The New York Times covered a study on bullet size and suggested that a move away from bigger bullets could result in a reduction in fatalities.
The title of the column–People Kill People; But the Bullets Seem to Matter–makes clear the underlying theme is to introduce the possible benefits of ammunition controls.
The NYT suggests bigger bullets mean greater likelihood of death. They back this claim up by pointing to a JAMA article studying criminal shootings in Boston which found “the size of the bullet affected which gunshot victims lived and which ones died.”
The NYT notes:
Over recent decades, the size of bullets fired by the typical handgun has increased. Changes in design have made it easier to fire big bullets from concealable weapons, and manufacturers have marketed more powerful guns as better tools for self-defense. In the 1970s and 1980s, the guns most commonly used in crime tended to be revolvers or small, inexpensive pistols that fired .22-caliber rounds, so-called for their 0.22-inch diameter.
They explain that new gun technology displaced “Saturday Night Specials” on gun store shelves, ushering in a new age of deadly force:
And advances in gun technology caused a new generation of weapons to hit the market — and eventually the streets. The newer guns, which started to become common in the 1990s, were semi-automatic. They could fire multiple rounds more quickly, and tended to be able to store more bullets in their magazines, meaning they required less reloading in long shootouts.
And instead of buying guns that fired smaller bullets, people started purchasing ones that fired rounds that were 9 millimeters wide, about 0.35 inches, then 0.40 and 0.45 inches.
The NYT column suggests that the newer, bigger bullets increase lethality, which is something criminals can take advantage of just as easily as law-abiding citizens.
NYT even provides a chart showing the percentage of Boston criminal shootings that proved fatal between 2010-2014. They break these shootings down by the caliber of firearm used and make the case that the .45 and .357 were among the deadliest, percentage-wise. However, those calibers were also far less popular than bullets in .38, 380, and 9mm.
In fact, the larger rounds were used so much less than .38, 380, and 9mm, that researchers could only estimate that shootings could have been far more fatal if criminals had used the larger rounds instead.
This what if / could have / possibly maybe approach to bullet usage and its impact on crime also allows researchers and the NYT to marginalize proof that larger caliber weapons actually make America safer.
For example, the NYT admits: “It’s true that the era of larger-caliber handguns has also been an era of declining violent crime.
Homicides in most major American cities peaked in the early 1990s, just before larger-caliber pistols became common. The homicide rate has fallen nearly by half since then.” Then they add, “But the research about weapon caliber suggests [the homicide rate] could have dropped by even more.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.
Statistics I read somewhere said that the 22 was used a lot in many fatal cases
Sucker bounces around in ya like a pinball of distruction
But seeing the distructive force of a 44 mag to the forehead still got me sold
Only an idiot would step in front of a freight train
And only an idiot politician would think they have any right or ability to regulate a dam thing from me
WHE I WAS YOUNG, MY FRIENDS AND I WOULD SPOTLIGHT DEER AT NIGHT WITH A .22 LR SOLID POINT…. 50 YARD MAX………
HEAD SHOTS ONLY, OR YOU WILL NEVER FIND IT…….
THE .22LR MAKES A FINE ASSASSINS WEAPON………
Speed kills. Weight retention/ energy dump wins. Shot placement matters more.
That said…
A .22- .223- .17 are fast
A .44 mag 10mm 12ga dump energy.
A anything you can fire that you feel comfortable with you can get on target hits where you want.
All will kill. All can maim. Not all will destroy an ocular cavity if you miss.
Deer are harder than humans to kill with one shot.
That is why a pro will dump one in your chest and two in your dome. A semi pro will dump two in your chest and walk up and drop one in your dome to shut you up for eternity. And a fud will miss and cry.
Ill take what i have. Trained with. And find the least priced ammo that gives me the most consistent shot group.
Because most people ( worth killin) are not worth a whole dollar. Reliability and effect are priceless.
Love it
“Because most people worth killin are not worth a whole dollar “
I reload , so I spend as little as I can for my wake up calls
American Nationals know how to get the job done, you have taken everything from us, we will decide what’s small as we laugh at your small ding dongs.
I grew up in the mountains. It has been a long time since I have killed a deer, and I mean no brag because I killed deer for food. Here nor there, I’ve killed enough deer to put a void in the force.
With a .22 LR at 100 yards, in the ear or in the eye, they have dropped with their feet folded under them. I shot two in two consecutive days at the same place running wide open with a little Marlin with a four power scope on it. Shot them in the back of the head.
More people have been killed in this country with .22 long rifle than any other caliber.
One of the longest shots I ever made with one of the many .22 magnums I’ve owned over my life, was at 250 yards, I’ve paced it off.
What it comes down to is bullet placement. Out here we keep our guns accurate. Up in the thicker country we’ll use a heavier slower bullet, like a 30-30 because your longest shot you are probably going to see is 400 yards. Out in the desert, we use .243, .270, 30-06, 7mm, 300 win mag, with scopes sited dead center at 250 yards. 500 – 700 yards is your average shot, and we kill a lot of deer.
Here nor there, .22 to 50 caliber, they ain’t getting one f-king gun the easy way. And I promise you, though the .22 is quiet and quite lethal, they fear our big bores. The concussion alone will kill you. So if they want to give her a go, we’ll take them out in the rocks and their foreign cannon fodder will be piled up for 300 yards before they get close enough to try to lob one in on our position. As for their helicopters, everybody stops what they are doing and opens up on the helicopters as soon as they come into range. In the thick woods, they are slow and low. Ouch.
F-k these assholes, we are not these yuppy fagots running around with their pants hanging down around their legs. We are this land. We bleed the earth that gave us life and they will never take our country from us, let alone our guns.
AMEN!!
We will not die on our knees motherfckers so deal with it
Right on Henry