Quote:
Originally Posted by 9876543210
Nobody1,
Got a bit of a chuckle out of reading your link. Don't know if its still true today but, back in the day, it was pretty well known that an AR-15 was very easily turned into an automatic assault rifle. If I remember correctly all you need is a screwdriver and file. There is only a single pin inside the rifle which has to be filed down and, how about that? Its full auto!
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Actually, conversion of an AR15 from semi-auto to full auto is a bit more complicated; you have to accurately locate and drill a hole in the receiver for a pin to hold a new component called the auto sear in place, and replace the bolt carrier with a full-auto carrier. You
might be able to get it to fire in an unsafe manner called "slam-fire" by modifying the sear, the trip, and/or the disconnect (all parts in the trigger group) but I will emphasize both the "might" and especially the "unsafe" parts.
There are some semis that a determined individual can "convert" to full-auto fire fairly easily - some of the open-bolt semis (that are no longer manufactured) are particularly easy - but really, why anyone would want to do this, given the stiff federal prison time they will face, is beyond me. Your status of "free individual" will be converted to "prisoner" if you are caught.
The "bump-fire" mentioned by
deepsepia is a bit different; there have been devices sold that fit in the trigger guard behind the trigger and allow you to adjust how far back the trigger travels after it releases a shot. You set it (by trial and error) to stop the trigger's rearward motion just immediately after the gun fires, and the recoil of the gun is enough to move the trigger just that tiny bit that is now all that is required to make it fire again. It's technically considered to still be a semi-auto, just a really fast semi-auto. To the best of my knowledge these devices are still legal to sell, purchase, own and use in all 50 states. Never used one myself, nor known anyone who did, but I've heard that they work better on some guns than others. And then there's the HellFire variant, which uses a spring to reset the trigger quickly; I've heard they are pretty much garbage, but again, I have no first-hand knowledge of them. Here's what Wiki has on the HellFire :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellfire_trigger
I've fired more than a few legally-owned full-autos in my years (including M16s and a Thompson M1A1) and they are a lot of fun to shoot. Keeping more than 3 rounds on a target is quite the challenge.