Sandy Hook search warrant info released

[Spats McGee]

On the magazines & 70 rounds, one of the warrant returns does in fact list one shotgun with 2 magazines, containing 70 rounds of Winchester 12 ga ammunition. A quick web search on "SAIGA 50 ROUND MAGAZINE," turned up several images of what appear to be 50 round drum magazines. I'm not in any way a Saiga expert, but this appears plausible.

Pursuant to ScottRiqui's correction, below, I was wrong. I have stricken the part which has been shown to be incorrect.

 

[ScottRiqui]

I don't think anyone makes a 50-round Saiga drum *in 12-gauge*. That would be a beast, for sure.

You can get 50-round drums for a Saiga .308, though - those may have been the search results you were seeing.

 

[Spats McGee]

Whoops. I stand corrected. Perhaps I should read my search results more closely.

Thanks. Post above will be edited.

 

[ScottRiqui]

No worries - I just hope that at some point we find out exactly what it is that the police were describing - I'm actually kinda curious now.

 

[RickB]

Everyone here knows that 150+ rounds fired in 5 minutes is easily done with any modern firearm.

No argument there, but would such a demonstration help? I'm not sure.

I've started to wince when I'm watching the "gun shows" on Outdoor and Sportsman, and part of the demo of just about any semi-auto rifle is a mag dump, without showing the target or hits achieved, just a 30-shot string, as fast as the trigger can be pulled. A lot of people think hitting a target, any target, is easy, so firing 30 rounds in three seconds would certainly leave the impression that a lot of damage can be caused that way.

 

[lcpiper]

It is curious. Even those 20 round drums are bulky and I doubt you could fit two in a glove compartment. At least, not with a fully loaded SAIGA 12GA Shotgun already in there as well


I finally did find a manufacturer who makes 30round drum mags for the SAIGA 12GA.

http://www.alliancearmament.com/alliancearmament30rddrum.aspx

And I saw another reference to a 10 round box mag so 70 rounds is certainly a possibility. BTW, the price for that drum mag is over $400.00 each. Mom really did indulge her son or herself. Those two drum mags cost what the shotgun itself costs.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

There are a LOT of problems with that report. Different news media in CT have reported that the State Police recovered either 154 or 152 .223 cases. They also reported how many rounds were in each of the six magazines the kid used and, if you do the math, it works out to 145 rounds fired, not 152 or 154.

They also made a big deal out of finding 1,400 rounds of ammunition in the house. The mother was shot with a .22 rifle, so we can surmise that at least some of the "arsenal" of ammunition they found must have been .22LR. (The actual police report probably spells it out, but the news reports I've seen don't give that level of detail.) I think most members of this forum would agree that 1,000 or so rounds of .22LR is nothing. An on-line response to one of the news reports commented that may shooters go through that much in one afternoon or weekend.

I am left with the impression that the CT State Police and the mass media are conspiring to sensationalize what they found in order to influence the anti-gun legislation currently being debated in Hartford.

 

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Here's a graphic of the ammo store:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/03/29/nyregion/29newton-warrant-ammo.html

Not a big deal for the average shooter/competitor.

 

[Tom Servo]

Not a big deal for the average shooter/competitor.

Heck, that's amateur hour where I come from. Curiously enough, I see a lot of .303 ammo, but no mention of an Enfield.

Here's a question: if the Enfield had been used in the shooting and the AR-15 was found at home, would we have the same push to ban and confiscate "assault" rifles? I submit that we would, just with a different rhetorical twist.

 

[ScottRiqui]

Curiously enough, I see a lot of .303 ammo, but no mention of an Enfield.

It's in the warrant, but the caliber was likely misidentified:


"Item #14 -- One Enfield Albian bolt action rifle, .323 caliber, model no. SN HC22273A"

 

[Evan Thomas]

Police recovered the following firearms from the crime scene, the car Mr. Lanza drove to the school, and the Lanza house: the Bushmaster used in the shootings, the 10mm Glock with which Mr. Lanza killed himself, a 9mm Sig, and the Saiga 12 gauge found in the car (although perhaps not in the glove compartment, as described in the warrant ). At the house were the Enfield, a Savage MKII .22lr, a .22 cal. starter's pistol -- and a BB gun. If you count the BB gun and the starter's pistol, that makes a total of eight. This assortment, of course, is uniformly described in the press as an "arsenal."

Heck, that's not very different from what I have, and I think of it as "a good start."

What I find even more disturbing in the press reports (we're sort of used to the "arsenal" thing by now) is that they all find the presence of an NRA basic pistol certificate in Mr. Lanza's bedroom far more alarming than that of three photographs of a bloody, plastic-wrapped corpse.

I know which I find scarier, and it's not the NRA certificate.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Here's a graphic of the ammo store:

So nearly half the inventory (approximately 600 rounds) was .22LR and much of the rest was 12-gauge shotgun and .303 British, with some .45 Auto thrown in.

:Yawn:

 

[motorhead0922]

I count 178 rounds of .45 + "numerous" rounds in a wooden box. Yet, no .45 was found at the house or car. I wonder why?

 

[donato]

The listing of all the ammo and weaponry is interesting; but, you'd think someone somewhere would raise the question as to how a mentally ill kid got his hands on all that stuff to do what he did.

 

[Evan Thomas]

The listing of all the ammo and weaponry is great; but, you'd think someone somewhere would raise the question as to how a mentally ill kid got his hands on all that stuff to do what he did.

There's no particular mystery to it. The short answer appears to be that his mother either gave it to him directly or gave him access to guns that were in her name. As both Mr. Lanza and his mother are dead, we may never know why. However, if you read the search warrants carefully, police did seize journals and other writing belonging to Mr. Lanza; it's possible these may provide some answers. There's a lot of information that's still being withheld pending completion of the investigation.

 

[Come and take it.]

It is the report of the NRA certification for pistol, which concerns me. What does that have to do with evidence? That the Connecticut authorities would publish this find to the media and than the media tout it on the news seems to point to a blaming of the NRA for the killing.

Why not go ahead and report that they found a membership to "Home and Gardens" magazine? Or what type of soap and shampoo they used?

 

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Oh, come on - it's part of the factual base. The media will play it up but they should report it as a fact.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

It is the report of the NRA certification for pistol, which concerns me. What does that have to do with evidence? That the Connecticut authorities would publish this find to the media and than the media tout it on the news seems to point to a blaming of the NRA for the killing.

Why not go ahead and report that they found a membership to "Home and Gardens" magazine? Or what type of soap and shampoo they used?

Oh, come on - it's part of the factual base. The media will play it up but they should report it as a fact.

But a report should include all pertinent facts. The NRA offers a number of certificates, and the Connecticut State Police are well aware of this. Connecticut requires the NRA "Basic Pistol" class (or equal approved by the State Police) as a prerequisite for a carry permit. They specifically do NOT accept "First Steps" or "Home handgun Safety," so they certainly know that there's a difference among the classes.

By conspicuously omitting mention of what the certificate is for, they intentionally cast blame in the direction of the NRA. You may draw from that any conclusion you wish, but I don't think it's an accident. Heck, the certificate could be for "Eddy Eagle."

 

[adamc]

I too was surprised that there were no 'weapons piles' as the media described..
it still does not pass the smell test IMO


The CT State police Colonel who blabbed 'top secret" information, will have
NO disciplinary action against him.

Connecticut Judiciary committee passed three bills
(vocal vote ) 23-0 on all ..SB710, SB 506, and SB 897
Felony Transfers& background checks, gun show limits, Need Birth certificate for purchase and (DUH) shooting while under the influence.