda muzzle-heavy for that nonsense anyway.
Assertion 4a: "A barrel shroud, which is designed to cool the barrel so the firearm can shoot many rounds in rapid succession without overheating." This is true. It's also true that a semiauto rifle can't actually shoot fast enough to overheat. So any barrel shroud you find on a semiauto is actually just cosmetic.
Assertion 4b: "It also allows the shooter to grasp the barrel area to stabilize the weapon"
HAAAAHAHAHA... Again, the more ergonomically inclined might point out that 1) that's what the foregrip is for and 2) the muzzle is kinda far away for that to actually work. Which is, you know, why nobody does that.
Assertion 5a (I love this one): "The flash suppressor allows the shooter to remain concealed when shooting at night"
Rebuttal:
How on earth are you going to "conceal" that?
The flash suppressor is actually designed to shield the flash from the shooter so it doesn't ruin his night vision. Hiding it from anybody else is impossible.
Assertion 5b: "In addition, the flash suppressor is useful for providing stability during rapid fire, helping the shooter maintain control of the firearm."
No, a flash supressor does exactly the opposite. A compensator actually does this job by directing the exhaust gases upwards and back towards the shooter, counteracting the recoil and muzzle flip. This, of course, means that the shooter's night vision would be ruined and "bump firing" would be hampered due to the lack of recoil.
Assertion 6a: "a silencer...is useful to assassins but clearly has no purpose for sportsmen."
Did you know that at many clubs in Great Britain silencers are actually mandatory for sport shooting? Yep. It helps cut down on the noise. I am also unaware of any "assassins" that have actually employed silencers, perhaps because they don't really "silence" a firearm anymore than a muffler "silences" a delivery truck.
Assertion 6b: "Silencers are illegal"
No, silencers are not "illegal" and you can have one of your own if you shell out the $200 tax and are willing to get the FFL license.
There's much, much more in this one "fact" sheet that I am at odds with, but I'll limit myself strictly to incorrect statements put forth as "fact".
The conclusion: They're either startlingly uninformed about firearms or actually purposefully misleading you.
Either way, wouldn't it be in your best interest to confirm their assertions before repeating them?