As a long-time part of the gun world, I have watched the industry grow. The number of firearms we have available to us now is just incredible. The market has grown and matured in many ways. Something that seems to be eternally tied to this industry, however, are gun myths. Some are hysterical, and some are borderline dangerous. Today, we will explore the most common gun myths.

Crazy Gun Myths

This is very difficult to write because I can only choose a few myths to cover. There is simply not enough room to cover them all. With that in mind, let’s start with one of my favorites. “The .22LR has killed more people than any other round”. The fable that goes with this is that supposedly mafia-hit men used 22 pistols as their primary weapon. First off, these mafia hitmen would have had to go on a 22-killing streak that made the Revolutionary War look like a scuffle. Add to that the ballistics of the 22LR, and it is not exactly the death dealer it is built up to be. Yes, it can be lethal, but it doesn’t hold the title. The 9mm caliber is used in more fatal and non-fatal shootings than any other caliber. Handguns are involved in 46% of all homicides in the United States.

Gun Myths – Racking Your Shotgun

Next, we move to shotguns. “The sound of racking a shotgun will scare an intruder away.” What this actually means is that your gun wasn’t loaded, and you are unprepared to deal with an intruder. It also alerts an intruder to your location. In the end, it is best to keep your shotgun loaded and have one in the chamber.

Another shotgun classic is that you do not need to aim. You just point the shotgun in the general direction of the bad guy and fire. Well, this is nonsense and one that I consider dangerous. Depending on your ammunition selection, the shot coming out of the barrel will have an ever-expanding pattern. That means that while it will be tight coming out of the barrel, it may be 5, 10, or even 15 inches in diameter by the time it gets close to your target. This means all of your shot is now spread across a large area, which can easily miss the target. You need to treat a shotgun just as you would a rifle and carefully aim before you press the trigger.

Who Cares About Physics

One of my favorites is fueled by the gun geniuses in Hollywood. Our hero pulls out his trusty blaster and shoots the bad guy. The bad guy then proceeds to fly backward. If we are in a major action flick, they may even be launched out of a window. This is simply not the case. Physics is real; an 8-gram bullet will not pick up a human. In fact, in many cases, there may be no initial physical indication that someone has been shot. And no, going to .45ACP because it’s “God’s caliber” makes no difference.

We wouldn’t be complete without a rifle myth. The anti-gun left would have you believe that the AR15 rifle is the devil. While the myths about this gun abound, one that reaches into fiction is that its rounds explode on impact. This is just crazy talk. The standard .223 /5.56 round just breaks apart on impact with anything hard. It has no explosive payload of any kind. The fact that there are people who believe this makes me question humanity.

50 BMG Shockwave

The last one seems to reappear every few years. It states that the sonic shockwave of a 50 BMG round is strong enough to kill you. That means that even if the round barely misses you, the sonic shockwave traveling with the bullet is equally as lethal. There is no other way to put this than to say it’s ridiculous. This is what I call cartoon physics. The same physics that shows the coyote chasing the road runner off a cliff. He then hangs in mid-air for a moment before he falls.  While there is obviously air disruption around the 50 BMG round, it has no real power. In fact, you can shoot this round right past a piece of paper, and it will not even cause a tear.

These are but a few of the classics. I am always interested in hearing new ones, so please share if you have any good ones. It is our responsibility to be good stewards of the industry. Part of that is to ensure the information we give out is accurate. If you hear a myth, take a moment and politely address it. Let’s try to put an end to gun myths.

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