The Official Rate My Firearm Thread.

When Sturm Ruger introduced the 10/22 in 1984 they couldn't make rifles fast enough to keep up with demand. The 10/22 featured an affordable price, good looks, a ten round rotary magazine, and shot inexpensive 22 long rifle ammunition. It wasn't long before aftermarket manufacturers were providing replacement stocks, magazine releases, high capacity magazines, sights, scopes and bases, and a plethora of other accessories. As the Sportsman's Team Challenge events started a few years later, shooters found the reliability and accuracy of the 10/22 hard to beat.

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Smith & Wesson's 12 Most Important Guns


Model 36

8. .38 Chiefs Special (1950)
S&W had been making five-shot revolvers in .32 S&W Long (1896) and .38 S&W (1917) on its small I-Frame since the dawn of the hand-ejector era. The snubnose .38 S&W Terrier version introduced in 1936 was wildly popular with plainclothes police, but many wanted it chambered for the more powerful .38 Special. In 1949, as the company reorganized its production for the post-World War II era, new S&W president Carl Hellstrom instructed his engineers to design an improved small frame that could also handle the more powerful load. The very slightly larger final result (longer cylinder window, extended grip frame, larger trigger guard) was the two-inch J-Frame .38 Chiefs Special, named in honor of its place of introduction: the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) conference held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in October 1950. (All the pre-existing models in the I-Frame line--like the .22/32 Kit Gun--were very quickly converted to J-Frame design.)

1. Later designated the "Model 36" when S&W began to assign modern model numbers in 1957, the .38 Chiefs Special was thus the first S&W J-Frame revolver, the first ultracompact .38 Special, and the ancestor of all the variant forms (from all makers) that followed--including the shrouded .38 Bodyguard, the hidden-hammer DAO Centennial series, and the aluminum-frame Airweights. Square butt and round butt, shorter and longer barrels, fixed or adjustable sights, stainless steel or blued--the Chiefs Special "family" of .38 Special (and today even .357 Magnum) revolvers remains one of the strongest-selling component of S&W's revolver production and a continuing format for some of its most striking recent innovations in fabrication materials. It also began a tradition of putting more power in smaller and smaller packages that continues today. (Incidentally, in 1952 the first-version .38 Special Airweight with an aluminum cylinder weighed only 9.9 ounces--actually less than today's titanium-cylinder AirLite models).

 

Ok, I respect your point of view. But you really dont have to own a gun under your belt in a wallmart for you not to trust the government.

I really dont think guns are nessesary for non professional use. Firearms in militarty, hunting and law is a totally different story for what self protection is.

Ive come accross many people whom think like you, im not saying its wrong or rite but I just think differently and wouldnt find the need to own a firearm in my house for self protection.

I have been in a enviroment where 500 people armed with rifles gathered and even in one enviroment where one recruit was killed just because an argument had broken out. It makes you paranoid. Were all human and no matter how responsible we think we are were not, we are just like water.

 

I see, the 10/22 sounds interesting, I think I'd prefer a rifle over a pistol as it seems rather more useful. I definitely wll be doing more research though on this and reading about it though as it is an important skill to have I would say.

 

Gun politics in Switzerland




A militiaman on his way home from mandatory shooting practice, taking care of an errand with his service weapon slung over his shoulder. The weapon is unloaded and has been checked as so upon leaving the shooting range. Carrying ammunition is strictly forbidden.



A "shooting society" somewhere in Switzerland; people come to such ranges to complete mandatory training with service arms, or to shoot for fun.







Ready ammunition of the Swiss Army. Every soldier equipped with the Sig 550 assault rifle is issued 50 rounds of ammunition in a sealed box, to be opened only upon alert. The ammunition is then loaded into several detachable rifle magazines for use by the militiaman should any needs arise while he is en route to join his unit.


The gun policy in Switzerland is unique compared to those of other European countries. The personal weapon of militia personnel is kept at home as part of the military obligations. This has led to a statistically high per capita gun count; however the weapons are kept unloaded and the ammunition trade is tightly controlled.

