Colt Navy Used in a Homicide

[jdixon]

There was a homicide in this area last night. Unfortunately that in and of itself is not all that uncommon. What was out of the norm, the murder weapon was a 1861 Colt Navy replica. The .36 cal. Colt was very effective on the victim who was already deceased by the time officers arrived only minutes after the incident occurred. The responsible party was apprehended shortly after the deed. He is a convicted felon. He had purchased the murder weapon, and another just like it, as these were the only type of handguns he could legally possess. Felons can not possess firearms but they can possess black powder handguns and any other weapon which shoots black powder or its substitutes. It is a clause in the Federal statutes which makes this loop hole possible. Guns, for the purposes of the "felon not to possess" statue must fire projectiles with an explosive charge. Black powder is not an explosive, rather a flammable solid. Therefore, this statue does not apply to convicted felons. Just throwing this sad incident out as a heads up. This matter, though it seems trivial now, could later be the catalyst for some new attempts at legislation that we need to keep an eye on.

 

[oomcurt]

Maybe it depends where you live...where I live...black powder IS classified as an explosive...regular gun powder or stuff like Pyrodex is classified as a propellant.

 

[mec]

There has also been a high profile suicide by an individual who bought a Ruger NMA because it was easier to do under California laws.

 

[roundball]

.....Black powder is not an explosive, rather a flammable solid.....

FYI...Black Powder is indeed an explosive and is so marked on every can

 

[jdixon]

News to me too, however this is what ATF's explanation was.

 

[roundball]

News to me too, however this is what ATF's explanation was.

BATF lists it as an explosive...that's why there are so many restrictions, regulations, licenses, and special storage facilities required for stores to carry and sell it, which is why most don't...but things like the BP subs can be sold anytwhere

 

[Zonie]

It is too bad the idiot used a gun of any kind, let alone a C&B gun. These things will happen though, I mean, I would be willing to bet that somewhere, someone in this country has been stabbed with a 10 inch Bowie knife this year (which has to be about as rare as a .36 Navy Revolver). Of course, you won't hear about that on the news.

As for someone in an official position that doesn't know that black powder is an explosive, it makes one wonder what they are doing there and why are they still there?

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

What is sad is that some politician will probably call for stiff regulations on blackpowder handguns, and use this incident as justification. Let's hope there are no elections coming up in Kentucky this year. Pols do have short memories.

 

[tg]

It is quite possible that while a Federal loop hole may have been threaded, there may have been a state law violated by the possesion of such a weapon, as some states differ in what a felon can or cannot posses and may have a tighter standard than the BATF,so it could be another lack of inforcement issue.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

True, tg, and by nature criminals ignore laws anyway. The police just can't be every where and the felons know this.

Still ticks me off that this bozo used a BP revolver, though.

 

[Don]

There have been a number of murders commited with BP revolvers over the years. Fortunately for us cap n ball shooters the % of murders and other crimes commited using BP guns is small. Ergo, minimal regulation in most states. Let's just pray that more criminals don't catch on to the power of cap n ball guns.

Don

 

[SCATTERSHOT]

Yep, black powder is a class C explosive. Smokeless powder is a flammable solid.

Tragedy either way, though.

I'll bet he bought them because they don't require a background check.

Be that as it may, I still think they should register criminals, not guns. What do you want to bet this creep was out early on account of some bedwetter dogood early release program? :curse:

 

[Enfield1]

Great! This is just we as shooters need (sarcasm). The liberal gun grabbers in this country have been looking for a long time to try and make it as difficult to purchase BP firearms as it is to purchase modern arms. It is cases like this one and any others like it that will be used as ammunition (no pun intended) for their argument. I can almost hear Diane Feinstein, Democrat, California sceaming on the floor of the Senate about how awful these guns are. Makes me want to vomit!

 

[tg]

It is amazing how selective the left is on what one can or cannot use to harm another, a womwan was arrested here a few days ago for beating her child with a baseball bat, but so far I have seen no push for "bat control"

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

I haven't heard of a ban on knives, either. Or blunt objects. Or.....Oh well.

 

[Rebel]

Or Automobiles

 

[eat moose meat]

I wonder when the last time a person was shot in kentucky with a 61 colt.

 

[jim gray]

I wonder when the last time a person was shot in kentucky with a 61 colt.

In case you haven't noticed, facts don't carry any weight in the issue. The decision to ban guns is based on perception and misconception.

How many people have been murdered with .50 caliber rifles? The anti-gun morons seem to think that they are the new choice of armament for street gangs and terrorists.

How many murders have you heard of that were committed with machineguns? The same fools seem to think that every drug dealer in the country is carrying an M-60 or an RPK.

We had a temp at work a couple of weeks ago bragging about his "machinegun" collection; it consisted of an SKS and a CETME. There are some gun owners out there who are a worse enemy to our cause than the anti-gunners are.

Hopefully, for the moment the anti-gun gestapo has bigger fish to fry than BP handguns. I'm sure that sooner or later, they'll come for us though.

I'm sorry this is way off the original thread and is nothing like I what I had initially intended to post, but I think I made a point in there somewhere. If nobody objects, I'll leave it stand as is.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

There was a homicide in this area last night. Unfortunately that in and of itself is not all that uncommon. What was out of the norm, the murder weapon was a 1861 Colt Navy replica. The .36 cal. Colt was very effective on the victim who was already deceased by the time officers arrived only minutes after the incident occurred. The responsible party was apprehended shortly after the deed. He is a convicted felon. He had purchased the murder weapon, and another just like it, as these were the only type of handguns he could legally possess. Felons can not possess firearms but they can possess black powder handguns and any other weapon which shoots black powder or its substitutes. It is a clause in the Federal statutes which makes this loop hole possible. Guns, for the purposes of the "felon not to possess" statue must fire projectiles with an explosive charge. Black powder is not an explosive, rather a flammable solid. Therefore, this statue does not apply to convicted felons. Just throwing this sad incident out as a heads up. This matter, though it seems trivial now, could later be the catalyst for some new attempts at legislation that we need to keep an eye on.

I stand to be corrected if wrong, but. I think a little research into your thoughts on the matter would be quite revealing.

To my knowledge convicted felons are not allowed to possess any firearm, period, including black powder ML or C&B revolvers.

And BP is an explosive, not a flammable solid, which smokeless powder is.

The Colt Navy was, and is, a very lethal military and police weapon, I would imagine a few thousand deceased civil war combatants would have testified to it's effectiveness, but they couldn't, many a cavalryman was killed by it.

 

[Rebel]

No, actually in a lot of states a convicted felon CAN own a BP firearm. They can here in Oregon.