"Assault rifles" are defined by widely accepted criteria. "Assault rifles" are capable of machine-gun-like "automatic" fire. They are designed to wound rather than kill. They fire intermediate power cartridges, more powerful than most pistols, but considerably less deadly than hunting rifles which, by definition, are designed to kill. In any other context, "assault rifle" is a misnomer.
--Edgar A. Suter, MD, "Assault Weapons" in the Medical Literature: The Missing Pieces,1992