p m said:
Personally, I have not heard of an AK-47 that is not fully automatic.
It was a skill we had to master - to let loose only two or three rounds.
There is absolutely no reason for an AK-47 to be in a civilian's hands. Mind it, I am not a tiny bit in favor of any kind of gun control, but it _is_ an assault weapon, a weapon which is difficult to use in one's defense.
Edit: Kennith beat me to it - that is, no use for auto-loading rifle when you actually need to aim and shoot something/somebody.
They are here, but what people miss, is the fact hat they are not the same as the AKs you used to fire. They are quite different from their full-auto counterparts. Think of them as popular replicas of the real thing. Most of them are junk, worn out, and badly made. They still work decently enough, but they have no benefit over any other semi-auto rifle.
I don't own one, but I have fired several, and they are not impressive at all. Just another semi-auto rifle, like any Ruger or Remington. The only difference is they happen to look like an AK, and fire a less effective round.
Actually, it is just like the Tec 9. They look mean, but under all the bodywork is the same gun that farmer down the road uses to shoot rats and other pests.
To clarify, auto-loading means the firearm chambers the next round for you, like a 1911, or a Glock, or any other semi-auto. Auto loading is sort of the proper term for that. It does not fire the next round, you have to do that yourself.
Automatic firing is what people are thinking of. That is a machine gun, being that it not only loads the next round, but also fires it, without further input from the operator. Furthermore, a machine gun generally fires from the open bolt, and it's sole purpose is automatic fire. Therefore, it is generally a crew-served weapon.
A rifle that features selectable fire, from semi-auto, to burst fire or fully automatic, is an assault rifle, so called, because during the dynamic situations in an actual assault, it's varied rates of fire may be useful.
A rifle that is only fully automatic is an automatic rifle.
A machine gun, select fire or not, that fires pistol caliber rounds, and utilized a shoulder stock assembly, is a sub-machine gun.
A machine pistol is a sub-machine gun designed to be aimed and fired without a shoulder stock.
You also have single action firearms, meaning you must charge the hammer/firing pin yourself before each shot. On some auto-loading pistols, a single action trigger feel is achieved by having the mechanism for chambering the next round charge the bits upon it's recoil. Double action firearms charge the hammer/firing pin as the trigger is pulled, which leads to a heavier trigger.
To bring things to the real world again, a popular pistol is the 1911. This is a single action, auto loading firearm. A Glock is a double action auto-loading firearm.
I expect you refer to automatic rifles, which I agree, are useless unless you are traveling with several other people who are not using automatic weapons. An assault rifle is useful, as it's selectable fire ability allows single shots to be fired without a waste of ammunition. Still, all of these are OBSCENELY expensive.
It is more than a 200 dollar tax, as well. The firearm itself is thousands upon thousands of dollars, and pretty much everyone that matters knows it's whole history. There is paperwork, the local LEO has to essentially give you permission to own one, and you have to adhere to standards of ownership that are above and beyond what you would normally have to adhere to while owning a firearm. You have to be fingerprinted as well.
There aren't many of these on the street. The ones that are on the street don't come from law abiding gun store owners. The people that properly own them don't take very many risks with them, either, as they are expensive, and the feds already have their number.
Many illegal guns come from the same place illegal immigrants do... The back of a trunk that was driven across a border.
I don't like automatic weapons. They aren't very useful in many real-world situations. This is why the military only uses them where their true benefits can be realized.
I'd have one in my collection just for kicks, but I am not keen on paying the massive price to get hold of one, and going through all the nonsense. I don't find them useful for my purposes, anyway, and I don't see paying the premium for a range-queen that nobody will let me shoot around here anyway.
Many people that buy them buy them for fun. Some buy them to be prepared for things. Very few who are planning to commit a crime go out of their way to get involved with automatic weapons, as it is too risky. They certainly wouldn't buy one legally, unless they are flat out nuts, and then the LEO would deny them the purchase of one.
Cheers,
Kennith
