Thursday, March 10, 2011

Stop. Wookie Time...

In response to Lucky Gunner's very generous Memorial Day offer, RobertaX offered her thoughts on full-auto fun:
...I'm not a bad shot and the emotional reward of punching paper pretty close to the X and knowing which shot did it is more fun for me than having the gun go brrrrrap! and keeping the whole burst on the paper.
It saddens me that machine guns are such a rarity that they are viewed in this manner. Don't get me wrong - I feel the same way as Roberta about full auto - it's a fact of life and how things are. It's quite unfortunate - not to mention blatantly unconstitutional - that we can't all avail ourselves of the same weaponry used by our soldiers such that firing a machine gun would be (rightfully) seen as a chore and not a fun diversion. In a perfect (read: constitutional) world, a full-on select-fire M4 would cost only slightly more than it's semi-automatic brother - the cost of the auto sear.

The National Firearms Act of 1934 started the process by which the American gunowner was deprived access to the same hardware as the Armed Forces. The Hughes Amendment made it so that only the very wealthy could actively participate in full auto fun, causing cheap $300 machine pistols to bloat to 10X their real worth due to governmental interference. Presently, the least expensive fully automatic firearm runs about $3K - and rare and exotics run into tens of thousands of dollars. A transferable M16 - an honest-to-goodness M16 - will set you back anywhere from $10-15K. A police department can order a fully automatic AR-15 for about $200 more than the semi-auto counterpart.

We've been very fortunate at the Northeast bloggershoots. We've had several different folks show up with all kinds of suppressed and full-auto goodness (and, yes, even a 57mm recoilless rifle, thanks Wally!). I've gotten to know some FA enthusiasts and as a result have shot quite a few fully automatic weapons - M16s, Uzis, Thompsons; even a full-auto Glock 9mm pistol. It's fun; I've enjoyed every outing immensely (sometimes requiring copious amounts of a substance known as "work" to get the perma-grin off my face); but in the back of my mind there's a nagging feeling that it shouldn't be that enjoyable - because it should be a helluva lot more common.

These days, the cost of ammunition is really the limiting factor. At the last bloggershoot, I ran a 30-round magazine through the HK416 that was there, and realized something: In only a couple of seconds, I had burned up $15 worth of ammunition ($10/20 rounds of ammo, not even the most expensive .223 Remington either). Even 9mm, still the cheapest of centerfire ammo, is going for $10+ for 50 rounds, meaning the 30 round stick in an Uzi or MP5 is going to cost you $8 per zip. Were full-auto weapons available, I don't see their use becoming much more widespread than current. Heck, I prefer 20 round magazines in my Bushmaster to the 30s, simply because I burn through ammo a lot slower with the 20s.

Bottom line is that there's just no good reason to continue the embargo against these types of weapons. They should no longer be relegated to the rich, the playthings of the independently wealthy. It's high time the fearmongering gave way to the constitutionality - the second amendment means what it means: the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Making me pay $10K for a 25 year old M16 is one hell of an infringement. It's time to get that back to where it should be - an extra $100 - $200 in parts and nothing else.

It's time to demystify full auto.

Besides, if machine guns became mainstream again, the media might actually get it right when they called something a machine gun!

That is all.

11 comments:

Tam said...

I am more or less jaded with machine guns, actually, but working at an SOT with an indoor range can do that to you.

Jay G said...

Heh. Yeah, I guess I can see that.

In my magical world of rainbows and unicorns where 1934 NFA never happened, I'd probably have a select-fire AR and maybe a subgun (I have to admit a completely irrational fondness for the Skorpion. No, I don't know why)

It begs the question, especially in light of your comment:

Would full auto be anywhere near as much "fun" if it was as common as, say, your average pump-action shotgun? If you could walk into any gun store and pick one up, would it still produce the same giggle factor?

Especially if you stop to think about the cost of running something FA - especially something like a betamag dump of .223 Rem. Even using Wolf/Tulammo/etc. you're talking about $25+ just for that 10 seconds of fun...

I think if MGs were more common, the costs would be more apparent and then MGs would be less attractive...

ExurbanKevin said...

As much as I loathe the show, the fact is, "Sons of Guns" is the #1 show on cable Wednesday nights.

The #1 show on cable is about an NFA dealer. Yes, there are some issues with the show, but it's a show that shows full-auto guns as something normal and something that normal people use.

Neato.

And yes, it's time for the Hughes Amendment to go the way of Prohibition and the Alien and Sedition Act.

Reputo said...

jay,

unrelated (mostly) to full auto, but I had a dream about you last night. I was visiting you and you were showing off your Barrett .416 rifle (which makes no sense since it was pantsless Robb who was writing about the Barrett .416 a few days ago). Anyway, we were shooting in your front yard and I asked if it was even legal to shoot in your front yard. Your reply, "Yes, as long as you are shooting gophers."

So tell me, what kind of gophers need to be shot with a Barrett .416?

Jay G said...

Big ones. Bite your head off, man...

Johnnyreb™ said...

That sums it up quite nicely Jay!

one-eyed Jack said...

Jay, you are so right in that things would be different if MGs were cheaper and more readily available. I hardly shoot mine anymore. The enjoyment for me is to take them to the NES shoots and let the members shoot them all they want. That way, folks have the opportunity to do something that they may never do again. For good or bad, I'm old enough to have aquired my toys long ago when they were affordable. (Thompson $500 dealer sample, Grease Gun $200 dealer sample, Mac 10 $500, a couple of Reisings $300).So, when you see me with a bunch of NFA stuff,It's not because I'm wealthy. Jack

Anonymous said...

I'll do what I can to demistify it with providing plenty of hands on training!

They are difficult not only because of the price (supply vs demand) but the paperwork and regulations are a multi tiered headache. There are inconsistencies in the laws and plenty of pitfalls for the average citizen. ATF has made some inconsistent rulings leaving many legal gun owners with a murky outlook.

But I enjoy having a few MGs to share, and hope to have a couple more soon... It's fun to watch someone pull the trigger and have a huge smile cross their face.

-Wally

Anonymous said...

$100 extra seems like an inflated price. I suspect a free market would close that gap significantly.

Boat Guy said...

Hand-held full-auto IS mostly for the giggle-factor (very little utility) and I doubt that "familiarity" would lead to contempt or ennui, it certainly wouldn't in my case.
Might be worth the Federal harassment to have an M79 again...

RevGreg said...

Were it not for monsoon season having arrived here in PA, I'd be out demystifying machineguns tomorrow. Unfortunately the range is soup and it looks like our winter shoot will become a spring shoot this year.

Next weekend will be spent demystifying suppressors and machineguns at the Harrisburg Gunshow, purusing the wares of other when I can get away from the tables, and celebrating my birthday at Appalachian Brewing. Which reminds me, the government needs to demystify distilling also...I've got good local beer and wine, I need some good local whiskey and brandy!