Learn from the experts!

  Courtesy Oleg Volk, A Human Right

For all the expertise there actually is out there about guns and shooting, it's amazing that more truth doesn't creep in to mainstream media coverage thereof, by sheer cosmic accident.

The title of the Los Angeles Daily News article is "Deadlier weapons triggered arms raids".

Where to start with the factual failings of the article is itself a daunting task, but I'd like to zoom in on a particular comment from the LAPD muckety-muck on hand for the PR opportunity:

Authorities have noticed an increase in high-caliber weapons in Los Angeles. One of the most startling incidents was when a Fabrique National 57, an assault pistol used to kill big game, was found in a victim's car by detectives investigating a double-homicide last year in North Hollywood.

"You use it on large lions, tigers and bears," said LAPD Deputy Chief Michel Moore, commander of the Valley Bureau.

Now one would presume that someone with a title like LAPD Deputy Chief, might actually know something about guns and shooting, since people with titles like that are responsible for street-level law enforcement officers.  Officers which surely must receive the best-available gun training and safety instruction available to anyone, anywhere, since we are constantly reminded that government agents are the Only Ones capable and trustworthy enough to actually be permitted guns in public--for the safety of us all.  So, it stands to reason that a Deputy Chief should be someone you can trust with information about gun related matters.

Put a bookmark by that thought.

Deputy Chief Moore tells us that the "Fabrique National 57" pistol is useful for "large lions, tigers and bears".  (Did he forget the "oh my" ending?)  It is notable that the reporter in this case, in proper lapdog fashion, regurgitates all the trendy catchphrases without question:  "...an assault pistol used to kill big game", as well as repeated references to "high-caliber weapons". 

This sounds mighty impressive indeed.  How can we put this awesome power into perspective?

The Fabrique Nationale "Five SeveN" pistol (which is almost certainly what is not quite properly named here) is a relative newcomer to the industry. It employs the 5.7x28mm cartridge, which propels a .22-caliber, 30- to 40-grain bullet (that's 2.0 - 2.6 grams of mass) at initial velocities in the 2,000 feet per second range.  (Do not be distracted by the discussions of armor-piercing capabilities, since AP component bullets are available to any cartridge.  A cartridge's basic capabilities are defined by its core ballistics--mass and velocity.)

By contrast, consider the .22 Hornet cartridge.  It propels a .22-caliber bullet of 40-55 grains (that's 2.6-3.6 grams) at initial velocities of 2,600 - 2,800 fet per second.  The Hornet has been around for a long time.  It is considered a "varmint" cartridge, which is a miscellaneous category that usually indicates game animals under 50 pounds.  The Hornet is considered dynamite on ground squirrels, provided the range isn't too far.  It is specifically prohibited in most states for deer, on account of it is not powerful enough.

So, one could consider the 5.7 to be a slightly shorter, weaker .22 Hornet.

Incidentally, the cartridge that most hunters consider an acceptable minimum for deer (100-300 pounds in most places) is the .243 Winchester, which propels a .24-caliber, 90-grain (5.8g) bullet at initial velocities in the 3,100 fps range.  The classic historic "deer rifle" cartridge is the .30-30 Winchester, which uses a .30-caliber, 170-grain (11g) bullet at 2,200 fps, but it has been mostly replaced with cartridges such as the .30-06 Springfield, whose .30-caliber, 180-grain bullet is traditionally listed at 2,700 fps.

In Africa, .30-caliber rifles are considered "light" rifles, suitable for thin-skinned plains game animals that do not bite back.  Think antelope here.

A lion is in the 400-500 pound range (both tigers and bears can get bigger), and has been described by at least one professional hunter as "a tawny blur with teeth".  He (or she--the pros give at least as much respect to the ladies here) can certainly be killed with a light rifle, but professionals and hunters alike consider the prudent minimum to be at least one class above that.  Jeff Cooper, who no doubt forgot more about riflery than most of us will ever know, referred to these classes of rifles as "mediums", "light-heavies", and "heavies".

A "medium" is in the class of the .375 H&H Magnum, which classically lists a .375-caliber, 300-grain (19g) bullet at 2,500 fps.  A "light-heavy" is about .40-caliber and 400-grains (26g);  the .416 Remington cartridge propels this load at over 2,300 fps.  And "heavies" start with the .458 Winchester Magnum listing a .45-caliber, 500g (32g) bullet at 2,100 fps.  You can go up considerably from there...

The point should be pretty obvious by now.  To call a .22 a "high-caliber weapon" is to broadcast a class of ignorance most people couldn't even manage on purpose.

Speaking of which (if you asked "what does he mean by 'which':  the ignorance part or the 'on purpose' part", good on you!), let's check back in on Deputy Chief Moore's comment:

You use it on large lions, tigers and bears.

Clearly this man knows something that I do not.  So, in proper deference to his gleaming authoritah, I submit the following proposal:

Let's airdrop Deputy Chief Moore into the remote wildlands of Botswana with a Five SeveN and a suitable supply of ammunition.  If he manages to produce a pile of lion corpses on his way out, he will prove his cred, earn the sincere gratitude of local villagers, and garner my fervent respect.  (No, really, I truly would be impressed.) 

And can we include the Authorized Journalist, too?  She can have her own Five SeveN.

With such devastating hand-cannons at their disposal, they should have no problem mowing the poor tabbies down, right?

 Just sayin'.

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Thanks again to David Codrea for the heads-up.  I just couldn't shut up about this one.  :-)