NY Times Reports Astonishing AR-15 Claim — Then Olympian Shooter Sets Record Straight

UPDATE: The gun expert behind the claim, Sam Andrews, explained to TheBlaze in an interview how the New York Times failed to include the full context of his remarks and why he maintains the AR-15 absolutely has a potential fire rate of 8 rounds per second.

---

In making its case that the popular AR-15 is a “common element in mass shootings,” the New York Times, citing the owner of a gun engineering company, reported the semi-automatic rifle can fire eight rounds per second.

(Getty Images/AFP/BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI)

Because the rifle is semi-automatic, meaning each round requires a single pull of the trigger, the claim was immediately called into question. The claim was attributed to Sam Andrews, the owner of Tier One Weapons Systems.

A message left seeking clarification from Andrews was not immediately returned.

"The reason it’s so popular...is that if you bring a handgun to a fight where there’s an AR-15 you’re going to lose. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a 240-pound man like me or a 90-pound girl," Andrews said, according to the Times.

Olympian shooter Amanda Furrer estimated she could only fire at a rate of roughly three rounds per second with "any accuracy" — and she shoots guns for a living.

She told TheBlaze she has "never seen" any shooter fire at a rate of 8 rounds per second.

(Twitter)

When we asked Casey Betzold, president of Snake River Shooting Products, to respond to the assertion an AR-15 can fire eight rounds per second, he responded "Yeah... it doesn't."

"Not even with Jerry Miculek finger speed," he added.

He's right about that.

As Business Insider’s Oliver Darcy, who was first to fact-check the claim, pointed out, famous competition shooter Jerry Miculek Jr. was only about to fire off five rounds in one second using the AR-15 — and he's considered by many to be the world's fastest shooter.

Watch below:

---