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NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY
Science, Technology, and Culture
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D.C. 20560
27 March 1989
The Honorable John D. Dingell
United States House of Representatives
2221 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Congressman Dingell:
In recent weeks the legislative debate over so-called
"assault rifles" has grown increasingly heated. In following
these developing discussions, I have noted that much of the
colloquy has been characterized by both the absence of accurate
data and unsubstantiated allegations. Since I still harbor the
belief that public policies should be based upon facts rather
than emotions, I would like to offer the following observations.
First, there are no adequate statistics currently available
that will permit policy makers to determine exactly where
"assault rifles" fall on the spectrum of weapons used in crimes
of violence. Many public figures have talked of their danger and
the extent to which they are employed in criminal acts. Nearly
all of their pronouncements are based upon anecdotal information.
For example, when I have queried major law enforcement agencies
for information about "assault rifles" in crimes I have been told
that such data does not exist. Generally it is the "gut feeling"
of police forensics officials that .38 caliber revolvers and 12
gauge shotguns continue to be the primary firearms used in crimes
and shootings. Such limited data as does exist (e.g., the Uniform
Crime Reports) substantiate this impression. The Uniform Crime
Report for 1987 indicates that rifles (which includes "assault
rifles") are used in only 4 percent of homicides, while cutting
weapons of all sorts are used in 20 percent. In homicides of law
enforcement officers in the small percentage of those deaths
caused by rifles less than one in five involved rifles shooting
cartridges that would qualify them as "assault rifles." In Los
Angeles of the 4,000 weapons confiscated in the last year only
120 could be classified as military-type weapons. Despite the
current mythology, no one, including drug dealers, seems to have
much use for the longer and more cumbersome rifles for criminal
acts.
The firearms owning public is increasingly aware of the
"data free" nature of the legislative debate. Many of these law
abiding citizens believe that their rights are being treated as
less important than those of others in our society. They sense a
"lynch mob" sentiment in Congress that will deny them of their
cherished freedom with little evidence of fairness. Perception of
fairness in the law is a keystone for public support of the
social contract between the Government and the Governed.
"Draconian" legislation such as that proposed in S.386 and
H.R.1190 could produce a Volstead Act-type of law which would
simply not be enforceable.
Since there are at least 3 to 4 million semiautomatic
"assault rifle" look-a-like firearms in private hands that would
fall under the terms of the proposed Federal legislation, the
registration of such weapons would be a major undertaking. It is
a fact that in those areas of California where laws have recently
been enacted which totally ban the possession and ownership of
"assault weapons" the response from gun owners has been negative.
Only a negligible number of firearms have been turned in. The
inference must be made that we are creating a new group of law
breakers who simply refuse to acknowledge this legislation. A
severe Federal law would also be probably doomed from the start
if the gun owning public doubted the fairness and the motives of
the Government.
Further S.386 and H.R.1190 give the Secretary of the Treasury the
authority to ban many other semiautomatic firearms beyond the 3 to 4
million semiautomatic "assault rifle" look-a-likes mentioned. Given
the present state of affairs, legislation is necessary and inevitable,
but it needs to address the "real" not the "believed" problems.
Therefore, the Congress should try to collect the facts before making
up its collective mind. Once the facts are in hand, the Congress will
have a better idea of the dimensions of the guns-in-crime problem and
then the members may be able to more calmly evaluate the proper nature
of the legislative remedies that will work while maintaining respect
for the process of law and order.
To aid your conversations with your colleagues, I have attached
two fact sheets that may be of some utility.
Thank you for your concern in this matter.
Sincerely,
(signature)
Edward C. Ezell Ph.D.
Curator
National Firearms Collection
Armed Forces History Division
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
THE INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH ON
SMALL ARMS IN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
1847 Vernon Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009
Telephone (202) 234-0683
ASSAULT RIFLE FACT SHEET #1
DEFINITIONS AND BACKGROUND
Recent discussions of so-called "assault rifles" in both the
media and legislative arenas have seen imprecise usage of the
terms used to describe such firearms. This fact sheet is designed
to improve the technical accuracy of future discussions.
