Lies, Darn Lies and Statistics ... about Guns

A couple that still make me laugh are attached to the M2HB.

You can't use it on people, it's against the Geneva Convention. That and if the bullet passed close enough to your head, it would tear it off!

Really? Why aren't paper targets affected? You secure that crap Hudson!

not sure if its a myth or just a common misconception, but the idea that every woman needs a tiny little gun. Brands also market this way as well, often small 380's and j frame size revolvers being offered in pinks and purples to appeal to women. In reality these are the most difficult guns for just about everyone to shoot, much less a typically smaller statured, weaker grip female.

Some misconceptions that I see posted, more than once:
Attacker(s) anticipated to run away if pistol is presented.
Attacker(s) anticipated to quit or run away if shot.
Attacker(s) "bad people" perceived to be immobile, you go to them / their area.
Attacker(s) ease or difficulty of incapacitation based on who is pulling the trigger, civilian versus LE.
Adequacy of caliber (or bullet) based on "feelings" rather than acceptable bullet performance, Ex: "I feel protected".
Lethality of projectile incorrectly assumed to be linked to quick incapacitation potential, Ex: "a 22 lr will kill ...". The flu can be lethal, but is not quickly incapacitating.
Unrealistic expectation of precision accuracy in self defense scenario, Ex: "shoot them in the eye"

I always heard don't drop the soap, but when I do..I just pick it back up.

Seriously though, a big one I hear a lot is "that bullet can't kill xyz"

I used to believe that until W.D.M. Bell entered the chat slaying elephants with a "puny" .284 diameter bullet.

"It's not that heavy, I can carry that Rifle anywhere and for as long as needed.."

Ounces lead to pounds and pounds lead to pain when those pounds could be lead instead of just rifle weight.
I don't shy from weight for absorbing recoil, but if I am rocking any long distance a lightweight gun is what comes with me.

This one circulated around when I was in the 3rd or 4th grade, so doesn't rise to the level of myth.
"A German Luger will penetrate seven men in a row."

beeenbag said:

not sure if its a myth or just a common misconception, but the idea that every woman needs a tiny little gun. Brands also market this way as well, often small 380's and j frame size revolvers being offered in pinks and purples to appeal to women. In reality these are the most difficult guns for just about everyone to shoot, much less a typically smaller statured, weaker grip female.

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More on this, the idea that revolvers are ideal for handicapped people at all. Honestly a revolver takes a lot of dexterity to operate and reload well. Sure some aspects might be easier, like no slide to cock back, but that's the main justification for people recommending them to people with bad hands.
Try being accurate and steady with a heavy double action trigger pull, then reloading under stress. With bad hands.

According to the internet, bullet and powder technology have improved the 9mm greatly. They may be five percent better than what I was shooting in the 1950s.

According to the internet, all handgun calibers are equal.

Guns kill people,
People don't kill people,

It's our fault criminals are what they are.

Why didn't the cop just shoot him in the leg?

Henry Rifle: "Load on Sunday and shoot all week"

LimaCharlie said:

According to the internet, bullet and powder technology have improved the 9mm greatly. They may be five percent better than what I was shooting in the 1950s.

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No, that myth came straight from the FBI. Strange as it may seem; the internet is actually somewhat smarter than that.

21H40 said:

It seems like those guys didn't need anything close to a 416 to be effective.

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Its not a matter of "Seems" it's a matter of fact. They took down elephants with modified .303s before. Or with over loaded black powder rifles.
What the .416 and other magnum rifle cartridges do, is make the job alot easier and/or give you more range with the same amount of killing capability.


There's really no "need" for anything bigger than 30-06. Or even 300 winchester mag really. Its just nicer to be able to carry that power out to longer distances.

Heir Kommt Die Sonne said:

Its not a matter of "Seems" it's a matter of fact. They took down elephants with modified .303s before. Or with over loaded black powder rifles.

