FALSEHOOD #15: Biden falsely claimed that the speed of a bullet fired out of an AR-15 is five times faster than any other gun.

He said, “Do you realize the bullet out of an AR-15 travels five times as rapidly as a bullet shot out of any other gun, five times—is lighter—and can pierce Kevlar?”

Biden made this false claim on September 23, 2022, during a Democratic National Committee event.

EXPLANATION: This is false. The speed of a bullet fired out of an AR-15 is about 3,300 feet per second, which is not very different from other firearms. Other rifles have a muzzle velocity that ranges between 2,500-4,000 feet per second. In order for Joe Biden’s claim to be true, a bullet fired out of an AR-15 would have to travel somewhere between 12,500-20,000 feet per second.

Read Top Myths About the AR-15

SOURCES

Kessler, G. (2022, September 2). Analysis | Biden’s bungled talking point on the muzzle velocity of ar-15s. The Washington Post. Retrieved December 15, 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/02/bidens-bungled-talking-point-muzzle-velocity-ar-15s/

Tuccille, J. D. (2022, September 28). President Biden lies about guns. again. Reason.com. Retrieved December 15, 2022, from https://reason.com/2022/09/28/president-biden-lies-about-guns-again/

Ibrahim, N. (2022, September 2). Did Biden say AR-15 bullet travels 5 times faster than bullet of any other gun? Snopes. Retrieved December 15, 2022, from https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/biden-ar-15-bullet-gun/

Swearer, A. (2022, September 13). The 5 most unserious things Biden said in his gun control speech. The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved December 15, 2022, from https://www.heritage.org/firearms/commentary/the-5-most-unserious-things-biden-said-his-gun-control-speech