Semi-automatic Rifle Research Articles

Chinese Type 56 Semi-automatic Rifles Produced at Factory 296

The Type 56 SKS is the most-produced Chinese rifle. Not only did it serve as the primary infantry rifle for the Chinese and North Vietnamese armies between the 1960s and 1980s, it has also become extremely popular on the foreign civilian market, with millions exported from China. As a result of this popularity, factories for the production of components for these rifles proliferated around China—the author grew up next to one of these facilities. Drawing on a range of Chinese-language primary and secondary sources, as well as referencing the author’s own collection of Type 56 SKS rifles, this article provides an in-depth review of the rifle’s origin, technology transfer from the Soviet Union, and Chinese production of the rifle at Factory 296, the facility in which it was produced in the largest numbers. Rifle markings, serial numbering, and modifications are also discussed in detail.

What Effect does Ideological Extremism have on Mass Shootings? An Assessment of Motivational Inconsistencies, Risk Profiles, and Attack Behaviors

ABSTRACT Much like other violent extremists, some mass shooters embrace inconsistent, mixed, or customized beliefs and attack for a combination of personal and ideological reasons. This makes it difficult to understand what effects ideology has on their behavior. To obtain empirical answers, we studied (1) the frequency of extreme ideological interests and motives among public mass shooters, (2) differences between perpetrators with and without extreme ideological interests, and (3) the degree of consistency between their ideologies and attack outcomes. Findings suggest that from 1966–2023, approximately one-quarter of public mass shooters in the United States had extreme ideological interests and roughly 70 percent of them were partially motivated by those extreme beliefs. Mass shooters with and without extremist interests showed similar rates of childhood trauma, mental health problems, suicidality, crisis, substance abuse, and criminal records, but ideological shooters were more likely to create legacy tokens, use semi-automatic or automatic rifles, kill strangers and non-white victims, and be copycats or role models. It appears extremism was sometimes a correlate and sometimes a cause of their behavior, with a clear effect on shaping some attacks. Nevertheless, inconsistencies were common, and many attackers did not target locations or victims that fit their ideological enemies.

Classification of firing pin impressions using HOG-SVM.

Crimes, such as robbery and murder, often involve firearms. In order to assist with the investigation into the crime, firearm examiners are asked to determine whether cartridge cases found at a crime scene had been fired from a suspect's firearm. This examination is based on a comparison of the marks left on the surfaces of cartridge cases. Firing pin impressions can be one of the most commonly used of these marks. In this study, a total of nine Ruger model 10/22 semiautomatic rifles were used. Fifty cartridges were fired from each rifle. The cartridge cases were collected, and each firing pin impression was then cast and photographed using a comparison microscope. In this paper, we will describe how one may use a computer vision algorithm, the Histogram of Orientated Gradient (HOG), and a machine learning method, Support Vector Machines (SVMs), to classify images of firing pin impressions. Our method achieved a reasonably high accuracy at 93%. This can be used to associate a firearm with a cartridge case recovered from a scene. We also compared our method with other feature extraction algorithms. The comparison results showed that the HOG-SVM method had the highest performance in this classification task.

The Ranger Rifle: An Alternative Firearm for Conservation Law Enforcement

Conservation Law Enforcement is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, with more than a thousand Rangers killed over the last decade. Of these casualties, 58 per cent have been caused by either dangerous game or armed criminals. Despite this, it appears that only 29 per cent of Rangers worldwide carry out their duties while armed. In many instances, this is due to tight restrictions on the availability and issue of semi-automatic rifles. In countries where firearms laws restrict ready access to semi-automatic rifles, conservation agencies have often purchased and equipped their Rangers with shotguns. This article argues that, in the context of conservation law enforcement, shotguns have a range of limitations when compared to a bolt-action centrefire rifle, and that a civilian-legal ‘Ranger Rifle’—designed around law enforcement needs—is the best alternative where semi-automatic rifles are unavailable.

American ‘Gangster Gats’: Illicit Automatic Conversions of the Winchester Model 07 Self-loading Rifle in the 1930s

In the 1930s, one or several ‘gangland armourers’ converted Winchester Model 07 semi-automatic rifles into automatic carbines or sub-machine guns. The former used the original .351 Winchester cartridge, extended box magazines, and commercial compensators; whilst the latter made use of the 9 × 19 mm Parabellum cartridge, modified Luger T.M.08 drum magazines, and commercial sound suppressors. These converted automatic firearms were seized from several gangs and individual armed robbers in the United States throughout the decade. The author illuminates the history of these unusual gangland weapons by tracing the technical aspects of the conversions, their origins, and their criminal use and seizure by law enforcement agencies.

