Ready for some fairy tales? We go over some of the most enduring firearm myths & misconceptions that still plague the gun world.
The firearms world is full of myths, legends, fuddlore, and fairy tales.
Most firearms knowledge comes from informal experimentation, and then that knowledge gets passed onward. Some of it is rooted in truth, and some are completely fabricated.
Today, we will take a look at a baker’s dozen firearms myths and misconceptions and debunk them the best we can.
FIREARM FAIRY TALES
1. Shotguns Never Miss
Shotguns throw a load of shot in the form of pellets, and these pellets vary wildly in size.
Depending on your load, these pellets spread as they travel. This spread is one of the big advantages of shotguns.
The spread makes it easy to hit small moving targets, like birds. Even when you move to deer and hogs, it gives you a bit of forgiveness when you fumble your marksmanship skills.
But according to video games, movies, and general pop culture, that spread is so wide you don’t even need to aim! Just point it in the general direction of the target and pull the trigger!
Like most myths and misconceptions, this one is vaguely rooted in reality. While shotgun spread is advantageous, it is vastly exaggerated.
In reality, the spread at typical shotgun ranges is actually pretty small. Different loads can pattern differently through different guns and chokes, but they never form the Hollywood wall of lead.
Shotgun loads like the Federal Flight Control 00 buck sticks together quite closely due to its eight-pellet design and excellent shot cup.
You won’t get that same pattern with Olin Military-grade buckshot, but you won’t get a net of death.
At 10 yards, you are looking at a 5 to 10-inch group, depending on the gun and load. This means it is very possible to miss, especially when firing from the hip.
So yes, shotguns need to be aimed and aimed well. However, they are still awesome weapons and immensely powerful, and the spread that you do get makes them an excellent choice for close-quarter use.
2. Guns Make People Fly Back
Let’s put this right behind shotguns because they are typically at the center of this myth.
Running Scared, Desperado — how many movies have you seen where the good guy shoots a bad guy with a shotgun, and the bad guy flies rearward?
Heck, even movies that are praised for their realistic firearms handling are subject to this myth.
At the climactic shootout of Wind River, Jeremy Renner’s .45-70 is flinging bad guys rearward like they are rag dolls. It certainly looks cool and signifies the power of the weapon the character is using, but it’s not realistic.
Let’s do some light science and invoke Newton’s Third Law of Motion. Without copying and pasting definitions, let’s just apply the law to how guns and people work.
If a 180-pound man is thrown rearward from the force of a projectile, then a 180-pound man firing the weapon would also be thrown rearward an equal amount.
Even if we tweak the weight by 100 pounds, it doesn’t add up to someone flying across a room,
Simply put, your gun will send that baddie flying back. No, not even a .50 BMG will do the trick.
3. The M1 Garand Ping Got Soldiers Killed
Anyone who made their bones playing the OG Call of Duty knows the M1 ping. It’s an iconic sound heard across video games, TV shows, movies, and more.
It’s a distinct noise and is part of the M1 Garand’s charm; at least, it is in 2023. But the ping is subject to this interesting myth.
The myth states that enemy soldiers would wait until they heard the distinctive ping of the M1 Garand running out of ammo to rush to attack while the GI was reloading.
This myth sounds quasi-legit until you apply some critical thinking.
First, guns are loud — especially multiple guns firing at one once, like the conditions you’d experience on a battlefield.
Hearing the distinctive ping might be easy at the gun range by yourself, but it’s pretty tough to hear in the middle of dozens of rifles firing out each other.
Also, consider the fact that you typically aren’t that close to the enemy during a prolonged firefight. If you are close enough to an enemy soldier to hear the ping of an M1 Garand, you would likely already be rushing them.
Let’s say you do hear the distinctive ping and know your enemy is out of ammo, so you rush him! You then promptly run into the rest of his squad and are turned into Swiss cheese.
While this one sounds good, it’s a myth likely passed on by soldiers of the era.
4. The Legend of the Undetectable Gun
“That punk pulled a Glock 7 on me, you know what that is? It’s a porcelain gun made in Germany. It doesn’t show up on your airport metal detectors and probably costs more than what you make in a month.“
With that one quote, Die Hard created a myth about Glock pistols that’s still worth mocking today.
The Glock was not made from porcelain but did feature a polymer frame that was somewhat new for the time.
However, the slide, spring in the magazine, barrel, and most of the frame parts were metal. Not to mention the ammunition being metal, too.
There is no undetectable gun; as far as I know, there never has been. However, the United States still passed a law prohibiting undetectable, metal-free firearms.
More recently, there was a significant uptick in the undetectable guns fairytale when the Liberator premiered as a 3D printable gun.
