It's always interesting when gun control activists and the media discover something about the firearms world that gun enthusiasts have known for decades. It shows that the people desperately clamoring to erase the 2nd Amendment often know nothing about the weapons they want to regulate. The act of "gun control" has nothing to do with understanding firearms, their basic capabilities and what it means to have these tools in civilian hands. It is far more abstract. For example, in the mind of a leftist (because the vast majority of leftists do not own guns nor have they ever handled one), an AR-15 is a terrifying weapon of war. They imagine a fully automatic death machine with endless ammo tearing through crowds of people. However, for a knowledgeable gun enthusiast, a scoped and tuned bolt action rifle chambered in a magnum cartridge and capable of shooting accurately out to 1000 yards or more might be considered far more deadly in the right hands. Knowledge of guns changes the nature of guns. For leftists, who know nothing, every gun no matter how archaic is considered a threat. For decades it has been well known in the gun community that black powder muskets are legal to buy without a background check, and can be easily purchased online. These devices are not considered "firearms" under federal law and thus, are not regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). It would seem that the establishment media has just discovered this fact they are very concerned. A musket from 1776 can fire a lead ball at a velocity of around 1,000 feet per second.