From:	Paul Jonathan Adam <Paul@********.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Re: Rules: full auto conversion
Date:	Sat, 10 Jun 1995 01:24:34 GMT

> > >And as far as I know there's still nothing illegal about buying a
> > >semiautomatic weapon and converting it to full-auto yourself. There
> > >are even "how-to" books for sale that show step-by-step methods
for
> > >doing exactly that on a wide variety of common semiautomatic rifles.
>
> I can't comment on the legality or lack thereof, but I would caution
> against doing this because of the danger involved with deliberately
> overstressing the components of the semi-automatic.
> A semi-automatic is designed to be just that. I have watched a weapon
> destroy itself by litterally drooping the barrel while still firing. It was
> designed to be semi-auto and it was being used as an auto.

This is not an effect confined to semi-autos. The Russian RPK squad
automatic weapon is particularly poor in this regard. While designed
for autofire in a support role, its fixed and light barrel cannot
dissipate heat fast enough.

So although a 75-round magazine is available, if you try to expend it in
one burst you will find the barrel is burned out by the end of that
burst. The RPK can only sustain about 70-80 rounds a minute without
overheating. Most machine guns have this problem, but circumvent it by
quick-change barrels. Rifles also have problems (even on single shot,
after forty rounds my L1A1 was hot through the plastic handguard and the
barrel would burn you if you touched it) but have to be fired at a slower
rate.

The semi-auto L1A1s we used in the Army were originally designed as full-auto
weapons, and could with ingenuity be converted to a rudimentary autofire
capability. The problems were barrel heating and ammo consumption, but those
were the reasons we bought it in a semi-auto version anyway.

This refers to "civilian" versions of military weapons or near copies
thereof, such as Ruger Mini-14s. Trying to make a semi-auto pistol that
was never designed for the role fire on automatic is a recipie for real
trouble. And believing "it's an autofire so I can hose all day" is
equally silly.

I do wonder what the barrel life on weapons like the SuperMach and Ares HVAR
is like...

--
When you have shot and killed a man, you have defined your attitude towards
him. You have offered a definite answer to a definite problem. For better
or for worse, you have acted decisively.
In fact, the next move is up to him.

Paul J. Adam paul@********.demon.co.uk