Rifles are rifled. That is, there's spiral grooves in the barrel to give the projectile a stabilizing spin. Shotguns don't have that.

Heh. That's exactly the difference between a rifle and a musket. I never would've guessed, because I just assumed that all modern weapons were rifled--the reason the musket hung on as a military weapon as long as it did was that until someone came up with a breech loading mechanism that would hold up under combat conditions, rifles were too slow to reload (the rifled barrel making the muzzle loading process slower than with a musket) to be practical weapons for an entire army, since in pitched battle rate of fire mattered more than accuracy. So I figured once that technical issue was solved and you could have speed AND accuracy, all guns were made that way.

Told you my expertise cuts off at 1815.

There are shotgun rifles, though. I think shotguns are still in use precisely because they don't have the speed or accuracy of the rifle -- so they're safer in the hands of civilians. You need to make modifications from standard shotgun issue to make them useful in combat scenarios.

I prefer landmines. No aiming necessary.

I think shotguns are still in use precisely because they don't have the speed or accuracy of the rifle -- so they're safer in the hands of civilians.

Heh. All the armed civilians I know (i.e. most of my male relatives) own rifles, that being the weapon of choice when your prey is a deer.

(Ack! Why am I interested in GUNS? Bad liberal!)

Okay, the Buffalo weatherguy is bragging about how the incoming storm is going to mostly hit east of them, and how they are only going to get a few inches of snow in the next few days. Somehow, this seems wrong to me.

Shotguns have a lot of advantages for certain things. A spreading pattern of shot is ideal for hunting small game, because it requires less accuracy and is less likely to result in quail hamburger. For defense, shotguns are as accurate as rifles at short distances and can shoot a larger slug. If you use large shot instead of a slug, another advantage is that the shot will stop an attacker, but is not likely to go through walls or ricochet. There is also a variety of specialized shot for specific applications.

I have Oscar preshow NOW on ABC. Ebert and some guy, mostly actual serious conversation with red carpet folks (Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackfors).

Burlingame is a pretty and interesting town. Do you know if your future employer is anywhere near the Caltrain station in Mountain View?

I think I'm losing my Jack & Bobby easy view to some pre-Oscar preshow. Feh.

Did we know there had been a FCC complaint against Angel? [link]

Susan, are you still looking for an answer on Taser? It's a trademark and should be capitalized.