DABDA

I’m guessing this comment will get edited out too for being under the wrong account but I’ll share my reply anyway:

Unless you specify what you mean by “rifle” that designation does include things like an AR15 with a 50+ round drum magazine that will load and fire bullets as fast as you can pull the trigger. If you are talking about something like a breech loading single shot rifle or a Carcano that is certainly true, but specificity is actually important when talking about firearms and related laws and it’s not just pedantry for the sake of nitpicking. It’s why gun people get anal about when people interchangeably use “assault rifle” and “assault weapon”, or claiming a firearm is “fully semi-automatic” - it’s important to use precise language because there’s vast differences in the various terms and concepts. Yes, generally it’s possible to discern from context that someone using the word “clip” to refer to a magazine-fed weapon isn’t using it literally, but if you want to try to speak authoritatively on the subject you should know what the difference is.

Which states just let you buy a gun with no background check or registration?

I’m not going to check current status of every state’s laws, but I did already address it’s possible to buy guns from places other than a licensed firearm dealer and required registration is less common than not. In private sales you’re at a minimum legally required to not intentionally sell to prohibited people but clearly that isn’t always obeyed - it’s possible some states require you to then register that transaction in some way but that’s not the default expectation/requirement everywhere.

How are people convicted of owning unregistered firearms if registration isn’t required?

People can be convicted if they are in a location or have prohibited items that DO require registration and they aren’t. Suppressors or short-barreled rifles/shotguns and full-auto firearms being common examples.

Isn’t there always a waiting period and a background check?

In my state, with a permit to purchase (good for 1 year, no qty limits) or a permit to carry (5 years, no qty limits) there is no waiting period. If buying from a licensed FFL there is still a NICS check with each purchase though.

Felons aren’t allowed to buy or own guns.

Correct. Felons also aren’t known for obeying the law so just being prohibited doesn’t ensure they can’t obtain a firearm.

You’re certainly free to have your own opinions but most of your assumptions shouldn’t be trusted by anyone else reading this.

It is possible to purchase and own firearms without a permit - typically just limited in form-factor and features (i.e. shotgun, no handguns or semi-auto rifles). And even when a (purchase) permit is required, that doesn’t necessitate there being a registry and frequently one is explicitly disallowed. It’s also possible to buy/trade firearms with private citizens (or 3d print/mill your own if especially crafty) which wouldn’t provide a record to anybody but the included parties. When you aren’t legally required to disclose you have a firearm it’s always better not to make that known. Besides the potential worries about a fascist government coming for them, there’s the concern that a list of firearm owners going public is a prime target for theft and break-ins.

Rifles aren’t necessarily “slower to load,” are you speaking specifically of bolt-action rifles with this? It’s about the same amount of time and steps to load a magazine into an AR15 rifle as it is a semi-auto pistol. Unfortunately that also makes them effective in an unlawful mass shooting situation.

If you feel a firearm is the proper solution to the situation you NEVER aim to wound or fire warning shots. It’s (presumably) always a life or death situation so you’re hoping for the most effective “fight stopping wounds” which is basically center mass of whatever you can see. Same thing with rock salt in a shotgun, it’s going to legally be seen the same as if you were firing shot/slugs so you shouldn’t treat it like something you can use just to scare something off. In close range, shotguns will have practically no spread unless you’re using an extremely cut-down barrel (typically cut to an illegal degree) - you still need to (and should be) direct aiming it and not wildly firing from the hip.