How can you tell if a gun is Fully automatic?

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Curiousity

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Without having to shoot it? is there a way for me to open the gun up and see something?

I know someone with a TEC-9 who's father passed away and left it and other guns to his son.... He does not intend to shoot it but sell it, and wants to know how to find out if it is fully automatic or not.

Thanks
 
Can't say I know much about Tec-9's...

But, here's one thought until you come up with better advice:

Is there a selector switch on the firearm? Does the safety have three positions?

For example, an AR-15 has "safe" and "fire". The M-16 has a third position for firing in auto/burst.

I can't guarantee that the Tec-9 works the same way, or that the guts of the gun haven't been doctored in some manner. But, there are an awful lot of semi-automatic Tec-9's floating around, at least the last time I checked.
 
If I remember correctly, if it is an older open-bolt Tec-9 you can remove the magazine, pull the trigger and the bolt will close. If you can keep the trigger pulled and retract the bolt, it will lock back as the disconnector disengages the sear. If it has been modified, the bolt will not lock back and it is a fully automatic and illegal weapon. I am not familiar with the later closed bolt models.
 
Pretty much any closed bolt weapon:

Pull trigger. Should hear "click" as weapon dry fires. While continuing to hold the trigger back, cycle the bolt. Release the trigger and pull it again. If you do not hear the "click" as you again pull the trigger, it is a full auto.
 
No full-auto Tec-9s were produced by the original manufacturer. There are probably a few around that were modified by their owners to fire in a full-auto mode, but the chance of running into one of those is extremely slim. No gun owner with any brains at all is going to mess around with an unregistered NFA weapon. The penalties for getting caught with one are just too severe.
Tell your friend to go ahead and sell the thing or do whatever he wants with it.
 
A "fully" automatic jumps off the rack, goes out and shoots what I want, comes back, cleans itself and puts itself away.
 
Check these things, in this order.

Remove the magazine, and pull the bolt back with your finger off the trigger. Be sure it's unloaded.

If the bolt stays back when you pulled it back, it's an "open bolt" gun. If the bolt returns forward, it's a "closed bolt" gun.

Now, if the gun is an "open bolt" gun, this is how you check: cock the gun by pulling the bolt back. Be sure it's unloaded and with the magazine removed. Pull the trigger, to drop the bolt, and keep the trigger pulled - do not release it. With the trigger still pulled, pull back the bolt again. It should "click" into place and stay open if it is a semiautomatic. If, however, the bolt returns forward while the trigger is still pulled, it is full automatic (a machine gun) and should be disposed of.

If the gun is a "closed bolt" gun, this is how you check: cock the gun by pulling the bolt back and releasing it, so that it returns forward (be sure it's unloaded and with the magazine removed). Pull the trigger, and you should hear the hammer drop - but keep the trigger pulled. With the trigger still pulled, cock the gun again by pulling back the bolt. Let the bolt go slowly forward, and listen for a click like the hammer dropping (you shouldn't hear one). Let go of the trigger, and you may hear a smaller click. Pull the trigger again - if you do not hear the hammer drop, it is a machine gun.

These tests are not 100% conclusive, but they should be a pretty good indication.
 
Hello thanks for all the help i will be passing this info along, i Also got a PM by a very nice person who will check pictures that i will send, to determine if its a full-auto. Thats is a very nice thing to do. Thank you again.

I will post pictures of the internals this weekend so everyone can have a stab at it. Thanks

Shooting it to determine will be pretty much impossible in the state of CA
 
Wait.. What.. the gun is in Cali? You might have another problem.

I dont think your friend cannot inherit an Tec-9 as it is an Assault Weapon. AWs cannot be transferred, even if someone dies and wants it willed to their children. I'd advise him to contact a lawyer and coordinate surrendering it to local LE. Maybe post up on www.calguns.net about the situation and people might have some other options.
 
How can you tell if a gun is Fully automatic?
Click to expand...

Buy it.
If you are suddenly $10,000 or more poorer, you can be fairly certain that the gun is fully automatic.
 
Hello thanks for all the help i will be passing this info along, i Also got a PM by a very nice person who will check pictures that i will send, to determine if its a full-auto. Thats is a very nice thing to do. Thank you again.
Click to expand...
Did this very nice person happen to mention if he was a BATF agent? :)

Do the function check, it's super simple and a reliable means to determine if it's been modified to fire full-auto. If it has been modified, your friend is in a very precarious legal position.
 
If I remember correctly, if it is an older open-bolt Tec-9...
Click to expand...
You remember correctly, and if it is an early open bolt Tec-9 (I think it will be marked KG-9) then it's worth a MINT.
 
If it does turn out to be a full auto, it's illegal. If I happened upon an illegal FA, I would just destroy it as quickly and quietly as possible. People have been arrested for turning in FA weapons they have found, like a grandpa's Thompson found in an attic. People trying to do the right thing getting arrested for their troubles. I'm not gonna tell you to do something illegal. But if it's a full auto, get rid of it in a way that won't get you in trouble with the BATFE. They won't care how good your intentions are. They can and have considered carrying a FA to the police station "possession of an illegal machine gun."

Be very very careful. Do the right thing. But do it carefully. Don't expect your good intentions will get you anywhere.
 
Load up, pull trigger and hold. If it keeps on boomin', then ya got yerself one of dem full auto thingies.
 
If I happened upon an illegal FA, I would just destroy it as quickly and quietly as possible
Click to expand...

That might not be a smart thing to do... your best course of action would be to call 911. Mention that you found a machinegun and I'd wager a LEO would show up pretty quick! Destroying a machinegun might get you tangled up into a mess that you don't want to be involved in. What if said gun was evidence in a crime and you destroyed it?

In the case of the deceased father... if there was/is an executor handling the deceased's estate the the executor would be responsbile for handling the transfer or disposal of the gun. Should the TEC9 turn out to be a full-auto (whether legal or illegal), the executor will be on the hook for notifying the ATF.
 
That might not be a smart thing to do... your best course of action would be to call 911. Mention that you found a machinegun and I'd wager a LEO would show up pretty quick!
Click to expand...

That might just land you in jail, depending on where you are.
 
I don't think the police would arrest someone for turning in an illegal FA weapon any more than they would arrest someone for stumbling across a body in the woods or something.

In BOTH cases, it would be most prudent to call the police and let them come handle it rather than taking it to the police station yourself.
 
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