Ahhh, and that's a standard UK misunderstanding.  8^)  The "more suitable
weapon" I referred to is not bigger.  In fact, it's considerably smaller.
Come visit and I'll show it to you . . . or look at any clip of US military
action over the last 30 years or so.  Mine is a Colt AR-15 HB, the heavy
barrel target version of the US military issue rifle.  I originally
purchased it to take the place of my 1909 Mauser Argentino, which fires the
same round as the Garand they used for the clip, in military weapon target
competitions sponsored by the US Government.  I found it amusing that, at
the time the US was banning "assault weapons" (the definition of which has
nothing to do with their suitability for assault), the same government was
sponsoring target competition that required the use of a military weapon.
At any rate, this is getting too close to a rec.scuba topic.  I'll move on
to more fully answer Ben's question.

These guys are rednecks, not Crackers.  This is evident in three ways:
1. They didn't use the right weapon/ammunition.  A Cracker would have put a
hole in the steel tank with the first shot.
2. The group on the steel tank was large.  No self respecting Cracker would
show a pattern of shots like that.
3. These guys are in California where, as everybody knows, the US humanely
keeps our insane.

Lee