Noob question about machine guns.

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  • Beemer

    Sharpshooter
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    3   0   0
    Mar 27, 2011
    629
    18
    Bloomington
    I did search this, but did not find an exact answer. So, would all full autos be classified as a machine gun, or just ones that have the ability to shoot a certain amount of ammunition? Thanks for any clarification.
     

    eldirector

    Grandmaster
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    10   0   0
    Apr 29, 2009
    14,677
    113
    Brownsburg, IN
    Thanks, that is what I thought, but someone told me it had to do with magazine size.

    A larger magazine would certainly HELP, but not required.

    Heck, by ATF definitions, you don't even need a magazine. Just enough parts to assemble something that COULD fire 2 shots (or more) with one trigger pull.

    Lots of folks get confused between Machine Guns and the fictional "assault weapon". The first has an actual definition. The second is made up "on the fly" by anyone wanting to make something more scary.
     

    rvb

    Grandmaster
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    4   0   0
    Jan 14, 2009
    6,396
    63
    IN (a refugee from MD)
    Thanks, that is what I thought, but someone told me it had to do with magazine size.

    In OHIO, the legal definition includes magazine size... In addition to the federal definition given above, any firearm (except .22LR) that can fire more than 31 rounds w/o reloading is considered a machine gun. So it's not legal to use magazines that hold more than 30 rounds in Ohio. You can get around this capacity issue by registering as an SBR or AOW (they don't care that the firearm is a registered machine gun, just that it's in the NFA registry [the NFRTR]).

    So if you happened to be getting your information from an OH native............

    -rvb
     

    amafrank

    Marksman
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    0   0   0
    Jan 18, 2012
    217
    18
    Hagerstown
    Full auto means machinegun in any case. If its a machinegun its full auto. The terms are interchangeable and synonymous. For some reason our media idiots have spread this idea that a machinegun is anything that looks like a machinegun and full auto is illegal. As with most media crap its BS. Full auto and machinegun are the same.

    As noted the state of ohio and possibly other states have laws relating to magazine size but none of them have anything to do with fed regs or definitions.

    Frank
     

    eldirector

    Grandmaster
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    10   0   0
    Apr 29, 2009
    14,677
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    Brownsburg, IN
    By strict definition, there are differences:

    Fully automatic - when the trigger is depressed, will continue to fire until ammunition is exhausted.
    Burst - when the trigger is depressed, will fire a set number of rounds, load a another, and stop.
    Semi-automatic - one shot (and new cartridge chambered) with each trigger pull.
    Select Fire - The ability to switch between at least 2 of the above.

    Machine Gun - An ATF definition. Any firearm that fires, can be made to fire, or the collection of parts needed to make it fire, or even just the serialized FRAME of something that once was able to fire; more than a single round with each trigger pull. This can be full-auto, burst, or even a double-barrel that fires both on a single trigger pull.

    The terms may be interchangeable by laymen, but really do mean something totally different. Kinda like "hogs are pigs, but not all pigs are hogs" (or whatever that saying is).
     

    amafrank

    Marksman
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    0   0   0
    Jan 18, 2012
    217
    18
    Hagerstown
    You can argue semantics till you're blue in the face. A burst gun is full auto and is a machinegun. Its the regulations and the topic of the original posters question. Details of this sort have nothing to do with regs. In any case, burst it more automatic than simply letting fly with a whole mag or belt. It even stops for you after a set number of rounds have been fired. It is in fact more fully auto.....
    Frank
     

    curraheeguns

    Master
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    77   0   0
    Nov 8, 2008
    4,485
    83
    NW Hendricks County
    By strict definition, there are differences:

    Fully automatic - when the trigger is depressed, will continue to fire until ammunition is exhausted.
    Burst - when the trigger is depressed, will fire a set number of rounds, load a another, and stop.
    Semi-automatic - one shot (and new cartridge chambered) with each trigger pull.
    Select Fire - The ability to switch between at least 2 of the above.

    Machine Gun - An ATF definition. Any firearm that fires, can be made to fire, or the collection of parts needed to make it fire, or even just the serialized FRAME of something that once was able to fire; more than a single round with each trigger pull. This can be full-auto, burst, or even a double-barrel that fires both on a single trigger pull.

    The terms may be interchangeable by laymen, but really do mean something totally different. Kinda like "hogs are pigs, but not all pigs are hogs" (or whatever that saying is).

    So if we play this game, what is a Colt "burst" which has been fired twice and will only fire one time with one pull of the trigger (before being released thus resetting the ratcheting trigger)? Semi-Auto?

    I agree with amafrank....full auto tis a machinegun tis a full auto.
     
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