ASSAULT RIFLE: This term was coined during World War II. It is a
translation of the German "Sturmgewehr." Two key
characteristics that identify "assault rifles" are
full automatic fire and detachable magazines with
a capacity of 20 or more cartridges. These weapons
were designed to produce roughly aimed bursts of
full automatic fire. While some assault rifles
offer an option of semiautomatic fire (i.e.,
single-shot), all true assault rifles fire at
least fully automatic.
SELF-LOADING: Weapons generally called semiautomatic today were
originally called self-loading. This more precise
term indicates that the fired cartridge provides
energy to reload the weapon for the next shot.
Such self-powered arms may be semiautomatic, full
automatic, or have a means of selecting one or the
other.
SEMIAUTOMATIC: In such weapons, the operating mechanism is
designed to permit only a single shot, with each
pull of the trigger.
AUTOMATIC: In such weapons, the operating mechanism is
designed to permit the discharge of multiple shots
with each pull of the trigger. Firing ceases when
the shooter releases the trigger.
BURST FIRE: Multiple shots during automatic fire are called
bursts. These can either be controlled by the
shooter's manipulation of the trigger or by a
mechanical device built into the weapon that
interrupts the automatic cycle after a preset
number of shots have been discharged; e.g., 3-
shots or 5-shots.
Ownership of automatic or burst fire weapons has
been regulated by Federal laws since the 1930s
through revenue taxes enforced by the Treasury
Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and
Firearms.
RATE OF FIRE: All automatic weapons have a theoretical cyclic
rate of fire that is expressed in shots per minute
(s.p.m.) or rounds per minute (r.p.m.). This is
the rate of fire that would be attained if the
weapon could be fired continuously without need
for reloading. In actual practice the number of
shots that can be delivered from any self-loading
weapon is limited by shooter skill, especially the
need to reload.
PRACTICAL RATE
OF FIRE: With weapons such as the military 5.56mm m16A1
rifle and the 7.62mm AKM rifle the maximum rates
of fire for a well trained shooter are as follows:
M16A1 AKM
semiautomatic: 45/65 s.p.m. 40 s.p.m.
automatic: 100/150 s.p.m. 100 s.p.m.
An average or less experienced shooter can deliver
about half as many shots per minute. The shooter's
probability of hitting a target with a self-loading
rifle when pulling the trigger as rapidly as possible
is about 1 hit in 5 shots fired.
CATEGORIZING SELF-LOADING RIFLES BY CALIBER
Modern military-type rifles (automatics and semiautomatics)
are generally categorized by the class of cartridge they use.
-- Full power rifle ammunition: This includes rifles such as
the M14, FAL and G3 that shoot the 7.62 x 51mm NATO
cartridge.
-- Intermediate rifle ammunition: This includes rifles such as
the Kalashnikov-type ("AK-47") imported from China, Egypt,
Hungary, Finland, and Yugoslavia that shoot the 7.62 x 39mm
cartridge.
-- Small caliber, high velocity rifle ammunition: This includes
rifles such as the M16 series, the Mini-14, AUG and others
that fire the 5.56 x 45mm cartridge.
-- Weapons firing the US .30 Carbine cartridge: The US M2
carbine is an example of a firearm that shoots the
relatively low power 7.62 x 33mm cartridge.
Semiautomatic variants of many of the world's automatic
("assault") rifles have been sold in the United States since the
end of World War II. A majority of these sales occurred since the
passage of the Federal "Gun Control Act of 1968." That law banned
further importation of surplus military rifles, most of which
were of the manually operated bolt-action-type. It is estimated
that approximately four million semiautomatic variants of
"assault rifles" are held by private individuals in the United
States.
The vast majority of semiautomatic military style rifles
sold in the United States are military rifles that have been
specifically modified to permit only semiautomatic fire and to
thwart easy conversion to automatic fire. These modifications
must be made in compliance with Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms guidelines, and they must be approved by BATF prior to
importation and/or sale of the firearm in the United States.
ADDITIONAL READING ABOUT ASSAULT RIFLES
Edward C. Ezell, "Small Arms Today: Latest Reports on the World's
Small Arms" (Stackpole Books, 1988).
A country-by-country review of infantry weapons (25mm or
smaller in caliber) usage. The types of weapons are
described, and data is presented on the origin of such
weapons. Many supplier-client relationships are explained.
