SAW Rifle

[Aragorn243]

Speculation this morning was that the rifle used by the Los Vegas shooter was a SAW. I assume they came to this conclusion based on the sound and the rate of fire. No official word on any weapons used that I'm aware of. It is my assuption that there is no way a SAW could have made it into private hands in the US unless a theft of a military installation or one was recovered from a battlefield somewhere and smuggled in. Am I correct that none of these were released to private hands? I have seen them but do not recall ever firing one in my time in the service.

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[browningautorifle]

SAW Rifle

If you mean the Minimi clone that the US calls the Squad Automatic Weapon, it's not really a rifle...here's one for $31,000 USD. http://www.gunbroker.com/item/683008666

Or do you mean another weapon? They ARE around...

[painter777]

Just heard that a converted to full auto AR type was used. News wouldn't speculate on the number of guns found in the room. This was Fox news.
Others have claimed up to 40 rifles and over 10,000 rds, but no word from investigators yet.

---------- Post added at 05:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:15 PM ----------

I've got a comical story to share about Big and Rich (who were performing there) but not at this time.

[painter777]

Hey BAR,
I'm not familiar with that M249 MinimiSAW,
1 question: Does it break down small enough to fit it luggage?

Thx,
Scary thoughts.........

[Lee Enfield]

Just heard that a converted to full auto AR type was used. News wouldn't speculate on the number of guns found in the room. This was Fox news.
Others have claimed up to 40 rifles and over 10,000 rds, but no word from investigators yet.

---------- Post added at 05:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:15 PM ----------

snip....

Listening to the cadence of fire in the many videos this morning, I'm thinking that they will find a "slide fire" type "auto fire substitute" system to have been used.

There seemed to be irregular rate of fire changes during the mag dumps recorded.

[Flying10uk]

They seemed to be saying 10 guns were found in the hotel room on UK news but didn't know of what types.

[#1oilman]

Fox news mentioned 17 firearms at 4:00 PM

[Flying10uk]

One has to wonder how he got it all up into his room, including the ammo, without arousing suspicion; it must have weighed a ton. Presumably he had "normal" going-away luggage" with him as well such as pyjamas, toothbrush, shaver, etc etc?

[Aragorn243]

Ten were found in the hotel room, a squad automatic rifle is what I was referring too. in excess of 18 weapons were found in his home. No word on any of the weapons found from official sources that I have seen. $31,000, no thanks. I can imagine what the police report would read like if they did one on the majority of us. An arsenal of assault weapons was found inside the home. 10's of thousands of rounds of ammunition, swords, blades, explosive devices and all his neighbors say "he was such a quiet man. Never imagined all this was right next door, I'm horrified"

---------- Post added at 07:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:14 PM ----------

One has to wonder how he got it all up into his room, including the ammo, without arousing suspicion; it must have weighed a ton. Presumably he had "normal" going-away luggage" with him as well such as pyjamas, toothbrush, shaver, etc etc?

I walk right into the hotel with gun cases. No one bats an eye, not yet anyway.

[old tanker]

The couple of cell phone videos I have heard one was clearly just the sound of firing. Another cell phone you could hear the snap of projectiles and then the pop from the weapon. They did not sound like controlled bursts, and if nothing was belt fed, some drum type mag must have been present as I heard burst in excess of twenty or thirty rounds. From his perch in the hotel he delivered plunging fire into a densely packed crowd 350-400 meters away for nearly 20 minutes by some accounts. At least one account states that the SWAT team was able to locate his room because the firing set off the smoke alarm. I would wager not a handful of those under fire had the faintest clue of where the fire was even coming from.

As far as bringing stuff in luggage, a guitar case or gig bag will easily accommodate a couple of full size rifles. Housekeeping had been in and out of his room since he had checked in so his weapons was likely not at stack arms in the middle of the room. That the clown had apparently been in the room since Thursday last, and chosen a corner with a clear view of the concert area suggests to me it was not a spur of the moment decision. Whether his motivation was somehow political or simply a desire to be more infamous than the last dickwad to shoot up a bunch of innocent people will be difficult to determine absent a note or some kind of manifesto. Maybe the police will find something in his home or on his computer.