Best way to prevent firearm violence: Limit access to firearms

The increased publicity of mass shootings and the COVID-19 pandemic have fueled American demand for firearm purchases. Firearm violence has largely been blamed on people with mental illnesses instead of firearm accessibility, despite the lack of population-level evidence associating mental illness with firearm violence perpetration. We support interventions and policies to limit firearm access in homes, schools, and by all intimate partners who have been convicted of domestic abuse. We advocate for restrictions on the civilian purchases of semi-automatic rifles and large capacity magazines. Finally, we call for research addressing firearm violence as an environmental and structural issue, not an intrapersonal one.

Comparative Analysis of Trajectory of 7.62 × 51 mm Projectiles Fired at Different Initial Velocities

The subject of the analysis involves the trajectories of 7.62 mm Lapua Scenar GB432 projectiles and “Ball” lead core projectiles manufactured by MESKO S.A. (Poland) fired at different initial velocities from 16, 20 and 26 inch long barrels. Calculations in the scope of the external ballistics concerning the characteristics of the trajectories of projectile fired from the analysed weapons were made using the PRODAS 3.5 software by Arrow Tech, using a mathematical model of the solid body movements with six degrees of freedom. During the analyses, the phenomena of the internal and transient ballistics and barrel vibrations were not taken into account. The subject of the study was only the trajectory of a projectile fired with a specific initial velocity corresponding to a barrel of a given length. The impact of wind was assessed by modifying the atmosphere model by adding a side wind blowing at a constant velocity throughout the distance. The results allowed the analysis of the effect of the barrel length and the associated initial velocity of the projectile on the nature of the projectile trajectory, especially the obtained overheight path and projectile range. The impact of the side wind on different types of projectiles was also assessed. When shooting precision rifles, it is better to use rounds with heavy projectiles, optimized for long-distance shooting. Lightweight-projectile rounds can be successfully used in the semi-automatic rifles used for support at the lowest levels, where more manoeuvrability (including barrels with a length not exceeding 20 inches) and higher fire rate is required, and, at the same, where shooting at distances exceeding 500 m is not necessary. Lightweight-projectile rounds can also be successfully used for marksmanship training at distances below 500 m, where the differences between the trajectories of different projectiles are the least.

What's Important: Dealing with Gun Violence.

As orthopaedic surgeons, we have been deeply saddened, horrified, and angered by the recent shootings of 2 physicians, an employee, and a patient at a Tulsa health-care clinic. This closely followed the shootings at a Buffalo supermarket and the Uvalde elementary school. While we are not going to list all of the tragic shootings in these past months, we do want to reiterate some of the facts of gun violence. There were 12,393 deaths from guns in the United States in 2021; over half of them were suicides1. There are 434 million firearms in the United States (of which 19.8 million are AR-15s), and 150 million have a “large-capacity” magazine capable of holding at least 10 rounds2. It has been estimated that 40% of households in the United States possess at least 1 firearm3. It is no secret that this country is deeply polarized about how we should respond to the tragedies of gun deaths and injuries. In this essay, we want to present our own views of how we can address problems that urgently need our attention and can actually be fixed. Some of these steps can be taken immediately and some require enormous societal changes. First, we believe that eliminating all guns in the United States or abolishing the 2nd Amendment is impossible. Also, we do not think that our country should outlaw large-capacity magazines as that would make semiautomatic handguns and rifles, which don’t accept smaller magazines, nonfunctional and could turn tens of millions of Americans who own these weapons into criminals. What we can do is increase the age for any firearm purchase from 18 to 21 years, a proposal for which there is widespread agreement. The argument has been raised that 18-year-olds can serve in the military, where they use handguns and assault weapons, but soldiers are highly vetted for service and trained in the proper use of weapons—unlike ordinary 18 to 21-year-olds. Exceptions might be made for young people hunting on their own family’s properties and ranches. This entire issue can also be revisited after data have been collected. There are other measures that merit serious discussion. These include “red flag” regulations that would allow law enforcement to take away firearms from those who have displayed serious mental illness and prior disturbing behaviors. (In fact, this issue was included in the gun safety legislation recently passed by Congress, which provided funding to incentivize states to enact such measures.) In addition, perhaps a 3-day waiting period from the purchase to the pick-up of a weapon should be considered? Could more effort be made to “harden” soft targets (schools, houses of worship, medical facilities, and shopping malls) with properly trained onsite staff members? Could there be more police officers on the streets? We ourselves believe in the importance of the family in stemming gun violence. Parents need to take responsibility for guiding the decisions and actions of their children and teenagers. They must instill, through education and example, a sense of individual responsibility, personal awareness, and pride in community. Those who include religion in their children’s upbringing should stress the tenets that forbid the taking of life (“Thou shalt not kill” according to the 5th commandment of the Judeo-Christian faith traditions). All children and teenagers who show signs suggesting current or future violent behavior toward others or themselves should be referred to health professionals for counseling and treatment as soon as possible. In the long term, perhaps we can focus more on the person pulling the trigger. The news outlets, social media, and we ourselves need to stress the importance of the family (especially fathers for boys and young men), morality, and religious beliefs (the 5th Commandment, “Thou shalt not kill”) to hopefully restore individual responsibility and personal awareness. Parents should be held responsible for the moral actions of their children and teenagers. Pride and responsibility in country and community could be restored through education and example. Children and teenagers with disturbing behavior and “mental illness” should be referred to health professionals for counseling and treatment at an earlier stage. Maybe the time is now to come together and take some incremental steps to decrease gun violence. No one denies that addressing gun violence in the United States is difficult. We are a nation in which life and freedom are both revered. However, the time is now to come together and take incremental steps.