As usual, those perpetuating the myth ignored the gun’s need for metal parts and metal ammunition, but hey, what do I know?
5. Revolvers are Inherently More Reliable
Ooh, here is a tough one. Snoop around and ask a true, hardcore revolver shooter if revolvers are more reliable.
You won’t get a simple answer but a relatively nuanced one.
Sure, revolvers don’t jam, and failures to fire are typically solved by pulling the trigger again and moving on to the next round.
However, revolvers are not inherently more reliable. How well the gun is made, regardless of its design, is what breeds reliability.
Revolvers can come out of time, the crane can loosen, cylinder releases get stuck, and cylinder locks break.
There is a bevy of issues that come with revolvers, and real revolver shooter has to be prepared to properly maintain and inspect their gun.
A cylinder not turning or not opening can render the gun completely inoperable and unfixable until tools are brought in.
When revolvers fail, they fail big. They also tend to be tougher and more expensive to repair.
6. The AR-15 Monopod Magazine Myth
I first learned this in the Marine Corps during my yearly rifle qualification. Someone asked why they couldn’t rest their rifle on the ground on their magazine.
The Primary Marksmanship Instructor informed us that using the magazine as a monopod would cause failures.
This might have been true decades ago, but magazines have come a long way since then. Any well-made magazine will have no issues doubling as a monopod.
I’ve confirmed this myself quite a few times. A magazine can be used as a monopod, but it’s not exactly a great monopod.
To improve this, you can get an AR mag base plate that replaces the stock one with a set of ‘feet’ that lets you rest the magazine on the ground or any form of cover.
I’ve tried these base plates with P-Mags, Lancers, Daniel Defense magazines, and even Okay Industries aluminum magazines. They all function flawlessly when used as an improvised monopod.
7. The Shockwave from a .50 BMG Can Kill
I remember sitting criss-cross in Boot Camp, listening to my Senior Drill Instructor tell us all sorts of lore.
Eventually, somehow, we got onto the .50 caliber M2 machine gun. My SDI proclaimed that the shockwave from a .50 cal round could kill someone.
If the bullet just barely missed, it could take a man’s arm off! I believed it because the Marine Corps is pretty good at making 18-year-olds believe such foolishness.
I didn’t know my SDI never deployed, much less ever fired an M2 at anyone. My machine gun instructor at the School of Infantry quickly corrected this.
The myth is utterly ridiculous, and how it’s become so mainstream is difficult for me to understand. It leaked out of the military and entered the collective gun consciousness.
A video of a deer “dying” from a 50 cal “miss” certainly didn’t help dispel the myth.
Of course, this was more likely to be a headshot that entered one eye and left the other. Sure, the .50 BMG has a small shockwave, but it isn’t that powerful.
Jets can create a shockwave powerful enough to break glass but not powerful enough to rip a person to pieces.
To fully debunk this firearm’s fairytale, we go to Demolition Ranch. Matt put the .50 BMG round against a house of cards, some stacked solo cups, and they don’t even fall over.
8. Winter Coats Can Stop .30 Carbine
The M1 Carbine is one of my favorite firearms. It’s such a fun gun that uses the unique .30 Carbine cartridge.
The .30 carbine is a handy little cartridge with a power level that sits between pistol and rifle rounds.
It proved its worth in WW2 and later Korea. However, in the latter, it became a little less beloved.
The gun suffered a few reliability issues relating to cold weather, but the one alleged issue continued to hinder its reputation.
Reportedly, the M1 and M2 Carbine failed to penetrate the thick and likely frozen-over jackets worn by the Korean and Chinese soldiers.
These jackets were of Soviet design, and I’d reckon those fellas surely know a thing or two about cold weather and war.
Compared to the .30-06 fired from the M1 Garand, the .30 Carbine would appear to be anemic. In reality, the .30 Carbine was a hot little round when used within 200 yards, being equivalent to a standard .357 magnum fired from a rifle.
No jacket without armor is stopping a .357 magnum, nor the .30 Carbine, for that matter, when used at normal ranges.
9. The M14 Was Better Than the M16
The rollout of the M16 in Vietnam was wrought with issues, but it wasn’t the gun’s fault.
It was the fault of the US military, which told soldiers the weapon didn’t need to be cleaned and issued it with the wrong propellant.
That led to an early notion that the M14 was a better rifle. However, the M14 was never a great rifle, and the military was in a hurry to get rid of it.
It’s the shortest-serving service rifle for a reason.
Here are the results of the “Report on Tests for Ad Hoc Committee on Accuracy and Testing of 7.62mm Ammunition and M14 Rifles,” which audited M14s built by Winchester, H&R, and Springfield Armory:
- All of the rifles from Winchester and H&R exhibited excessive headspace.
