I was a bit bemused by Ms. Head’s recent article on a proposel to ban ‘cop killer’ handguns.

Ms. Head not only shows an alarming ignorance of the subject upon which she seeks to report, but of math as well. Some remediation may be in order.

Ms. Head discusses .50 caliber rifles and a .05 BMG rifle. There is no such thing as a .05 anything. The decimal notation represents fractions of an inch. .05 would indicate a 5 hundreths of an inch projectile. The smallest cartridge of which I am aware is .17 inches. A .05 inch cartridge would be about the width of a pencil lead.

What she is refering to is the .50 BMG rifle cartridge. For over 100 years there have been various rifles chambered for a bullet approaching a half an inch in diameter, but this one is unique in power, and price. The cheapest one I am aware of is well in excess of $2000, weighs 25 pounds, and is 5 feet long. Not what a criminal desires for robbing the local Stop-n-Go.

Gun prohibitionists have long sought to ban small, affordable, easily concealed handguns by labeling them as the guns of choice for criminals. Now it appears they’ve decided to attack the other extreme: Large, expensive, cumbersome rifles.

Despite Sen. Brewer’s claims, and for the record, nearly ANY rifle (or knife for that matter) will pierce the soft body armor used by the police. Their bullet resistant vests are only designed to offer protection from handguns. Which they do, up to the .44 magnum. (Ms. Head will recall that cartridge from the famous Dirty Harry movies, even if she wouldn’t know one if it fell on her foot.) Therefore any common hunting rifle would be a “cop killer” gun by the prohibitionists.

US law already limits civilian ownership to firearms of one-half ince (.50) or less. That is where this firearm falls. At one half inch.

Perhaps in the future, you could send a reporter conversant with the issues to cover a subject.

Jeff Cantwell 501-660-4503 Out of school since ’87