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snatchel wrote:... even the casual-heat of moment the aggressor still has the advantage.

I agree.

The reaction of most people to a murder or assault is, "I can't believe it [happened]"—along with "I never thought he would do that," and "Stuff like that never happens around here." That attitude gives assailants quite an advantage.

- Jim

Speaking purely in hypothetical terms, someone who is going to commit a planned assassination might as well use a sawed-off shotgun. The noise level is about the same, and in any case it's 1st-degree murder or capital murder.

Used shotguns are not expensive.

BTW, I never tire of reminding people that John Hinckley Jr used a cheap .22 revolver to nearly kill President Reagan, disable Jim Brady for life, and injure a D.C. police officer.

I would guess that most murders are not planned like an assassination. They are stupid arguments that escalate, probably with the influence of alcohol or narcotics, and the first weapon available is what is used. We just don't hear as much about the deaths and injuries that result from knives, clubs, bricks, and improvised weapons.

- Jim

fickman wrote:There's a handful of cliches that - even if they're true - I could live the rest of my life in peace without hearing again, ...

How about, "That couldn't have happened in Chicago [substitute Washington, NY, etc.] because they don't have guns"?

That might have been sardonic the first 100,000 times it was said, but it's just a little worn out now.

As for the .22, it's deadly enough. The problem is how long it takes. A creep in my neighborhood shot his wife or girlfriend (I forget which) with a .22, and she was in the hospital over a week before she died.

It's not much use as a self-defense weapon if the person that you shot can take it away from you and stomp you before the bullet has an effect.

- Jim