Jordan@jade.UUCP (06/17/86)
We've been over this before, but I'll answer some of the questions raised. There's is a range in the Bay Area that rents weapons (as well as providing hearing and eye protection if necessary!). It's called Target Masters and it's in Fremont on Minneas circle rd. I'm not sure of the exact address, so call ahead. Pistols usually rent for around $5.00/hr. I bring my own guns when i shoot, but I've occasionally used their services to test guns I wouldn't ordinarily buy (like the .380 PPK). They also sell ammo. This is not an advertisment for their services, just a tip. I am actually not all that partial to indoor ranges (which this is) on account of all that powder smoke you get to breath. Not to mention the perils of Dirty Harry standing next to you with his .44 MAG, blasting away in the enclosed space.. We're talking concussion here. (My groups tend to widen out to feet instead of inches with this sort of distraction!) There are no full auto ranges in California. The nearest one I know of is Arizona, but be prepared to drop about $200.. They make you buy all the ammo from them, and that gets *real expensive* when you're going mad dog with an HKMP5.. On this note, has anyone converted their AR-15 to full auto? I was taking mine apart the other day and got curious (for purely, *ahem*, educational reasons mind you) about what would be involved. I found away to keep the sear from engaging (with a bent paper clip) but was at a loss about what to do with the hammer notch that catches on the firing pin.. Lots of obvious mods to make conversions difficult. I called around looking for a tech manual for the M16, but couldn't find anything very detailed. Anyone out there have Field Manual 61-1101J? :-)
jkh@jade.BERKELEY.EDU (Jordan K. Hubbard) (06/21/86)
Article: 6:24 > On this note, has anyone converted their AR-15 > to full auto? I was taking mine apart the other day and got curious (for > purely, *ahem*, educational reasons mind you) about what would be involved. > I found away to keep the sear from engaging (with a bent paper clip) but > was at a loss about what to do with the hammer notch that catches on the firing > pin.. Lots of obvious mods to make conversions difficult. I called around > looking for a tech manual for the M16, but couldn't find anything very > detailed. Anyone out there have Field Manual 61-1101J? :-) I hope no one admits to having done so on USENET. That's a five year prison term in California. However, let me tell you what *I* have found by studying and unsuccessful experimentation on *my* AR-15. [ As you'll note, I mentioned that this was for *educational* purposes only. As usual, Clayton's posting is most educational. - jh] 1. You can't just drop in the M16 parts -- there's a hole missing in the AR-15 lower receiver that positions the M16 selector and sear. (There was a guy selling a jig for positioning and drilling the hole in Shotgun News a while back...) 2. There are a number of people selling what is called an autosear for the AR-15, which solves the hammer notch engaging the sear each cycle, but without the M16 parts, this only gives you the choice of full auto and safe -- no select fire. Note: autosears for the AR-15 manufactured after a certain date are considered automatic weapons, and are registered and transferred as automatic weapons. Possession of either a registered or unregistered part without a machinegun permit in California is the same as possession of an unregistered machine gun (five years, $5000 fine). 3. You could just file off the hammer notch that engages the sear in the AR-15, but again, full auto, no select fire. Same legal problem. (I wouldn't be entirely sure that the resulting weapon would be terribly reliable.) 4. A gadget developed by S.W. Daniels' of Georgia for the AR-15 is a drop-in device (unfortunately classified as a full auto weapon part, and therefore registered with BATF) that looks something like this: side view \ \ \_________________________ top view ------------------------ ---! ! ! ------------------ ! ! ! ! ! ! ------------------ ! ---! ! ------------------------ (Scales exaggerated due to the limitations of ASCII.) This device hooks over the hammer notch (which is springloaded on the AR-15) and the diagonal part hooks under the selector switch. This gives full auto fire only when installed, but at least it can be removed quickly ("in seconds" according to S.W. Daniels' ads) and installed quickly without changes to the AR-15. 5. A *legal* method of achieving high rates of fire with the AR-15 is the BMF Activator. I just bought one myself, but haven't had a chance to get to the shooting range. (When I do, I will post a complete test report.) The BMF Activator is a very hokey sounding gadget which consists of a crank, a handle, a cam, and a couple of thumbscrews to attach it to your gun. You turn over the crank, and it operates the trigger at 1200 rpm. The manufacturer claims that if your gun doesn't operate that fast, that the extra cycles of the cam will be ignored. The BMF Activator comes with a copy of the letter from BATF declaring it NOT A MACHINE GUN PART. The same letter also warns that you better not attach an electric motor or spring mechanism to the Activator or it will be one. :-) (The handle comes off, making this product well- suited to such an activity. Warning: the Activator includes both brass thumbscrews, which are easy to turn, and some plastic screws, which are a nuisance, but won't mar the finish on your gun. The crank is nowhere near as obtrusive as I thought it would be, and the mechanism does NOT prevent you from firing the gun in the normal manner with the trigger. ---------------------------------------------- Nothing in the above remarks should be construed as encouraging the production, design, development, use, or possession of automatic weapons. You are *specifically* discouraged from building the item drawn in number 4 out of high quality spring steel. Clayton E. Cramer