Reply #44: some stats:

[DoNotRefill]

a 2 3/4 inch 12 gauge shell loaded with OOO buck discharges something like 9 pellets of approximately the same size as a 9mm handgun per shot, depending on the shell manufacturer. 9 times 5 = 45. So 5 rounds of OOO buckshot puts out the equivalent of 45 rounds of 9mm in the same time it takes to fire 5 rounds from an assault rifle. There's a reason shotguns were called "trench brooms" in WWI. Also, there are several tactical shotgun reloading systems out there which makes reloading a shotgun as fast as switching magazines for a rifle.

Given that, it's silly to support restricting "assault weapons" while not restricting sporting arms, since the lines are so easily blurred. Also, please remember that the only thing keeping shotguns from being classified as the dreaded "Destructive Device" is a ruling by the Secretary of the Treasury Department. Case in point: The USAS-12 shotgun, which was reclassified as a DD by a three line letter.