First time I've heard this...what's next, assault pistols?

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Anti-gunners take that specific interpretation of that word and then repeat it ad nauseam to reinforce a sinister perception of the modern rifle.

The antis channel Adolf Hitler every time they repeat his term Assault Rifle. Every time its brought up in a news story, in an argument, whenever.
 
I don't care about the noun, verb argument :p You won't ever see me arguing over that level of minutiae. So I see your point. I guess I saw the second part of your post and thought that you were saying that we shouldn't be bothered by constant antigunner ridicule of guns they dont like by using the blanket smear term assault rifle, which is an ugly term they use to cloak anything they apply it to in pure evil.
 
Well, look, some states like Maryland define certain guns as Assault-whatever. In MD, there's a whole list of "Assault Pistols" that are completely unlawful to own, period. (As well as categories of other guns that are restricted.)

If a state writes a law that both defines a term and then restricts or outlaws the items meeting that definition, then that term is completely legitimate. By defining it and giving it that name, it IS that thing, at least within that state.

Getting real hung up about the "assault" adjective does seem kind of silly to me.

In the story linked above, the writer used the term "assault-style." OK. Would we be having a knicker-twist over this if s/he'd said "tactical-style"? Or "police/military-style"? Or how about "Cheaper Than Dirt-style"?

I think we call more attention to this by our indignant squawking than the writer does by using a vaguely inapt adjective.
 
The term "assault shotgun" has become pretty well accepted in recent years and I don't think it is wrong.

The Saiga 12, MKA 1919 and their brethren are clearly in this category, and arguably were the genesis for the term.

I think we'd all agree the Crye six12 also fits the bill

The striker 12? maybe.

A dressed up remington 870?, for years we've labeled those "combat shotguns" but I think it might be a stretch to call it an assault shotgun.
 
Assault pistol, assault knife, assault automobile....lambo doors=shoulder thing that goes up...assault golf cart, assault paddle...yeah these are all huge problems. Might as well go ahead and put together legislation for assault air.
 
I think we'd all agree
Click to expand...

If you want to embrace the embryonic (at best) neologism "assault shotgun" I don't think you're going to find that "we'd all agree..." ;)


But, hey, if you like it use it. Maybe others will too, and eventually that's how the language evolves. I'd suggest that as the shotgun fades (as the sub-gun did) from popularity for tactical or combat uses through this current period of firearms technology, the likelihood of that term gaining any real currency is very slim, but it will undoubtedly find occasional use by certain social niches (at least among gamers, politicians, and the anti-gun press, perhaps most commonly).
 
The reality is Assault Shotguns predate rifles by a generation and first appeared in WWI as a trench warfare tool - for use in the assault. How ironic can it get? The M97 with perforated barrel guard was Point and Pump - hold the trigger down and you could slam fire the entire magazine.

It's a grammatical argument to say they are "combat" guns - the term "assault" wasn't coined or in general use for another 25 years. In purpose, tho, they were very much an "assault shotgun" and intended to be used that way.

It's actually more enlightened to use that term, it's an honest and literal description. What the anti gunners refuse to accept is the premise that we have the right to self defense and that such weapons are better at it than civilian guns styled for the market of modern restricted hunting.
 
It's actually more enlightened to use that term, it's an honest and literal description. What the anti gunners refuse to accept is the premise that we have the right to self defense and that such weapons are better at it than civilian guns styled for the market of modern restricted hunting.
Click to expand...

Except that this argument drizzles out into confusion as the "assault" in "assault rifle/shotgun/spoon/gerbil/etc." denotes attacking something, not defending one's self. As in assault or storm (i.e: German "sturm") -- e.g. "storm the beaches," not defend the beaches.

So except for the purposes of suicide, it would seem that a right to self-assault is oxymoron, and we really don't claim a right to go attacking/assaulting/storming anyone or anything.
 
Words mean things. Too bad English has become such a commonly abused and misused language in America today.
 
No doubts here the word assault has been demonized by the anti gunners.

On the other hand, using the word to describe what response is needed to defend oneself does accurately describe it. If someone is threatened with lethal force a current guideline in response is immediate and overwhelming violence in return.

Basically we assault them to a higher degree than we were being threatened with.

LEO's may have to appear to respond with an equal level of force, the reality is that more than equal is what it takes to do the job. And if you are being assaulted, I don't see how you can resist the attack by not returning the assault.

In that grammatical light, all weapons are assault weapons. That is what a weapon does.

Therefore to respond to the gambit of making guns evil assault weapons, one method would be to label everything "assault." Once that trend filters thru society then the public gets tired of the term and it loses meaning.

What we need to do is effect a paradigm shift and network the term so that it's the leading descriptor of everything marketed to our target demographic audience and effect a change with real impact. :D

Bascially, assault them with the term and create overuse.

Assault socks to get you thru the combat of the daily grind.
Assault tires to handle the combat of the daily commute.
Assault wiper blades to sweep the debris of life from your vision.

We speak of the anti gunners assaulting our rights and sensibilities. Just keep overusing the word and in a few years nobody will want to hear it again.

Just a point of view. Don't mean to assault anyone with it.
 
The Brady bunch called the AR pistol an assault pistol back pre-94 ... and as somewhere in 922 it was ruled that pistols with (if I remember correctly) a pistol could not have more than 2 features: a detachable mag not within the pistol grip, shroud surrounding the barrel, could not weigh more than 52 ounces, a threaded barrel ... There may be other features I'm forgetting or confusing with 922r rifle ... but the term Assault Pistol has been around for well over a decade.
 
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