Mr. Jefferson’s Assault Rifle

High-capacity magazine? Check. Capable of firing 22 aimed shots in a minute? Check. A military weapon? Check. Manufactured during the American Revolutionary War? Check. The Girandoni was 22-shot, magazine-fed, nearly silent .46 caliber repeating rifle issued to elite Austrian troops from 1780-1815. Thomas Jefferson purchased two of these rifles, which he sent west with Lewis…

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Name Game

Personal Defense Weapons Assault Weapons AR-15 All three refer to the same thing. The name and connotation varies based on who has the firearm. The Department of Homeland Security just put in a requisition for 7,000 PDW (Personal Defense Weapons) — and these would actually more accurately fit in to the Assault Weapons category because…

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