Ted Nugent doesn't know anybody who doesn't have two black rifles in his truck.

when i read things like this, i realize just how far removed i am from what is, without a doubt, a significant mainstream mindset, a mindset that i can not only not relate to at all, but also one that makes me feel very, very sad...

Last February, Jim Zumbo, a burly, 66-year-old outdoors writer, got a phone call at his home near Cody, Wyo., from the rock star — and outspoken Second Amendment champion — Ted Nugent. “You messed up, man,” Mr. Zumbo says Mr. Nugent told him. “Big time.”

Two days earlier, Mr. Zumbo, a leading hunting journalist, outraged Mr. Nugent and many other gun owners when he suggested in a blog post that increasingly popular semiautomatic guns known as “black rifles” be banned from hunting. Mr. Zumbo, stunned that hunters were using the rifles for sport, also suggested giving the guns, prized for their matte black metal finishes, molded plastic parts and combat-ready looks, a new name: “terrorist rifles.”

Gun enthusiasts’ backlash against Mr. Zumbo was swift. He parted company with his employer, Outdoor Life magazine. Mr. Zumbo says on his Web site that he was “terminated”; the magazine says that it and Mr. Zumbo agreed that he would resign.

But a week after hearing from Mr. Nugent, who has a devoted following among gun owners, Mr. Zumbo visited him in Waco, Tex., to make amends. For his part, Mr. Nugent was prepared to give Mr. Zumbo a lesson on the utility and ubiquity of black rifles.

“These guns are everywhere,” Mr. Nugent explained excitedly in a recent phone interview. “I personally don’t know anybody who doesn’t have two in his truck.”

oh, but wait, there's more...

• [B]lack rifles are now the guns of choice for many hunters, target shooters and would-be home defenders.

• Owners praise their accuracy, ease of use and versatility, as well as their potential to be customized with an array of gadgets.

• While the gun industry’s overall sales have plateaued and its profits have faded over the last decade, black rifles are selling briskly.

• [F]or every dollar spent on black rifles, gun buyers spend at least another customizing the guns from an arsenal of accessories.

“What you have are guns essentially designed for close combat,” says Dennis Hennigan, legal director of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington, who notes that a Beretta black rifle was among the weapons obtained by men suspected of plotting a terrorist attack on Fort Dix, N.J. “If your mission is to kill a lot of people very quickly, they’re very well suited for that task.”

i don't have any quarrels with the 2d amendment, but i find the state of mind that's driving the purchase of assault-type, semiautomatic weapons and "tricking them out" much as you would a car or a motorcycle to be profoundly disturbing...

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