A Considered African American Philosophy and Practice of Arms

In the spring of 1963, Holmes County, Mississippi voting rights activist Hartman Turnbow fought off a terrorist attack on his home with his sixteen-shot semiautomatic rifle. Later, Turnbow explained that his gunfire was perfectly consistent with the nonviolent philosophy of the freedom movement, declaring, “I wasn’t being non-nonviolent, I was protecting my family.” Turnbow embraced armed self-defense and political nonviolence without any sense of contradiction. In this, he channeled a generations-old practice and philosophy of arms that was an integral part of Black response to racist terrorism, mobbing, state failure, and majoritarian tyranny.

Are Semiautomatic Rifles “Dangerous and Unsual” Weapons?

Are Semiautomatic Rifles “Dangerous and Unsual” Weapons?

Offline: COVID-19 as culture war

When Dr Anthony Fauci challenged Senator Rand Paul last week during US congressional hearings, he exposed how politicians have exploited the COVID-19 pandemic for their own personal advantage. Fauci showed screenshots of Senator Paul's website, which included the message “Fire Dr Fauci”. He pointed out that Paul was inviting people to send donations to firefauci.org. He explained how Paul's exaggerations were creating the conditions for violent attacks on himself and his family. In December, 2021, a man was arrested on his way to Washington, DC, with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle in his car.

Firearm Storage Practices of US Members of the American College of Surgeons

As a part of its firearm injury prevention action plan, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) surveyed the entire US ACS membership regarding individual members' knowledge, experience, attitudes, degree of support for ACS Committee on Trauma (COT) firearm programs, and degree of support for a range of firearm injury prevention policies. This survey included questions regarding members' prevalence of firearm ownership, type of firearm(s) owned, type of firearm(s) in the home, personal reasons for firearm ownership, and methods of firearm/ammunition storage. An email invitation to participate in an anonymous, 23-item survey on firearms was sent to all US ACS members (n= 54,761) by a contracted survey research firm. Cross tabulation of questionnaire items by demographic characteristics and chi-square analyses were performed with statistical significance p < 0.05. The overall response rate was 20.4% (11,147/54,761). Forty-two percent of respondents keep firearms in their home (82% long guns, 82% handguns; 32% high-capacity magazine fed, semi-automatic rifles); 75% keep guns for self-defense/protection, 73% for target shooting; 39% store firearms unlocked, and 32% store guns unlocked and loaded. Results vary by practice/training location, practice type, military experience, sex, age, presence of children in the home, level of training, and race/ethnicity. A significant percentage of ACS members keep firearms in their home, and nearly one-third store firearms in an unlocked and loaded fashion. Safe storage is a basic tenet of responsible firearm ownership. These data present opportunities for engaging surgeons in efforts to improve safe firearm storage.

Over the Barrel of a Gun?

The Christchurch attack on 15 March 2019, when 51 Muslims were murdered by a right-wing extremist carrying half a dozen semiautomatic rifles and shotguns, brought the nation’s relaxed gun laws to light. Prior attempts to pass gun safety legislation have been thwarted by groups purporting to represent New Zealand gun owners. However, the swift and decisive political actions in the immediate wake of the attack signalled greater political appetite for meaningful change. Using unique data collected immediately in the wake of the Christchurch attack, this study examines who gun owners are, New Zealanders’ trust in gun owners and the pro-gun lobby, and whether trust differs by gun ownership and political ideology.

Effect of an Internal Impact Balance Mechanism on the Perceptible Recoil of Machine Gun

In order to reasonably reduce the perceptible recoil of firearms, and design a recoil reduction device that can be commonly used in automatic rifles, semi-automatic rifles, and machine guns, a balancing mechanism for recoil reduction technology was proposed in this paper. With the perceptible recoil generated by the impact from automat to the balance mechanism as the objective function, the parametric analysis of the mass of the balance weight and the spring stiffness of the balance mechanism was conducted. The analysis showed that the influence of the mass of the balance weight on the reduction of the perceptible recoil of the balance mechanism is obviously greater than that of the spring stiffness of the balance mechanism within the allowable ranges of the two factors. The research results provide a reference for gun recoil reduction technology.

