I watched a YouTube video and it showed that an AK is very easy to make full auto, true?

thekid · Sep 19, 2016

I was watching a YouTube video on different ak models and found a video that claimed it could be made full auto but simply sanding down the lever that catches the trigger making it full auto. I would never do this being I like not sharing a sell with bubba for 20 years but wondered if it's really that easy?

Stomper · Sep 19, 2016

It's not terribly difficult, years ago I figured out how to do that by wedging a couple of the sear pieces (won't get specific) apart with a small wad of paper.

Having said that, someone with a little ingenuity and determination can make a full-auto weapon from a wide array of common firearms easily enough.

Andy54Hawken · Sep 19, 2016

As Stomper said you can convert many different semi autos to full auto.
However many of the homemade "conversions" put excessive wear and tear on internals of the firearm.

In my sorta humble opinion full auto fire is fun but vastly overrated for most uses of a firearm.

And as noted you can earn free room and board with Bubba and his friends if you do any "conversions"...
Andy

cooper · Sep 19, 2016

AND THEN THERE IS THE TOP COVER AND RECOIL SPRING EXPLODING IN YOU R FACE PART OF IT.
SAFETY FIRST FOLKS

nwslopoke · Sep 19, 2016

Outside of being extremely fun, I got to fire full auto a few times training in the service. They said burn up the ammo, it weighs to much to ship back.

Anyway, shooting FA is really a team effort. In a real situation an individual would burn thru ammo missing everything so fast he'd either end up capture or dead in minutes.

Look at the Hollywood bank robbery. Once they were separated it didn't take long for the situation to be over.

The Heretic · Sep 19, 2016

First, it is NOT full auto (if I am guessing correctly what they are probably doing) - it is fire on pull and fire on release of the trigger. This is not full-auto; full-auto is firing more than one shot with one pull of the trigger, holding the trigger to the rear until the magazine is emptied (usually, burst firing has some limit on how many shots will be fired, but is still full-auto).

Firing on pull and firing on release is legal by federal law. Some states ban it.

Most semi-auto firearms (not just an AK) that have a primary and secondary sear can be modified to shoot this way (if you understand how the trigger works) - either permanently, temporarily, or with a special trigger that allows you to select the mode. I've done it (a long time ago, before WA state banned it).

Lookup binary triggers - Franklin (IIRC) or the Echo trigger. There are discussions here and there are vids.

When you shoot with one of these triggers, and the recoil causes your finger to release and then pull and release and then pull, it can sound like full-auto, and you can get fairly close to that rate of fire, but it isn't legally full auto.

California bans it. I believe Oregon and WA state do also. So beware of the legalities, but it isn't illegal by federal law, and generally it isn't unsafe (see caveats below).

However, with some semi-auto firearms, if you get to messing with the trigger, you may cause it to fire full-auto and then you can get into major trouble with the law.

I don't recommend modifying the trigger yourself. I certainly wouldn't recommend sanding the secondary sear as that is permanent!

Even if you know what you are doing, it can quite often cause the trigger hammer to follow the bolt forward. Usually this will result in a failure to fire (usually does), but it might also cause a slam fire (fire when the bolt closes) which is technically full-auto, and worse case it can also cause the cartridge to fire out of battery before it is fully in the chamber.

I didn't have these bad things happen to me, but I only put a few mags through the rifle before I decided maybe I should pack up and leave (I was shooting on public land) before someone called in what they thought was full-auto fire (illegal in WA state) and I attracted LEO attention. Haven't done it since - some months after I did it and it became "a thing", a number of states banned it - but I am considering getting an AR with the Echo trigger.

wired · Sep 19, 2016

Timed full auto fire is not done by "filing down the sear" Sure, it might chain fire for a little while until it fires out of battery.

Much easier and safer to buy the right drilling fixture and full auto parts. Theres a bazillion of them out there for sale. Hardest part is filing the notch in the internal rail for the auto sear to trip off the bolt.

If it makes you feel better Ive known quite a few people that sent away for simple machine gun possession. 1st offense no other complicators you'll be out in less than 2 years. Or you can just get a 02/07 license and pay $3K a year for it. Ive had one and it was fun for a while but I wasnt paying ITAR at the time. Got it out of my system and scrapped the toys.

FWIW the SKS is much easier to convert to timed full auto and doesnt require you buy anything.