- All of the rifles had loose handguards.
- 95% of the rifles had loose stock bands.
- 90% of the rifles had loose gas cylinders.
- 75% of the rifles had misaligned op rods and gas pistons.
- 50% of the rifles had loose op rod guides.
- 50% of the rifles had op rods that rubbed the stock.
Additionally, infantry Marines who were in the country for more than six months and occupied the ranks of actual fighting men were interviewed for a report called “Small Arms Use in Vietnam: M14 Rifle and 45 Caliber Pistol.”
The vast majority of the Marines wanted the M16, with only three preferring the M14.
At the end of the day, the M14 was heavy and inaccurate, the wood stock was prone to swelling, and the open action was easily gunked up.
10. Guns Only Exist To Kill
This is a hot topic. Sure, all guns can kill. All cars can also get on a race track, but that doesn’t mean they only exist to race.
The lethality of all firearms is a basic acknowledgment we make, and that’s why all guns should be treated with extreme respect.
However, the idea that every gun is made to kill is silly. Some are made for hunting or defensive use, true enough. However, plenty of guns are produced to do nothing more than punch targets.
I have a shotgun that is solely designed to shoot clay pigeons out of the sky. In any other role, it’s just silly. I’d argue that my competition AR is designed for shooting targets in a competitive environment, not for hunting or defensive shooting.
There are even guns designed purely to be looked at. Collectors’ items would be tarnished if they were ever shot.
From ceremonial guns to art pieces to target guns, guns exist for a whole lot more than just killing.
11. The Entire Idea of The Gunshow Loophole
We hear this one touted a lot by folks who tend to be anti-gun.
The myth is that if you go to a gun show, you can buy anything you want without a single question asked.
It’s often portrayed as the way criminals acquire firearms, but that is far from the truth.
The Department of Justice surveyed criminals who used guns in crime to figure out where they got them. Only 0.8% reported that they acquired their firearms from gun shows.
Gun shows are not lawless grey markets. Any FFL dealer at a gun show has to abide by the law. This includes applying a background check, state and federal laws, and applicable waiting periods.
If you go to a gun show, the overwhelming majority of people selling guns are licensed gun dealers conducting background checks.
Space at a gun show is expensive, and if you aren’t a dealer, it’s hardly worth the trouble unless you have some high-value used items to sell.
Closing the gun show loophole would essentially be a ban on selling or gifting private property.
12. The Streets Are Awash In Assault Weapons
Some folks have spread the crazy idea that nearly every weapon sold is an assault weapon. I encounter these people all over the internet, and their entire argument can be debunked by asking what is an assault weapon.
This myth is easily defeated because assault weapon is a nebulous term used to demonize common firearms.
Assault weapon ties back to an assault rifle, another favorite term used by folks looking to ban firearms based on cosmetic features.
Assault rifle does have a definition, and it’s a magazine-fed, intermediate caliber, select-fire weapon.
While there are select-fire (full-auto or burst-fire) assault rifles in private hands, they are extremely rare and prohibitively expensive, with the cheapest ones costing upwards of $10,000.
Select fire weapons are also almost never used in the commission of crimes either.
In reality, it’s a term that is being applied to everything from common hunting rifles to standard defensive handguns because it makes it easier to generate support for an all-out ban.
13. Handguns and Stopping Power
I cringe when I hear the term stopping power applied to handguns. Why?
Because it doesn’t exist.
Handguns are not super effective firearms, at least not compared to long guns.
This is especially true when we look at the common defensive calibers of 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, .357 Magnum, and others. They all basically do the same thing — poke holes.
They don’t cause crazy hydrostatic shock or generate any other major wounding characteristics. Larger diameter bullets can make bigger holes, but it doesn’t really matter.
What stops an attacker is effectively placing a projectile into a vital area — be it the heart, lungs, or brain. If you hit one of these, it doesn’t matter the size of the bullet.
The bullet just needs to be capable of penetrating deep enough to reach those vitals, with the commonly accepted penetration depth being 12 inches through properly calibrated ballistic gel.
Even .32 ACP and .22 LR can reach those depths.
While expansion with hollow points is valuable for creating bigger wounds, there is no such thing as stopping power.
FINAL THOUGHTS
That covers my 13 favorite firearm fairytales, myths, and misconceptions.
But there are dozens, even hundreds more. Some of them are blatantly wrong, and some are closer to the truth than you might think.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Travis Pike is a former Marine Machine gunner who served with 2nd Bn 2nd Marines for 5 years. He deployed in 2009 to Afghanistan and again in 2011 with the 22nd MEU(SOC) during a record-setting 11 months at sea. Travis has trained with the Romanian Army, the Spanish Marines, the Emirate Marines, and the Afghan National Army.
