LAST EDITED ON Apr-01-14 AT 02:12 PM (EDT)
 
>Machine guns are an awkward case, even for firearms hobbyists like me.
> They're technically interesting artifacts (the inner workings of a
>Gatling gun, for instance, are quite fascinating) and, well, fully
>automatic fire is fun... but any realistic assessment has to
>concede that they have no practical use apart from killing a lot of
>people really quickly. Which is... er... a hard sell on the basis of
>non-inherently-evilness.

Interestingly, the Gatling gun isn't technically an automatic weapon according to the rules laid down by the BATFE. You have to keep pushing the crank, which means that you're not firing more than one round per activation of the firing mechanism. I keep being tempted to commission one in .22lr or something, mostly as an artifact.

--
-Pasha
"Don't change the subject"
"Too slow, already did."