3 Round burst weapons

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SWATcashJeremy

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I know that weapons that fire fully automatic are illegal in my state (Washington) what about weapons that fire only 1 shot or three round burst? I can't find a reading one way or the other on it. Does anyone know?
 
(7) "Machine gun" means any firearm known as a machine gun, mechanical rifle, submachine gun, or any other mechanism or instrument not requiring that the trigger be pressed for each shot and having a reservoir clip, disc, drum, belt, or other separable mechanical device for storing, carrying, or supplying ammunition which can be loaded into the firearm, mechanism, or instrument, and fired therefrom at the rate of five or more shots per second.

RCW 9.41.010
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No, if the feeding device can feed more than 5 rounds per second, not if it can fire.

Would almost imply a beltfed that cycled really slowly, as any spring mag hsould feed faster than that.
 
I do believe that "mechanical machine guns" that are hand cranked are perfectly legal for most states that do not regulate ammo capacity. On the other hand, I would bet that for the price of a gatling gun, you could buy and register 4 NFA weapons. Or you could just take two 10/22s and this kit and...
images


Cabela's has the kit for $400 http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...&parentType=index&indexId=cat20803&hasJS=true
 
There is the odd situation of making the mini 14 'double tap' firing upon the release of the trigger. This has been discussed here, and thje ATF ruled it OK-- it is a seperate movemnet of the trigger. Not safe mind you...
 
There is the odd situation of making the mini 14 'double tap' firing upon the release of the trigger. This has been discussed here, and thje ATF ruled it OK-- it is a seperate movemnet of the trigger. Not safe mind you...
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IIRC, it was ruled that guns that fire once on squeezing and once on releasing are not machine guns, as each shot requires a motion of the trigger. Seems to be in line with other manually powered automatic guns, like hand-cranked gatlings or other hand-crank adapted guns.
 
Do they still make the hand cranks that clamped on the trigger guard of semi-autos? I haven't seen one in about 30 years but they were fun to play with.
 
Do they still make the hand cranks that clamped on the trigger guard of semi-autos? I haven't seen one in about 30 years but they were fun to play with.
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Yep. And it is legal.
 
Hmm it would be neat to have say a three-position trigger. The each time it hits a new position, a round is discharaged. Could be useful in handguns and rifles.
 
AR-15s can be made to fire on the pull and release movements of the trigger also, but as was mentioned that does not make it a good idea, and it most definitely IS unsafe.
 
Yeah it's dangerous to have a gun fire on the release of the trigger...

But a multiple-position trigger not so much, as if you want to fire more you keep pulling. Like with the Steyr AUG kind of. If you want to let up, then you just take your finger off, and the firing stops.
 
Woudl I be right in reading that if the magazine is not detachable it's not an MG?
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(7) "Machine gun" means any firearm known as a machine gun, mechanical rifle, submachine gun, or any other mechanism or instrument not requiring that the trigger be pressed for each shot and having a reservoir clip, disc, drum, belt, or other separable mechanical device for storing, carrying, or supplying ammunition which can be loaded into the firearm, mechanism, or instrument, and fired therefrom at the rate of five or more shots per second.
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I suppose if you had a 4 round magazine and it took a full second to fire those 4 rounds, WA might be okay with it, but I don't think the ATF will agree. That quote and link is to a state of Washington page, not the federal law on automatic weapons. That would be like a link to a CA law for medicinal pot...legal in CA, but the Fed trumps it.
 
Hmm it would be neat to have say a three-position trigger. The each time it hits a new position, a round is discharaged. Could be useful in handguns and rifles.
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Or, as a legal fallback measure, perhaps three separate, staged triggers (somewhat like the dual triggers on some over/under shotguns)...
 
Hmm, I think some folks here are misunderstanding the rule.

...rate of five or more shots per second
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The criteria is RATE, not absolute numbers fired in 1 second.

Rate is not concerned with the number of rounds fired but how fast they are fired at a specific amount of time DURING FIRING. If you fire off 4 rounds in 0.5 seconds, your RATE is 8 rounds per second. You didn't actually fire over 5 rounds in 1 second but your RATE sure was. It does not matter if after you fire off 4 rounds in 0.5 seconds that you wait more than 0.5 seconds before firing again.
 
The criteria is RATE, not absolute numbers fired in 1 second.

Rate is not concerned with the number of rounds fired but how fast they are fired at a specific amount of time DURING FIRING. If you fire off 4 rounds in 0.5 seconds, your RATE is 8 rounds per second. You didn't actually fire over 5 rounds in 1 second but your RATE sure was. It does not matter if after you fire off 4 rounds in 0.5 seconds that you wait more than 0.5 seconds before firing again.
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So when the nation wide full auto ban goes away, Washington state citizens can deal with this little tidbit of fun.
 
This talk is all academic, if you want to make a device that fires rapidly then you should contact the ATF first, and then get them to approve/disapprove the plans. Then hope that they don't reverse their decision and totally destroy your business (Akins Accelerator).
 
I would love to make some ridiculous gun just to have one that was full auto and yet only fired 4 shots per second. I'm sure with a long enough bolt travel and a heavy enough spring it could be done. You might end up with a bolt travel of 3 feet or something, but it would be cool. Thats still 240 rounds a minute. MP40s with pistol ammo only shoot about 375-400 rounds a minute with strong springs. It isn't too hard to conceive of a gun that would fire only 240 a minute.
 
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