//



Army-related arms

The Swiss army has long been a militia trained and structured to rapidly respond against foreign aggression. Swiss males grow up expecting to undergo basic military training and a mandatory period of service in the Auszug (the active-duty field army), after which Swiss men still remain part of the militia either in a home guard (Landwehr) or reserve capacity (Landsturm) until age 42 (age 52 for officers). Each such individual keeps his army-issued personal weapon (the Sig 550 5.6 mm assault rifle for enlisted men, the SIG-Sauer P220 9mm semi-automatic pistol for officers medical and postal personnel) at home with with a specified quantity of government-issued ammunition, sealed and inspected regularly to insure that no unlawful usage takes place.

When relieved of duty, militiamen have the choice of keeping their personal weapon and other selected items of their equipment. The government sponsors training with rifles and shooting in competitions for adolescents wishing to.

The sale of ordnance ammunition - including Gw Pat.90 rounds for army-issue assault rifles - is subsidised by the Swiss government and made available at the many shooting ranges patronised by both private citizens and members of the militia. There is a regulatory requirement that ammunition sold at ranges must be used there. Indeed, while the sale of all ammunition is registered at the dealer if purchased at a private store, ammunition purchased at a shooting range is not.

In addition to the general tendency of self-discipline running strongly throughout the Swiss national character, the Swiss Army maintains tight adherence to high standards of proper military conduct. In 2005, for example, the Swiss prosecuted Auszug recruits who had reenacted he torture scenes of Abu Ghraib, one of the charges having been improper manipulation of service weapons [1] [2].



Number of guns in circulation

In some 2001 statistics[3], it is noted that there are about 420,000 assault rifles stored at private homes, mostly SIG 550 types. Additionally, there are some 320,000 assault rifles and military pistols exempted from military service in private possession, all selective-fire weapons having been converted to semi-automatic operation only. In addition, there are several hundred thousand other semi-automatic small arms classified as carbines. The total number of firearms in private homes is estimated minimally at 1.2 million; more liberal estimates put the number at 3 million.



Carrying guns

To carry firearms in public or outdoors (and for an individual who is a member of the Auszug or the militia carrying a firearm other than his Army-issue personal weapons off-duty), a person must have a Waffentragschein (weapon carrying permit), which in most cases is issued only to private citizens working in occupations such as security.



Conditions for getting a Carrying Permit

There are three conditions:

• fulfilling the conditions for a buying permit (see section below)
• stating plausibly the need to carry firearms to protect oneself, other people, or real property from a specified danger
• passing an examination proving both weapon handling skills and knowledge regarding lawful use of the weapon

The carrying permit remains valid for a term of five years (unless otherwise surrendered or revoked), and applies only to the type of firearm for which the permit was issued. Additional constraints may be invoked to modify any specific permit.

It should be noted that neither hunters nor game wardens require a carrying permit.



Buying guns

To purchase a firearm in a commercial shop, one needs to have a Waffenerwerbsschein (weapon buying permit). A new permit is needed for every weapon purchase. Everyone over the age of 18 who is not psychiatrically disabled (such as having had a history of endangering his own life or the lives of others) or identified as posing security problems, and who has a clean criminal record can request such a permit. The sale of automatic firearms and selective fire weapons is forbidden (as is the sale of certain disabled automatic firearms which have been identified as easily restored to fully automatic capability). In each transaction, the vendor must reasonably verify the purchaser's identity.

To buy a gun from an individual, no permit is needed, but the seller is expected to establish a reasonable certainty that the purchaser will fulfil the above-mentioned conditions. The participants in such a transaction are also required to execute a written contract detailing the identities of both vendor and purchaser, the weapon's type, manufacturer, and serial number. Though it is advised to have a paper contract at the sale of a second-hand weapon by an individual, this is not mandatory.

After turning 18, any individual can buy single-round or multiple-barrelled long arms (breech-loading or muzzle-loading) without a permit. Likewise, members of a recognised rifle association do not need a buying permit for purchasing antique repeaters, and hunters do not need one for buying typical hunting rifles.

All types of ammunition are available for commercial sale, including full metal jacket bullet calibres for military-issue weapons and hollow point rounds for pistols. Ammunition sales are registered only at the point of sale by recording the buyer's name in a bound book.

 

1. Argument

Switzerland is frequently cited as an example of a country with high gun ownership and a low murder rate. However, Switzerland also has a high degree of gun control, and actually makes a better argument for gun regulation than gun liberalization.

