Collapsible Stocks to Conceal AR-15?

Zion Patriot,

According to FBI investigators, the Trump assassin may have used a “collapsible stock” in order to conceal his weapon.

The photos show the firearm’s collapsible stock, which investigators say may have been used to conceal the rifle at the site.

cnn.com

Anyone who knows anything about the AR-15 Platform knows that a collapsible stock at best reduces the overall length of the rifle by a few inches. But if you listen to gun control advocates you would think the collapsible stock would make the AR-15 rifle small enough to put in a pocket.

The reality is that the collapsible stock did nothing to help conceal the weapon. What really helped to conceal it was the fact that the assassin broke the weapon down into the two main parts: The lower receiver and the upper with the barrel. The primary function of a collapsible stock is indeed for ergonomics and to adjust the length of pull to suit different users.

If you look at the image released by the FBI, the lower recevier and the upper receiver with the barrel are separated and shown next to the backpack used by the assassin to hide the rifle. Additionally, the stock is shown fully collapsed. However, even if the stock was fully extended it would have still been shorter than the upper with the barrel of the AR-15 and would have fit in the backpack just as easily. The fact that it was “collapsible” makes no difference in the ability to conceal the rifle.

Here are two images of an AR-15 rifle shown broken down into the two main components. In the first image the stock is fully collapsed while in the second image it is fully extended. Either way, the rifle would have still fit in the same backpack since the lower is shorter than the upper with the barrel either fully collapsed or fully extended. Remember that a rifle must have a barrel that is at least 16-inches to be legal in the U.S. unless it is a registered SBR (Short Barrel Rifle) for which the owner has paid the $200 tax stamp fee and passed the enhanced background check.

Stock fully collapsed
Stock fully extended

The collapsible stock did not make the rifle any more concealable. This is a common tactic used by gun control advocates to further trample on the rights of U.S. Citizens to keep and bear arms. By instilling fear in the public they hope to rally support to enact unconstitutional bans on the most popular rifle platform in the U.S. There are over 20 million AR rifles in the U.S. The fact that so very few are used to kill (less than the number of people killed by hands and feet)* tells you that these are among the safest weapons in civilian hands. If the government says you shouldn’t have them, then you should definitely own one (or more).

*AR-15 Usage in Crime: Facts and Statistics

FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program:

  • The FBI’s UCR program publishes annual crime statistics, including data on the types of weapons used in homicides. Rifles, including AR-15s, are generally grouped together under the category of “Rifles.” These reports often show that rifles are used in a relatively small percentage of homicides compared to handguns, knives, or even hands and feet.
  • https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s

FBI Crime Data Explorer:

CDC National Violent Death Reporting System:

Statista:

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