Journalists know virtually nothing about guns or anything related to them and are smugly proud of their ignorance. They don’t bother with correct terminology, thus were “assault weapons” born. There is no such thing. There is a class of military assault rifles, such as the current M4, that fire intermediate power cartridges and are capable of semiautomatic and fully automatic fire. What journalists mean by "assault weapons" is any gun they want to ban which looks scary to the easily frightened, such as the ubiquitous AR-15 family, semiautomatic versions of the M4.
I’ve gotten a great deal of comic mileage out of the antics of the unfortunately named journalist Gersh Kuntzman, who came down with instant PTSD and figuratively emasculated himself when he fired an AR-15. That most common American rifle is among the lightest and least recoiling rifles in existence, a rifle little girls shoot and enjoy. Poor Kuntzman proudly defended being less manly than a little girl.
Which brings us to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Keep in mind I’m working from media accounts, which are notoriously inaccurate and seldom corrected.
Graphic: Gewehr 98 greyBG 04. Swedish Army Museum. Wikimedia Commons.org. CCA-SA 4.0 International.
The FBI has confirmed the rifle used was a Mauser 98 bolt action rifle in .30-06 caliber. Mauser is both a brand and a much-emulated bolt action rifle design in circulation for more than a century. The rifle was scoped, but we have no idea of its make or model. There is also evidence the killer—one Tyler Robinson—had help, including someone who left the rifle at a drop point. Journalist Andy Ngo, arguably the Antifa authority, suggests an Antifa connection.
Various media talking heads have suggested the killer had to be a professional sniper, and that his escape—clumsily falling off a single-story building—was “daring.” Others were impressed by the distance involved, apparently around 200 yards. Some have even suggested Robinson purposely shot Kirk in the throat to symbolically silence his conservative voice.
All unlikely.
Keep in mind I’m making educated guesses. The .30-06 and Mauser design were adopted by the US Army in the 1903 Springfield. The WWII M1 Garand was chambered for the .30-06. It is a truly high-powered cartridge capable of around 2700 feet per second velocity with a 180-grain bullet. By comparison, the current 5.56mm military cartridge is capable of about 3200 fps with a 55-grain bullet. Journalists commonly call that 5.56 AR-15 cartridge high-powered, but it’s only of intermediate power, generally considered weak for taking deer-sized animals.
Assuming the information about the rifle is correct, and if the rifle is truly a model 98, it could be of WWI vintage, which could mean its rifling is so worn as to be inaccurate. However, there are more modern rifles based on the Mauser design. Putting that aside, any rifle must be sighted for its intended user. A rifle perfectly zeroed for Joe will not be zeroed for Steve, and the difference can be significant. If the rifle was left for Robinson and he hadn’t previously fired it, it’s highly likely the zero wasn’t right for him.
What that could mean is a complete miss at 200 yards, which may be what very nearly happened.
When we see through a sniper’s scope in the movies, the image is crystal clear, the crosshairs rock steady. That’s because those crosshairs are superimposed, in one manner or another, on the lens of a tripod mounted, stabilized, camera. There is always cross hair movement, which is why snipers train to master their breathing and to fire between heartbeats.
That doesn’t mean only a professional sniper can shoot accurately with a .30-06 at 200 yards or more. It’s a skill relatively easily mastered by millions of American hunters of all ages.
However, here’s what may have happened. If Robinson was firing an unfamiliar rifle, he would likely have been aiming for a head shot--between the eyes or higher. Even a chest aim point was possible. If he was aware he had to compensate for shooting downhill—he was atop a building—that would require adjustment. The math is tricky.
The left neck hit suggests Robinson wasn’t aware of the real zero, didn’t compensate for shooting downhill and thus missed and/or jerked the trigger. We don’t know exactly where the bullet struck Kirk’s neck or the position of his neck at impact, but one doesn’t have to go very deeply to breach the carotid artery.
In other words, it’s possible Robinson came very close to entirely missing Kirk. The media won’t understand or report that kind of nuance, but it’s worth keeping in mind.
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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.