Switzerland keeps only a small standing army, and relies much more heavily on its militia system for national defense. This means that most able-bodied civilian men of military age keep weapons at home in case of a national emergency. These weapons are fully automatic, military assault rifles, and by law they must be kept locked up. Their issue of 72 rounds of ammunition must be sealed, and it is strictly accounted for. This complicates their use for criminal purposes, in that they are difficult to conceal, and their use will be eventually discovered by the authorities.

As for civilian weapons, the cantons (states) issue licenses for handgun purchases on a "must issue" basis. Most, but not all, cantons require handgun registration. Any ammunition bought on the private market is also registered. Ammunition can be bought unregistered at government subsidized shooting ranges, but, by law, one must use all the ammunition at the range. (Unfortunately, this law is not really enforced, and gives Swiss gun owners a way to collect unregistered ammunition.) Because so many people own rifles, there is no regulation on carrying them, but 15 of the 26 cantons have regulations on carrying handguns.

Despite these regulations, Switzerland has the second highest handgun ownership and handgun murder rate in the industrialized world. A review of the statistics:

 

Percent of households with a handgun, 1991 (1)United States 29%Switzerland 14Finland 7Germany 7Belgium 6France 6Canada 5Norway 4Europe 4Australia 2Netherlands 2United Kingdom 1Handgun murders (1992) (2) Handgun 1992 Handgun MurderCountry Murders Population Rate (per 100,000)-----------------------------------------------------------United States 13,429 254,521,000 5.28Switzerland 97 6,828,023 1.42Canada 128 27,351,509 0.47Sweden 36 8,602,157 0.42Australia 13 17,576,354 0.07United Kingdom 33 57,797,514 0.06Japan 60 124,460,481 0.05

 

ok, great info for people in Sweden. But the least i care about is Sweden because I have nothing to do with it whatsoever

Every country is different, some or more corrupt then others you cant just copy and past things which you dont even think up yourself, which is happening some where irrelevant and try to get a point accross.

You think a system like that could work in the USA or England?

 

Percent of households with a handgun, 1991 (1)United States 29%Switzerland 14Finland 7Germany 7Belgium 6France 6Canada 5Norway 4Europe 4Australia 2Netherlands 2United Kingdom 1Handgun murders (1992) (2) Handgun Country Murders -----------------------------------------------------------United States 13,429 Switzerland 97 Canada 128 Sweden 36 Australia 13 United Kingdom 33 Japan 60

 

The United Kingdom has some of the strictest gun legislation in the world. All guns except low-powered airguns and shotguns (which have a less strict control system), can only be obtained if a person holds a "firearms certificate" (gun licence) which can be obtained from the local police, and is renewable every five years.


A firearms certificate differs from a shotgun certificate in that justification must be provided to the police for each firearm individually, and these firearms are listed, by type, calibre, and serial number, individually on the certificate; whereas a shotgun licence enables the ownership of as many shotguns as can be safely accommodated. To gain permission for a new firearm, a "variation" must be sought, for which a fee is payable unless the variation is made at the time of renewal, or unless it constitutes a one-for-one replacement of an existing firearm which is to be disposed of. The certificate also sets out, by calibre, the maximum quantities of ammunition which may be be bought/possessed at any one time, and is used to record the purchasing of ammunition (except, optionally, where ammunition is both bought, and used immediately, on a range).


To obtain a firearms certificate, the police must be convinced that a person has "good reason" to own each gun, and that they can be trusted with it "without danger to the public safety or to the peace". Generally speaking, gun licences are only issued if a person has legitimate sporting or work related reasons for owning a gun. Since 1946, self defence has not been considered a viable reason to own a gun.

Any person who has spent more than three years in prison is automatically banned for life from attaining a gun license.

Any person holding a gun licence must comply with strict conditions, such as conditions on the storage of firearms in a secure place; storage arrangements are checked by the police before the granting of a certificate, and on every renewal. A local police force may impose additional conditions on ownership, over and above those set out by law. Failure to comply with any of these conditions can mean the forfeiture of the gun licence, which would mean that any firearms held must be handed in to the police.


The penalty for owning a gun illegally without a certificate is now a mandatory minimum five year prison sentence and possibly an unlimited fine.


Restrictions on gun ownership began in 1903 and a licensing system was introduced in 1920, spurred on partly due to fears of a surge in crime that might have resulted from the large number of guns available following World War I. Gun laws have steadily been tightened ever since.


