A very well-trained soldier in the Continental Army, armed with what was then a state-of-the-art, flint-lock, muzzle-loading, smooth-bore musket, could MAYBE get off 3 shots in one minute if he was not too concerned with accuracy. A semiautomatic AR15 can put out 60+ rounds in one minute with deadly accuracy. With a bump stock the AR15 rate of fire is around 400 rounds per minute.

A ball fired from a muzzle-loader travels about 1200 feet per second and is moderately accurate up to about 100 yards. A bullet from an AR15 travels at around 3500 feet per second, and is accurate out to about 400 yards.

Bottom line, the weapons of 1776 are far outmatched by the weapons of today. The regulatory framework should be updated to reflect the advances in technology.