Cosmoline
Member
Lots of interesting ideas in the thread. I didn't know about that federal law.
Well even that cruddy old Lebel, properly loaded, can shoot a good 2 MOA. And other 19th century rifles such as the Mosin 91 and Mauser 98 can nail tighter groups than that.
It is somewhat similar to the sate of things in the early 19th century. The flintlocks had been tweaked and improved to be about as good as they could be. It took broader changes in industrial technology to make the
next phase of innovations possible.
I don't have the answer to the impasse, or I'd be really rich. But I think it's important to realize where we're truly at as a starting point. The assumption that technology is proceeding on its own, by magic, and that we'll all have those plasma rifles soon, isn't working. Not for me anyway ;-)
If we take the 19th century as an example, the answer is that it will take people shooting at you, or potentially shooting at you, to spur real innovation. The developments were driven by fear of getting overrun by enemy troops.
Probably the most recent advancement has been is accuracy. Even a cheap bolt action rifle bought over the counter from Walmart will have amazing accuracy.
Well even that cruddy old Lebel, properly loaded, can shoot a good 2 MOA. And other 19th century rifles such as the Mosin 91 and Mauser 98 can nail tighter groups than that.
the technology is pretty mature.
It is somewhat similar to the sate of things in the early 19th century. The flintlocks had been tweaked and improved to be about as good as they could be. It took broader changes in industrial technology to make the
next phase of innovations possible.
I don't have the answer to the impasse, or I'd be really rich. But I think it's important to realize where we're truly at as a starting point. The assumption that technology is proceeding on its own, by magic, and that we'll all have those plasma rifles soon, isn't working. Not for me anyway ;-)
If we take the 19th century as an example, the answer is that it will take people shooting at you, or potentially shooting at you, to spur real innovation. The developments were driven by fear of getting overrun by enemy troops.
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