Automatic weapons have been completely banned from private ownership since 1937. In 1988 semi-automatic rifles (except for .22 rimfire) were completely banned for private ownership following the Hungerford Massacre the previous year.


Since 1997, handguns have been completely banned for private ownership following legislation passed shortly after the Dunblane massacre in 1996 (exceptions to the ban include muzzle-loading "Blackpowder" guns, pistols of antique and historical interest, starting pistols and shot pistols for pest control), despite the fact that the official enquiry into the subject (the Cullen Report) did not recommend such action. Even Britain's Olympic shooters fall under this ban; the British pistol shooting team is thus forced to live and train outside the country. Due to shooting being a minority interest sport in the UK, there was relatively little resistance to the legislation, although it had opponents on both sides of the argument (those who felt it was too weak, and those who felt it went too far).




According to Home Office figures released in January of 2003 [1], gun related crime has increased since the 1997 ban. In the light of such figures, and because of continued Home Office lack of interest in any legal changes other than further restrictions, many sporting shooters have concluded that gun control advocates (including the Labour Party) have in fact no genuine interest in public safety at all, and only use it as a convenient excuse to disguise simple "bigotry" (to quote "Target Sports" magazine editorial, June 2005). Other factors have reinforced this belief, including, for example, the indiscriminate use of the phrase "gun culture" to include both legitimate and law-abiding target shooters and inner-city gangsters.


Figures released by the Home Office in April of 2003 show a marked decrease in overall crime including violent crime; however, the total number of law enforcement personnel in the UK has reached an all-time high. [2]


From June 2003 to June 2004, recorded gun crime in the UK rose by 3% to 10,590 incidents. There was also a 14% rise in violent crime in the April-June period (265,800 incidents compared to 223,600 the previous year). Advocates on both sides of the gun control debate have argued how this is correctly interpreted with no consensus.


Yet, Britain remains one of the countries with the lowest homicide rate in the world accounting for 853 homicides in the reporting period 2003/04 according to the UK Home Office for Crime Statistics [3]. At a population of more than 59 million that translates into 1.4 homicides per 100,000 residents. This is approximately double what it was fifty years ago, when gun laws were much more tolerant, and comparable with Switzerland today, where, again, gun laws are extremely tolerant.


For comparison, the FBI Uniform Crime Report shows for the reporting period of 2003 a homicide rate in the United States of 16,503 homicides or 5.7 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants [4], with 21.6 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants for African Americans, being the sixth highest cause of death according to the CDC [5]. However, these figures vary greatly between states, and it is not clear that states with tolerant gun laws suffer any higher homicide rates as a result.

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The 1997 Handgun Ban

"The British government banned handguns in 1997 but recently reported that gun crime in England and Wales nearly doubled in the four years from 1998-99 to 2002-03. Crime was not supposed to rise after handguns were banned. Yet, since 1996 the serious-violent-crime rate has soared by 69 percent; robbery is up 45 percent, and murders up 54 percent. Before the law, armed robberies had fallen 50 percent from 1993 to 1997, but as soon as handguns were banned the robbery rate shot back up, almost to its 1993 level.

1. The 2000 International Crime Victimization Survey, the last survey completed, shows the violent-crime rate in England and Wales was twice the rate of that in the U.S. When the new survey for 2004 comes out later this year, that gap will undoubtedly have widened even further as crimes reported to British police have since soared by 35 percent, while those in the U.S. have declined 6 percent."

 

Gun Control Misfires in Europe

Wall Street Journal Europe
April 30, 2002

By John R. Lott, Jr.
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European gun laws have everything American gun control proponents advocate. Yet, the three very worst public shootings in the last year all occurred in Europe. Indeed around the world, from Australia to England, countries that have recently strengthened gun control laws with the promise of lowering crime have instead seen violent crime soar.

Sixteen people were killed during last Friday¹s public school shooting in Germany. Compare that to the United States with almost five times as many students, where 32 students and four teachers were killed from any type of gun death at elementary and secondary schools from August 1997 through February 2002, almost five school years. This total includes not only much publicized public school shootings but also gang fights, robberies, accidents. It all corresponds to an annual rate of one student death per five million students and one teacher death per 4.13 million teachers.

In Europe shootings have not been limited to schools, of course. The other two worst public shootings were the killing of 14 regional legislators in Zug, a Swiss canton, last September and the massacre of eight city council members in a Paris suburb last month.

