VorpalSpork
Member
The Steyr AUG has a pull-through trigger. You pull the trigger a little bit for a single shot, and you can pull it farther to continue firing in full auto. I thought this was interesting on a number of levels, but recently it got me thinking about similar systems in a new way.
USC 26 § 5845(b) defines the term machinegun:
A hand cranked Gatling gun isn't a machinegun because it's not a single function of the trigger, the shooter must continually perform an action, in this case cranking, to fire it. A double barreled double triggered shotgun is not a machinegun because you need to continue to pull your finger back through the second trigger after you fire the first shot in order to fire the second shot. Combining all these ideas, what if you had an auto loading firearm with a single trigger that had multiple sears in it that disengaged in succession the farther you pulled back on the trigger?
This otherwise overly complicated mechanism could give you the effect of a multiple round burst, hopefully without being classified under the National Firearms Act as a machinegun. Do you know if a design like this has been submitted to the ATF for classification? I suppose if they classified the Akins Accelerator as a machinegun they would classify this as one also, regardless of whether it technically deserved to be or not.
USC 26 § 5845(b) defines the term machinegun:
The term “machinegun” means any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. The term shall also include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun, and any combination of parts from which a machinegun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person.
A hand cranked Gatling gun isn't a machinegun because it's not a single function of the trigger, the shooter must continually perform an action, in this case cranking, to fire it. A double barreled double triggered shotgun is not a machinegun because you need to continue to pull your finger back through the second trigger after you fire the first shot in order to fire the second shot. Combining all these ideas, what if you had an auto loading firearm with a single trigger that had multiple sears in it that disengaged in succession the farther you pulled back on the trigger?
This otherwise overly complicated mechanism could give you the effect of a multiple round burst, hopefully without being classified under the National Firearms Act as a machinegun. Do you know if a design like this has been submitted to the ATF for classification? I suppose if they classified the Akins Accelerator as a machinegun they would classify this as one also, regardless of whether it technically deserved to be or not.