This book grows out of continuing interest in the transfer
of small arms by the nations manufacturing such weapons.
R. Blake Stevens and Edward C. Ezell, "The Black Rifle: M16
Rifle Retrospective" (Collector Grade Publications, Inc.:
Toronto, 1987).
A history of the development and production of the M16
rifle.
Edward C. Ezell, "The AK-47 Story: Evolution of the Kalashnikov
Weapons" (Stackpole Books, 1986).
Narrative history of military rifles in Russia and the
Soviet Union, 1800 to present. Describes world wide
production of Kalashnikov assault rifles.
Edward C. Ezell, "The Great Rifle Controversy: Search for the
Ultimate Infantry Rifle from World War II to Vietnam and
Beyond" (Stackpole Books, 1984).
Narrative history examining issues related to US and NATO
small arms research, development and acquisition from 1945
to 1984, concentrating on the history of the M14 rifle and
M16 rifle development programs.
"Small Arms of the World: A Basic Manual of Small Arms," 12th
edition (Stackpole Books, 1983).
The first five chapters of this encyclopedia summarize the
development of small arms from 1945 to 1983.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
ASSAULT RIFLE FACT SHEET #2
QUANTITIES OF SEMI-AUTOMATIC "ASSAULT RIFLES"
OWNED IN THE UNITED STATES
RIFLES OF AMERICAN MANUFACTURE
Colt AR-15 caliber .223 to date 279,600
Springfield Armory Inc. M14A caliber .308 to date 60,000
Springfield Armory Inc. R3 (Copy of HK91) caliber .308 to date 1,000
Springfield Armory Inc. FAL caliber .308 to date 6,000
Springfield Armory Inc. BM59 caliber .308 to date 500
Ruger Mini-14 caliber .30 to date 500,000+
Commercial and surplus US M1 .caliber .30 to date 700,000+
US Government sales and GI souvenirs US M1 .caliber .30 to date 1,500,000+
est.
RIFLES OF FOREIGN MANUFACTURE
(imports)
China AK-type rifles caliber .223 and 7.62mm to date 90,000
China SKS w/detachable magazine 7.62mm to date 25,000
Finland (Valmet) AK-type rifles caliber 7.62mm to date 16,000
Hungary AK-type rifles caliber 7.62mm to date 7,000
Yugoslavia AK-type rifles caliber 7.62mm to date 4,000
Israel Galil .223 and .308 to date 9,000
Israel M14 (built from surplus parts) .308 to date 16,000
Israel FAL (built from surplus parts--Armscorp) .308 to date 3,000
Argentina FAL (Armscorp) .308 to date 4,000
FN FAL and FNC .308/.223 to date 25,000
West Germany (HK91) caliber.308 to date 38,000
West Germany (HK93) caliber .223 to date 8,510
Beretta BM-59 caliber .308 to date 2,000
Switzerland SIG 510 and SIG 550 caliber .308 and .223 to date 1,000
Austria Steyr AUG caliber .223 to date 5,000
Korea K1 and K2 (similar to AR-15) caliber .223 to date 25,000
Miscellaneous to date 25,000
QUANTITIES OF SEMI-AUTOMATIC SUB-CARBINES
(firing pistol ammunition)
OWNED IN THE UNITED STATES
Sub-Carbines of American Manufacture
Marlin Camp Carbine caliber 9mm and .45 to date 3,000
Volunteer and other makers "Commando" carbine caliber
9mm and .45 to date 40,000+
Cobray, MAC and other makers MAC10-type semiautos
caliber 9mm and .45 to date 50,000+
Intratec and Intertec TEC9 caliber 9mm to date 110,000
Numrich 1927A1 Thompson Semiautos caliber .45 to date 16,000
Miscellaneous: AP9 etc. to date 40,000
Sub-Carbines of Foreign Manufacture
(imports)
Israel Uzi (carbines and pistols) caliber 9mm and .45 to date 90,000
West Germany HK 94 caliber 9mm (30% sold to law
enforcement) to date 16,200
United Kingdom Sterling MK6 caliber 9mm to date 1,000
Miscellaneous to date 5,000
------------------
ESTIMATED TOTAL 371,200