So one must automatically assume that European gun laws are easy. Wrong. Germans who wish to get hold of a hunting rifle must undergo checks that can last a year, while those wanting a gun for sport must be a member of a club and obtain a license from the police. The French must apply for gun permits, which are granted only after an exhaustive background and medical record check and demonstrated need. After all that, permits are only valid for three years.

Even Switzerland¹s once famously liberal laws have become tighter. In 1999 Switzerland¹s federation ended policies in half the cantons where concealed handguns were unregulated and allowed to be carried anywhere. Even in many cantons where regulations had previously existed, they had been only relatively liberal. Swiss federal law now severely limits permits only to those who can demonstrate in advance a need for a weapon to protect themselves or others against a precisely specified danger.

All three killing sprees shared one thing in common: they took place in so-called gun-free ³safe zones.² The attraction of gun-free zone is hardly surprising as guns surely make it easier to kill people, but guns also make it much easier for people to defend themselves. Yet, with ³gun-free zones,² as with many other gun laws, it is law-abiding citizens, not would-be criminals, who obey them. Hence, these laws risk leaving potential victims defenseless.

After a long flirtation with ³safe zones,² many Americans have learned their lesson the hard way. The U.S. has seen a major change from 1985 when just eight states had the most liberal right-to-carry laws--laws that automatically grant permits once applicants pass a criminal background check, pay their fees, and, when required, complete a training class. Today the total is 33 states. Deaths and injuries from multiple-victim public shootings, like the three in Europe, fell on average by 78% in states that passed such laws.

The lesson extends more broadly. Violent crime is becoming a major problem in Europe. While many factors, such as law enforcement, drug gangs, and immigration, affect crime, the lofty promises of gun controllers can no longer be taken seriously.

In 1996, the U.K. banned handguns. Prior to that time, over 54,000 Britons owned such weapons. The ban is so tight that even shooters training for the Olympics were forced to travel to other countries to practice. In the four years since the ban, gun crimes have risen by an astounding 40%. Dave Rogers, vice chairman of London¹s Metropolitan Police Federation, said that the ban made little difference to the number of guns in the hands of criminals. . . . ³The underground supply of guns does not seem to have dried up at all.²

The United Kingdom now leads the United States by a wide margin in robberies and aggravated assaults. Although murder and rape rates are still higher in the United States, the difference is shrinking quickly.

Australia also passed severe gun restrictions in 1996, banning most guns and making it a crime to use a gun defensively. In the subsequent four years, armed robberies rose by 51%, unarmed robberies by 37%, assaults by 24%, and kidnappings by 43%. While murders fell by 3%, manslaughter rose by 16%.

Both the U.K. and Australia have been thought to be ideal places for gun control as they are surrounded by water, making gun smuggling relatively difficult. Of course, advocates of gun control look for ways to get around any evidence. Publications such as the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times blame Europe¹s increasing crime problems on a seemingly unstoppable black market that ³has undercut . . . strict gun-control laws.² Let¹s say that¹s the case--even then, these gun laws clearly did not deliver the promised reductions in crime.

It is hard to think of a much more draconian police state than the former Soviet Union, yet despite a ban on guns that dates back to the communist revolution, newly released data suggest that the ³worker¹s paradise² was less than the idyllic picture painted by the regime in yet another respect: murder rates were high. During the entire decade from 1976 to 1985 the Soviet Union¹s homicide rate was between 21% and 41% higher than that of the United States. By 1989, two years before the collapse of the Soviet Union, it had risen to 48% above U.S. rate.

In fact, the countries with by far the highest homicide rates have gun bans.

 

Australia also passed severe gun restrictions in 1996, banning most guns and making it a crime to use a gun defensively. In the subsequent four years, armed robberies rose by 51%, unarmed robberies by 37%, assaults by 24%, and kidnappings by 43%. While murders fell by 3%, manslaughter rose by 16%.

 

In 1996, the U.K. banned handguns. Prior to that time, over 54,000 Britons owned such weapons. The ban is so tight that even shooters training for the Olympics were forced to travel to other countries to practice. In the four years since the ban, gun crimes have risen by an astounding 40%. Dave Rogers, vice chairman of London¹s Metropolitan Police Federation, said that the ban made little difference to the number of guns in the hands of criminals. . . . ³The underground supply of guns does not seem to have dried up at all.²

 

living in the usa and having worked in a gun shop & gun range for 15 years im plain to freaking tired.

