In addition to the other responses : one thing to keep in mind is that 'assault weapon' isn't, well, really a technical thing. It is more of a marketing term and aesthetic, and one of the big appeals is the message it sends to your own community about the brands and group affiliation the symbol brings with it. Before the famed 'assault weapon ban' of the 80s, the market for things like the AR-15 was pretty small because, well, people didn't really want them. But after that, they became a symbol, and buying symbols means telling people who you are.Sam the Centipede wrote: ↑Sat Apr 20, 2024 7:33 am Idiot question from more peaceful shores: I get shotguns and rifles* for hunting, and I get handguns for (imagined) personal protection, but why are people buying these expensive assault** weapons?
That being said, I have heard they are pretty good for medium sized game like pigs, which have become an invasive species in parts of the US and thus farmers actually do make use of them. Which kinda makes sense since pigs often make good human analogs, so makes sense that weapons designed for killing humans would also work really well on pigs.