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For an ivory poacher who has little to no interest in the hide or meat, emptying an entire magazine (or two!) from an AK into an elephant gets the job done too

21H40 said:

The most insane one, though, was when I was 10 or 11. Our scout leader, an Army vet from the post-Vietnam 1970's, told us all that the M-16 shot a round that went so fast that a near miss would tear a man's throat out. He believed it, and I trusted him. It had to be true, right?

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I've heard the same thing about the .50 BMG a number of times. Often thought that it must make sighting the rifle in a monumental challenge, since the target must just explode into tiny pieces.

The Glock 7 !
I’ve been told all of that as fact at some point or another.

Steven_Seagull said:

I always heard don't drop the soap, but when I do..I just pick it back up.

Seriously though, a big one I hear a lot is "that bullet can't kill xyz"

I used to believe that until W.D.M. Bell entered the chat slaying elephants with a "puny" .284 diameter bullet.

"It's not that heavy, I can carry that Rifle anywhere and for as long as needed.."

Ounces lead to pounds and pounds lead to pain when those pounds could be lead instead of just rifle weight.
I don't shy from weight for absorbing recoil, but if I am rocking any long distance a lightweight gun is what comes with me.

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You remind me of when SFC Johnson was introducing us kids in JROTC to the Springfield 1903A3, "This rifle weighs 8.69 pounds combat loaded. After twenty miles, the decimal point disappears!"

“But being this is a .44 magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and will blow your head clean off….”

No, no, heard in a gun store by cop: A .44 Magnum has too high a velocity, the bullet will not stay in an assailant long enough to hurt him.
One of our officers shot a crook with a .44 Magnum and he just kept running but the bullet went clear through and killed an old man in a rocking chair in the next block.

Jim Watson said:

No, no, heard in a gun store by cop: A .44 Magnum has too high a velocity, the bullet will not stay in an assailant long enough to hurt him.
One of our officers shot a crook with a .44 Magnum and he just kept running but the bullet went clear through and killed an old man in a rocking chair in the next block.

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Reminds me of when NY quit letting their Leo use the .50 AE or the GI (never was sure) because it was blowing arms and legs clean off!



My brother went to take his father in law hunting one time and asked him how far he felt comfortable shooting, the man said “oh, I don’t know, probably about a thousand yards” my brother just put him a stand where no deer had been seen in a month or so.


Been a lot of tall tales in the gun community over the years. It’s not that we’re unique though, if I had a buck for every “10 second car” with about 300 horsepower I’ve seen I could buy Rosevelts Winchester.

Trying to remember a few;

A hit anywhere on the body by a 45 will knock a man down.
The bullet from an M-16 tumbles.
The bullet from a 7STW shoots so flat that it doesn't drop at all.
The 44 Mag is the most powerful handgun in the world.

Probably a few that I'm forgetting!

You'll shout your eye out!! Naw I still have it, tho I did spend a week in a hospital after a very near miss that flooded my eyeball with blood!

21H40 said:

...
What is a myth that you were taught about firearms?

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Born, raised in NYC: "Only cops and criminals need guns."

I thought that was universally true in the US.

After I moved out to the free air of Colorado in the mid-sixties and bought my first handgun, I felt like a criminal with it in the house --to the extent that I closed the curtains when I examined it. Not kidding. That's how ingrained the "criminal" aspect was.

So before long I had killed three people with it, one only by accident, but two because of road rage and I felt they just plain needed killing, robbed four banks, two gas stations, and five quickie markets. I think I killed another person because it was on the Fourth of July at long range and I wasn't sure, but she did fall down when I fired.

This was before GCA 68 and all I needed was to prove residency to the dealer, so I could do all this without even registering the gun, or anything.

Terry, 230RN

lightman said:

The 44 Mag is the most powerful handgun in the world.

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Well, in 1970 when the original "dirty Harry" was filmed... it kinda was.

Electrod47 said:

Henry Rifle: "Load on Sunday and shoot all week"

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That was the Spencer, because the magazine held seven rounds.