 

Great info you have posted. But it already is 40% with it being illegal. Just think for a second and try and imagine what it would be like if it was legal. You understand what i have been trying to say?

 

Errr I don't think you get what he said, since the ban it has risen by 40%... Meaning it was 40% less while they were legal.

 

I was thinking a bolt action .22, or maybe a .22 revolver. A 20guage wouldn't be too bad, assuming they take a lesson or something.

I go over to my uncle's house once a year, I know the guns and crossbows he has, sorry for the lack of pictures. All his guns aren't fancy, but are simple, and for hunting. He's a big fan of ruger, so unless otherwise noted, it's a ruger.
2x .22 Bolt action
3 differen't crossbows, can't remember length and drawstring tensions.
1 pseudo-home made black powder rifle, he usually uses pyrodex. First time I tried it it nearly blew me over
.357 magnum revolver
20 gauge shotgun
12 gauge shotgun

Sorry for no pictures... We get some bottles, and go to a friend of his's farm. It's pretty fun.

 

Tokentrip all of those are fine choices as long you learn how to shoot and handle the gun safe and the proper way to clean them and oil them . how to load them and unload them safely. for indoor handguns are easy to move about. in a big yard or farm if the problem comes from the outside rifles and shotguns are the way to go. with semi auto high capacity rifle gives you the best edge .

 

The Down-side to "Gun Control": Genocide
Many Americans have unthinkingly accepted -- thanks to endless repetition by some politicians and media personalities -- that "gun control" can and will produce "safe streets" or reduce "violence", by which they mean criminal activity. Some American Jews agree. Few see that "gun control" is lethal, especially to Jews.

"Gun control" can reduce "violence" by ordinary criminals. But only if it is enforced by use of the same brutal police-state measures, as was the case in Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany. Common criminals were restrained in these countries. But so were ordinary people.

Much more important: governments with such wide powers that they were able successfully to enforce "gun control" committed mass murders of tens of millions. Between 1929 and 1953 in the ex-Soviet Union, 20,000,000 were murdered by Stalin's forces. The Nazis murdered some 13 million persons, including 6 million Jews. JPFO's published research shows that "gun control" laws cleared the way for seven major genocides between 1915 and1980, in which 56 million persons, including millions of children, were murdered.(1)

 

HARTFORD, Wis., March 3 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO) strongly denounced the March 1 statement issued by the American Jewish Congress (AJC) which called for more federal victim disarmament laws. The AJC's statement, responding to the Feb. 29 Michigan grade school killing, demanded "tough gun control legislation" as the remedy. Speaking for JPFO, Aaron Zelman called the AJC's demand an example of "ghetto Jew mentality."

"Turning to a secular central government to solve a parenting problem shows how morally bankrupt the AJC position is," said Zelman, JPFO's executive director. "Judaism is about timeless moral values and strong family structures -- not about calling in the federal government every time somebody commits a crime."

"By agitating for more victim disarmament laws, the AJC works against Jewish values. Jews, like everyone else, have a duty to protect and defend themselves and their families against violence," Zelman noted. "Turning to a non-Jewish secular government to save everyone from crime violates Jewish principles -- it's making the state your god."

Zelman challenged the AJC to affirm traditional values and morals. "I don't see the AJC actively working to preserve the Jewish principles of fundamental respect for human life, punishment of wrongdoers, and clear moral training of children. The AJC wants the federal government to prevent honest citizens from having the tools for self-protection, yet the AJC does nothing to knit the social fabric around God's laws."

Anticipating a flurry of calls for victim disarmament laws, Zelman criticized the lobbyists who "advance the political agenda called 'gun control' on the bodies of dead children." He also noted that the Mount Morris grade school tragedy would get national media attention, while the thousands of cases of children being protected by armed defenders go unreported. "According to Florida State University Professor Gary Kleck's research, firearms are used to prevent crime nearly 2 million times per year. Firearms misuse is comparatively rare but grabs the headlines," Zelman said. With the AJC's advocating more federal victim disarmament, Zelman observed that "the AJC ignores both Jewish morality and the importance of armed self-defense. Historically, that combination has been lethal for Jews. The AJC certainly demolishes the image that Jews are smart."