The Princeof Wands does know all that much about firearms if he says " the weapon is irrelevant because absolutely any semi-auto could do basically the same thing, and any shotgun would have had the same end result, and probably any old style revolver for that matter. "
Which is basically incorrect in most cases. Depending on the construction of the walls and doors, a shot gun would have lost most of its energy punching a hole through the walls and doors, revolver bullets are are made of soft lead, would have greatly expanded in diameter in the process of penetration of walls or doors, and even large magnum pistols contain only a fraction of the energy packed by a AK-47 bullet. Certain non assault rifle legitimate hunting high powered rifles can develop more muzzle energy, but they are usually only loaded with expanding type bullets, are usually bolt action, and have magazines seldom containing more than five rounds.
And due to the wonders of military surplus, there are ready supplies of non expanding military ammunition in case lots of a 1000 that can go through walls and doors without losing much energy. In short, this AK-47 was not your typical firearm, it was ideally suited for what happened here, its worthless and illegal as a hunting rifle, but almost an accident waiting to happen when placed in the hands of a nut. This entire incident is a compelling reason to ban ALL weapons of that type. They belong in military arsenals under lock and key, not in the hands of the general public. Even if the owner is "responsible", too often the responsible owner gets robbed and they wind up in the hands of criminals.
Which is basically incorrect in most cases. Depending on the construction of the walls and doors, a shot gun would have lost most of its energy punching a hole through the walls and doors, revolver bullets are are made of soft lead, would have greatly expanded in diameter in the process of penetration of walls or doors, and even large magnum pistols contain only a fraction of the energy packed by a AK-47 bullet. Certain non assault rifle legitimate hunting high powered rifles can develop more muzzle energy, but they are usually only loaded with expanding type bullets, are usually bolt action, and have magazines seldom containing more than five rounds.
And due to the wonders of military surplus, there are ready supplies of non expanding military ammunition in case lots of a 1000 that can go through walls and doors without losing much energy. In short, this AK-47 was not your typical firearm, it was ideally suited for what happened here, its worthless and illegal as a hunting rifle, but almost an accident waiting to happen when placed in the hands of a nut. This entire incident is a compelling reason to ban ALL weapons of that type. They belong in military arsenals under lock and key, not in the hands of the general public. Even if the owner is "responsible", too often the responsible owner gets robbed and they wind up in the hands of criminals.