The Trace cites Jerry Miculek as reason AR-15 is 'weapon of war' (VIDEOS)

In analyzing the wording used by an en banc panel of the U.S. 4th Circuit’s ruling upholding Maryland’s assault weapon ban, the site invoked competition shooter Jerry Miculek.

Alex Yablon, writing for The Trace in a piece entitled “Is the AR-15 a ‘Weapon of War’?” concentrated on the comparison of the M16 and AR-15 used by U.S. Circuit Judge Robert B. King, who held the court had no power to extend Second Amendment protections to “weapons of war.”

In arguing the primary variance between the AR-15, which is generally semi-auto only, and the M16, is the select-fire capability of the latter, The Trace embedded a YouTube video of a man shooting a semi-auto AR platform very rapidly in an effort to argue the difference was a moot point.

“Expert shooters can discharge as many as six rounds from an AR-15 in a single second,” wrote Yablon, above a video of world record shooter Jerry Miculek ripping through an AR like it was a super soaker.

The thing is, comparing Miculek with the average or even “expert” AR-user is not apples to oranges. More like apples to racehorses.

Sure, an AR-15 can be fired rapidly, and accurately– especially by Miculek. But that fact doesn’t necessarily make the AR a “weapon of war.”

The fact is, Jerry is an amazingly fast shooter, regardless of platform. To temper his sustained volume of fire with an AR, peruse some of his other exhibition shooting.

Try him below with a revolver– a weapon not considered a martial arm for several generations. In the video that follows, Miculek fires a Smith and Wesson Model 929 16 times in four seconds– including a reload. It should be stressed that accomplishment is not typical of those who shoot wheel guns.

Cutting out the reload, Miculek can still hit six rounds in a second with a revolver, below with a .44 Smith. For those following along at home, that is the same rate of fire mentioned in the AR-15 video. No military in the world we could find issues a .44 Smith as a weapon of war.

Miculek only drops to five shots in a second with a hefty .500 S&W.

Although a relative novice with single-action firearms, at the 2014 Trijicon World Shooting Championship, using a single action revolver and a lever action rifle– guns whose tech dates to the 1860s– Miculek was able to fire three different stages on three weapons all on target in just over 17 seconds. Much of that spare time was spent jogging between stations.

But wait, there is more! You see Miculek has even weighed in on the super fast black gun rhetoric before. In 2014, California State Sen. Kevin De Leon gaffed during a news conference in support of his “ghost gun” bill, saying the AR used a “.30-caliber clip to disperse 30 bullets within half a second.”

To which Jerry responded.