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Monday, September 19, 2022

Stephen Hunter: The Assault Weapon Massacres of 1964

You may have heard of Stephen Hunter. He won a Pulitzer Prize as the chief film critic for The Washington Post. He also wrote the Bob Lee Swagger novels on which the movie Shooter is based. There’s also a Netflix TV series of the same name.

Hunter didn’t know much about guns until he began researching Point of Impact, the first in the Swagger series. But he hung out at shooting ranges, gun clubs, and frequented online forums to learn what he needed. If you’re looking for a good adventure story with lots of guns, Hunter’s books might be your next good read.

Hunter recently made an astute observation in the wake of the anti-gun uproar of the last month or so, writing in a column:  “Possibly you’re old enough to remember the great massacre spree of 1964? Classrooms shot up, strip malls decimated, Scout troops blown away, fast food restaurants turned into mortuaries. And all because, in its infinite stupidity, the U.S. Government dumped 240,000 high-capacity .30-caliber assault rifles into an otherwise innocent America.”
-Alemaster

13 comments:

  1. He writes like a democrat: he makes things up and lies.
    Nothing new here.

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  2. Point of Impact was not the first of his books that I read, but I think it was his best. The others in the 'Swagger' series are good, that one stands out. If you're not familiar with his books, try that one.

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  3. Having read and re-read all of Stephen Hunter's books - not only the Bob Swagger series - I can confidently guarantee that he writes nothing like a Democrat.

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  4. I wonder where all those carbines are today. That's a lot of "assault rifles" running around loose. Wish I had about 10 of them.

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    1. Maybe I know where one of them is. Something that has amused me about the definition of an "assault rifle" is the presence of a bayonet lug and a flash hider. Interesting about the Carbine is that the flash hider mounts to the bayonet lug and you can't have both. You can still have a big magazine though.

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  5. Henk doesn't know what he is talking about! I assume he is a Lib/Dem.

    If you know or want to know something about firearms read Stephen Hunter - any or all of his books. He isn't Jeff Cooper but I have found no mistakes in his writings.

    The movie "Shooter" was actually based on at least 3 of his books.

    The man writes as good as, maybe better, than Clancy.

    I love 'Shooter' as I am was born and raised in Philadelphia and I never saw Philadelphia streets that clean - LOL.
    When the presidential motorcade is coming to Independence Hall they are crossing the Ben Franklin bridge. There is no way a motorcade would come into Phila. that way as it would have to pass through Camden, NJ. The Secret service wouldn't allow it.
    Besides the president would be coming into Phila. International and could go straight up I95. Like I said I know the area. "But it's a MOVIE"!

    The original book/story was based in New Orleans.

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  6. I mean who doesn’t have a M1 carbine or two?
    Klaus

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  7. That quote at the end here was nothing you'd hear on MSM today.

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  8. Texas Tower shooting, 1966, involved an M1 along with half a dozen other firearms.

    But Hunter's point still stands - there weren't numerous mass shootings.

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  9. My favorite author. I'm fortunate that my county library has everything he's written. I've read them all.

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  10. texas tower shooter had brain tumor. here is a theory for you besides psychotropic meds how about a diet high in sugar it has been proven to cause behavior issues.

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  11. I'm just finishing up "The Third Bullet". A very "novel" theory on the JFK takedown. SH pretty much puts a cherry on top of the 3,000 + books written on the subject. Follow me for other book reviews.

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  12. I remember reading one of his books. Picked it up at a used book store for all of a dollar. It was kind of entertaining but so much if felt contrived and silly. Particularly the part where the protagonist thought something was fishy so he alters the firing pin on a rifle he was given (for reasons I can't recall) and that gun is somehow implicated in the killing of the President of someone high up like that, several months later, but because he altered the firing pin it somehow cleared him of any wrongdoing. It was so nonsensical and convoluted that I remember it almost 20 years later.

    I know there was a movie, but I've always considered Mark Walburg to be a wannabe tough guy clown so I stopped wasting time watching stuff he's in, and I think there's a TV show too, but honestly there's so much to watch that I'd pick before it that I'll probably never see it.

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