OPINION | ARKANSAS SPORTSMAN: Firearms always will be hot topic


In Sunday's column about preventing dangerous people from obtaining firearms, I referenced the wrong mass shooting.

The shooting at Heath High School in Paducah, Ky., occurred in 1997.

Rebecca Sealock witnessed the 2018 shooting at Marshall County High School in Benton, Ky., where a 15-year old student killed two students and wounded 14 additional people.

"Becky was not only 20 feet away when he started shooting, she was one of the first teachers to get to Bailey Holt (a victim) after the shooting," Jason Sealock wrote in an email. "She and the school nurse were unsuccessful in reviving Bailey with CPR. She was covered in blood for almost 30 minutes until paramedics were allowed in the building. We went to months of counseling for PTSD. We slept with all the lights on in the house for months. To this day, Becky can't be in the middle of a crowded room. She has to have her back to one wall because the shooting started behind her in a crowded room.

"We don't talk about it much here anymore," Sealock continued. "It ripped our community apart, and the school has never been the same."

The shooter used a 9mm Ruger handgun that he carried into school in a chest pack.

"Who knows what the solution is?" Sealock asked. "Truth is most parents have no idea what their kids do or say on social media. So not sure many would get caught beforehand."

***

I used to belong to several hunting and shooting sites on Facebook, but I quit them because they were a waste of time.

I belonged to a site devoted to the 6.5x55 Swedish, which for many years was my favorite hunting cartridge. I belong to another devoted to the 7mm Remington Magnum, as well as a Winchester enthusiast group, a Ruger collector's group, a Remington enthusiast group and a Browning enthusiast group.

I hoped to expand my network through these groups, to learn new information about reloading and learn more about the guns I love and use. Unfortunately, most of these sites are populated with know-it-alls, holier-than-thous and ordinary trolls.

The standard post is someone asking for advice about buying Brand A vs. Brand B. It's a spam post to start a dialog. Sometimes, it contains a preamble explaining how the poster had done his research, read volumes of literature and handled many different models before settling on Brand A and B.

Invariably, some fool -- usually several -- injects additional options. Two or more respondents clash and hijack the thread with name-calling and petty bickering.

There are also people that cruise every thread. Regardless of the topic, they'll respond with something like, "Berger 150 gr. 52 gr. R22." That's nice a nice load, except the question was about scopes or bipods.

The tactical people especially have pet terms that they love. Their favorite verb is run.

"I'm running a DPMS Master Blaster with this ammo."

"What optic are you guys running on your Master Blasters?"

"I'm running a Ballistic Specialities chrony..."

Then there was the guy that asked what kind of coffee hunters were running for their backcountry hunting trips. That was a bridge too far for one guy that asked, "Seriously, we're running coffee now?"

And then he offered what coffee he's running.

***

A couple of friends make really good livings in this business writing about firearms. Many of their articles tout the best cartridge for whitetails, or that the 270 Winchester is better than the 6.5 Creedmoor. They fill these things with data to prove their point, which they argue passionately.

In the next issue, they argue just as passionately that the 6.5 Creedmoor is better than the 270 Win.

My conclusion over the years is that at least for most southern hunting, there is not enough difference in any cartridge to matter. If your typical shot is 150 yards or less, a 7mm magnum is not a penny more effective than a 30-30 Winchester.

It does start to matter when you start shooting 200 yards or more, and it matters a lot at 300 yards and more.

The only criteria that matter are speed, terminal velocity and terminal energy. The faster a bullet leaves the muzzle, the faster it will reach the target, and the less it will drift or drop. That means point of aim and point of impact will be closer than it will be with a slower bullet.

When it hits, it must expand, and it must have enough energy to punch an exit wound that's considerably wider than the entry wound.

It's as simple as that.


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