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PaperclipPerfector  6d ago (text post)   24832 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of April 20, 2026

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Dude had a fuckin' shotgun. Successful assassins use sniper rifles. Maybe a pistol to get in close undetected. But a shotgun? What on Earth is the success scenario?

I have to wonder if it was pump or semi-auto. Can't find any sources online.

This guy seemed middle class. Guns are expensive but not in the context of "forfeiting the rest of your life." Open a credit card and get properly equipped. Even if you survive, the debt collectors aren't going to pay collect to hound you in Leavenworth.

Offhand, successful sniper assassins are fucking rare. There's a few, but the vast majority of firearm assassinations are done a couple of ways. There's the concealed handgun at gut range, and the classic Three Guys in a Van With AKs Riddle Your Ride.

At teh ranges to be expected in even a large indoor venue, a shotgun isn't an obviously crazy choice, unless you're considering SS body armor. But, of course, the weapon choice was the least of his tactical errors.

Successful assassins use sniper rifles

Most successful ones seem to be in conversational distance.

  • Sirhan Sirhan: within arm's reach
  • Charles Guiteau: inside a subway stop
  • John Wilkes Booth: inside a theater box
  • Jack Ruby: about six feet away
  • Dan White: inside an office
  • Gavrilo Princip: inside a car
  • Mark Chapman: on the same sidewalk
  • Vance Boelter: inside a house
  • Carl Weiss: less than six feet away
  • Luigi Mangione: on the same sidewalk

Yeah. Most people are bad at aiming and shooting firearms at distance. Double that with the actual adrenaline from doing an assassination, most people are going to miss. The Charlie Kirk thing was an aberration. Also, Charlie Kirk didn't have SS level security.

Isn't a shotgun what was used in the "all out of bubblegum" scene from They Live?

That sounds like he played too many FPSes and thought that "shotgun ape" was a viable tactic IRL.

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