08 December 2007

Magnum Stupidity

The Toronto Sun goes for the easy, sensational headline... rather than the obvious fact of the matter.
Quan said all of the guns police seized this week were loaded when found, five in homes and one in a vehicle.

One of the firearms was a gold-coloured, .50-calibre Desert Eagle made of titanium -- a massive pistol considered by many experts to be among the most dangerous handguns ever made.
The fact that this gun would be more useful for hammering nails than shooting at (well, more to the point... actually hitting anything) has apparently gone right over this reporter's head.
"It's pretty rare," Quan said. "This is the first time I've seen one out there."
Of course, anyone at all familiar with firearms... and by that I mean someone who actually shoots... knows that this hand cannon is all show and no go.

It's rare, my learned Det.-Sgt. Quan... because it's about as useful as an arquebus.

Handguns are notoriously difficult to master and typically require long hours of practice to shoot accurately beyond 10 feet... as evidenced by all the wild shots fired off during a typical drive-by shooting.

The next time you see a police SWAT team on television... note that they are all using long guns... their pistols are simply a backup, close-quarters alternative.

Back to the Sun article... the Desert Eagle is a massive, not easily concealed chunk of metal with a punishing recoil... which makes it one of the least likely and least accurate tools of choice for a gangbanger, never mind a savvy shooter.

Of course, that doesn't matter to these budding geniuses... they just wanna look cool.
Charged are Manuel Perera, 25, Ken Yu, 25, Carlos Minero, 28, Daniel Tran, 29, Rina Okimawinew, 26, Karina Guajala, 25, all of Toronto, and Wayne Sicard, 41, and Michael Dibble, 25, both of Brockville.
Like the guy who wrote this silly article.

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LAST WORD: The King of Kitsch

With it's gold nitrided "tiger stripe" finish... this monstrosity really is the ultimate stereotypical "pimp gun."
The current Mark XIX measures almost 11 inches overall with a 6-inch barrel and 14 1⁄2 inches with a 10 incher. It's six inches high, 1 1/2 inches wide and weighs four pounds, 6.2 ounces.

It's an imposing piece of hardware--a fact that's not been lost on the motion picture industry as Desert Eagles have been used in scads of thrillers and sci-fi flicks.
I'd be embarrassed just to be in the same room with one of these things.