Litigating the Bump Stock Ban

In 2018, ATF promulgated a regulation that banned bump stocks, a mechanical attachment for semiautomatic rifles that simulates the continuous, rapid-repeat firing of a fully automatic firearm or machinegun. Litigation challenging the rule commenced immediately, and two of the cases have reached the federal circuit courts, though the cases have received little academic attention. A striking feature of the bump stock litigation is that it has not centered around Second Amendment rights, though the rule constitutes a significant regulation of firearms, as hundreds of thousands of bump stocks are (or were) in circulation. Instead, the main cases have focused on important but unsettled issues in administrative law. The bump stock cases will create precedent on the applicability of Chevron deference to agency interpretations of statutory terms, especially for the doctrines of Chevron waiver by the government, whether Chevron should apply to regulations that pose potential criminal sanctions for violators, and the murky distinction between “purely” interpretive rules and legislative rules that are both interpretive and have the force of law. Thus, apart from the rule being the first new federal restriction on firearm ownership in many years, the litigation surrounding the rule could change the trajectory of the Chevron doctrine in federal courts. This Article will provide the first in-depth study and academic analysis of these issues through the lens of the D.C. Circuit’s decision in the bump stock litigation, and will argue that this court, along with the Tenth Circuit on a parallel case, have reached the correct conclusions on the proper parameters of Chevron deference.

Effect of Guided Tactical Breathing with Biofeedback on Acute Stress Attenuation and Marksmanship Performance of Novice Shooters

The current study introduced a novel approach to inducing stress, and examining effects of wearable and mobile technology-assisted tactical breathing with real-time heartrate biofeedback, on the attenuation of acute stress, post-stressor recovery and performance. 39 participants with no prior experience with firearms participated in a marksmanship task engaging stationary targets with a semi-automatic rifle, at a controlled indoor shooting range. Novice shooters applying guided tactical breathing with biofeedback following exposure to the shooting task, were able to maintain lower arousal (uninhibited parasympathetic system). Findings suggested significant effect of intervention with biofeedback on stress attenuation, however no significant improvement of marksmanship performance among novice shooters resulting from the intervention was found. This study provides insights into app-led tactical breathing training to control arousal levels during stress, recommending strategies on further evaluation of the effectiveness of mobile and wearable technologies on stress attenuation for varying levels of marksmanship skill and individual difference.

Correlates of the Number Shot and Killed in Active Shooter Events

Active shooter events have captured the public’s attention since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. Although there has been research on various aspects of these events, only a single study has attempted to identify factors that are related to the number of people injured or killed in these events. This study was limited in that it only considered the presence or absence of a semi-automatic rifle. This paper expands on the existing research by examining several other factors that may impact the total number of people shot or killed during active shooter events.

Contextualizing Firearms in Mass Shooting Incidents: A Study of Guns, Regulations, and Outcomes

The current study provides a quantitative examination of 634 firearms used in 348 mass shootings (1966–2018) through a unique firearm-level database. Specifically, this work identifies the relationship between the types of firearms, methods of obtainment, firearm regulations, and incident outcomes. Findings indicate the most common firearms were handguns. They were often legally obtained by the perpetrator, from independently owned or operated federally licensed firearms dealers. Although handgun-specific regulations did not appear to impact the legality of firearms, assault weapons bans were associated with an increase in illegal obtainment. Furthermore, the presence of a semiautomatic rifle and a higher number of guns were associated with increased casualties. A discussion of key findings provides important implications and future directions for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.

Flat ontology and geography

Human geographers are increasingly drawing upon a range of philosophical positions that espouse a more or less flat ontological approach for theorising a range of phenomena. These approaches differentiate between entities in terms of degree rather than kind in order to avoid essentialist, hierarchical or binary modes of thought. To achieve this, they understand the differences between entities as relational. Building upon these perspectives, this article offers a flat ontology that differentiates between things according to their form, which can be identified through a process of de-determination. The concepts of form and de-determination offer a supplement to existing flat ontological approaches by accounting for the difference of entities in terms of where their qualities begin and end as well as their location within a particular set of relations. To demonstrate how the concept of form and de-determination can be applied, I turn to the example of the legal and regulatory debates in the US around the difference between semi-automatic and automatic weapons that have arisen through the development of bump stocks: weapon accessories that allow semi-automatic rifles to mimic fully automatic fire.

A historical examination of police firearms

This study provides a historical examination of firearms in policing to understand how weapons have evolved within the American field. A search was conducted of historical newspaper databases and a small number of books and journal articles for information on the different firearms used in policing since their inception. The evidence demonstrates that US police officers have been using revolvers since the Civil War, but there were no agency standards until the late 19th century. The notion of ‘risk’ has been a consistent justification for arming police officers, including their possession of semiautomatic pistols, shotguns, and rifles.