At 8:54 AM -0700 11/2/97, Brian B. Riley wrote:

On 10/29/97 8:08 PM, Tim May (tcmay@got.net) passed this wisdom:

...

The Klinton Klan has already effectively banned imported SKS ammo (7.62x29, as I recall, given that I don't have any rifles chambering this popular round). --- Before you rush to correct me, I _meant_ to write "7.62x39" of course.

(A round used by the Chinese, Soviet, and East Bloc nations, and roughly equivalent to the American M-16 round, known either as the .223 or 5.56mm. The NATO "7.62" is in a longer case length. 7.62x54, as I recall. Known in America as .308.

If I remember right they were able to do this because the only ammo available for 7.62x39 is from the Chinese and uses steel core projectiles not lead. Then when Olympic Arms came out with the cutdown weapon chambered for 7.62x39 it was able to be banned uder a regualtion banning "armor piercing ammo that could be used in a handgun."

Vinnie M. sent me a note also saying this. I guess the Eastern European stuff is available--for now. Some in the gun community are vilifying Olyarms for introducing this OA-93 "assault pistol" (the name often applied to politically incorrect pistols like this). As if Olyarms should have been cowed into not introducing a product out of fear that Clinton would abuse his authority to ban Chinese ammo.

One thing though, 7.62x39 really could not be compared to the 5.56 NATO, its really more potent out to 2-300 meters; it is still a .30 cal vs 5.56 NATOs .223, but its far less potent than 7.62 NATO (7.62x54). The 7.62x39 was the standard caliber of ComBloc weapons for several decades, most specifically the AK-47, AKM-44 (sniper weapon), and SKS carbine. I think the Dragunov sniper system used a more potent cartridge.

I've never owned anything in 7.62x39. I hear the SKS rifles are pretty good for $150, or whatever, and a lot of people have bought them. To me they look a little crude. And since I can afford things out of the AR-15 line.... (Debate rages in rec.guns and elsewhere about the relative merits of the cartridges. I certainly see more variants of the AR-15 here in America, more use by tactical and law enforcement teams, and more accessories. But maybe I'm not looking in the right places.) One of the more interesting images I ever saw was a photo in one of the gun mags of a friendly meeting in the U.S. between Eugene Stoner, principal designer of the AR-15 (the M-16 in its military version) and Mikhail Kalashnikov, whose name needs no further explanation. I suppose tree-hugging peaceniks would be aghast at a meeting between these two merchants of death. I, being an antigovernment type, was nevertheless impressed. --Tim May The Feds have shown their hand: they want a ban on domestic cryptography ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, ComSec 3DES: 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^2,976,221 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."