Rifle Malfunction = Machince Gun : So says the ATF

[AK-74me]

I feel much safer already. Video link to Lou Dobbs report.

Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com

Here is the gist though. A law abiding, family oriented, Army Vet loans his legal AR-15 rifle to a friend, the friend takes the rifle to a range and shoots ~800 rounds through it, towards the end of his shooting the rifle malfunction (A slam fire) and fired a 2 round burst Someone heard it and reported it to the ATF and the gun's owner was charged and now convicted with having an illegal machine gun.(A Felony)

Slam fires are not all that uncommon, a rifle I was shooting a few years back had a couple slam fire malfunctions during a qual course. This case is just unbelieveable.

"Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be a convenience store, not a government agency."


Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com

[nhboy (Premo)]

Originally Posted by AK-74me

I feel much safer already. Video link to Lou Dobbs report.

Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com

Here is the gist though. A law abiding, family oriented, Army Vet loans his legal AR-15 rifle to a friend, the friend takes the rifle to a range and shoots ~800 rounds through it, towards the end of his shooting the rifle malfunction (A slam fire) and fired a 2 round burst Someone heard it and reported it to the ATF and the gun's owner was charged and now convicted with having an illegal machine gun.(A Felony)

Slam fires are not all that uncommon, a rifle I was shooting a few years back had a couple slam fire malfunctions during a qual course. This case is just unbelieveable.

"Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be a convience store, not a government agency."


Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com

This is really wrong!
Here's the print story on the case.....

American Chronicle | Adventures in Federal Abuse - Government stretches to punish man for broken gun

The Firearms Coalition

[Dougstermd (Premo)]

Originally Posted by AK-74me

Slam fires are not all that uncommon, a rifle I was shooting a few years back had a couple slam fire malfunctions during a qual course. This case is just unbelieveable.

"Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be a convience store, not a government agency."


Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com

I wonder if the tackle box could change thier name to ATF

wait they do not sale cigarettes


Slam fires yes I have had my 22 marlin do that even.

I have to believe there is more to this story than meets the eye.

[AK-74me]

Originally Posted by Dougstermd

I wonder if the tackle box could change thier name to ATF

wait they do not sale cigarettes


Slam fires yes I have had my 22 marlin do that even.

I have to believe there is more to this story than meets the eye.

There is a 47 page long thread that the guy started on ar15.com (legal section) back from 10/06 when it all first went down, it was updated recently since his conviction.

The only thing that I found that was different about the case is that AR-15's that are as old as the one in question(>20 years) has some parts on it that are considered "M16" that is just how they were made, these parts however did not make the gun fire auto/burst.

[RadioPatrol]

What I am certain of is that David Olofson was convicted on flimsy evidence without a proper opportunity to present a reasonable defense. If the government can destroy his life for nothing more than loaning a malfunctioning rifle to a friend, then no gun owner is safe from the threat of government agents.

Like I have repeatedly said the Fed's, Police State and County, can make up any damn thing they want, Withhold / Deny Evidence and make anyone out to be a criminal

Neither Olofson nor his friend was charged with possession of an unregistered machinegun or with illegally manufacturing, modifying, or otherwise making a machinegun. Obviously ATF did not believe they could convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Olofson or his friend had intentionally altered the rifle to fire full-auto so they prosecuted on the easier charge of transferring. Everyone agreed that the gun belonged to Olofson and that he had loaned it to his friend. That meant that the only issue in question in the case was whether the gun was a machine gun. Since ATF is the final arbiter in determining whether a gun is a machinegun, and the law defining machine guns tends to be selectively interpreted by them, the government had a distinct advantage.


As a matter of fact, when the ATF Firearms Technical Branch (FTB) examined the rifle they concluded that it was not a machinegun. They did find that if the Safety switch was moved beyond its normal range of motion, the gun would fire once and jam, leaving a loaded round in the chamber. They determined that moving the Safety in such a way interfered with the trigger disconnector causing the hammer to follow the bolt as it returned to battery rather than being stopped by the sear; a fairly common malfunction known as hammer-follow.

At the request of the local ATF agent, the FTB tested the gun a second time using a brand of .223 ammunition known for having sensitive primers. Those tests resulted in intermittent, unregulated, automatic fire and jamming due to hammer-follow, but this time the FTB concluded that, under strict interpretation of the law, the gun´s malfunction did make it a machinegun.

At the government´s insistence, the court refused to allow Olofson´s firearms expert to physically examine the gun; he was only allowed to observe as an ATF employee took the gun through a function check and opened the action to his view. What he saw were standard, unaltered components of the same type and configuration that were included in this particular brand of rifle from the factory over two decades ago; parts that are known by ATF to produce exactly the type of malfunction noted and in response to which ATF had once ordered a safety recall.

If you think something like this couldn´t happen to you, consider another recent case where an anonymous tip (read crotchety neighbor, disgruntled ex, or hoplophobic co-worker) called federal authorities and claimed that a young man possessed machineguns. ATF and the local police showed up, went through the man´s collection, and confiscated an "assault weapon" for testing. The fellow knows that the gun was semi-auto when ATF took it, but after learning about David Olofson´s odyssey he is very concerned about what the Firearms Technical Branch´s conclusion will be.

American Chronicle | Adventures in Federal Abuse - Government stretches to punish man for broken gun

[Pushrod]

I have followed this story since the onset last year. I was just floored that he was convicted. I guess if the ATF can get away with the stuff they did at Waco and Ruby Ridge, then doing something like this is a no-brainer for them. This is one government organization that definetly needs to be disbanded!

[ImnoMensa]

I never knew Machince guns were illegal. LOL

[Dukesdad]

I had an old 10-22 that every so often would run the whole mag out at once. Never did figure out the problem but the guy who bought it had a great time withit...

[AK-74me]

Originally Posted by Pushrod

I have followed this story since the onset last year. I was just floored that he was convicted. I guess if the ATF can get away with the stuff they did at Waco and Ruby Ridge, then doing something like this is a no-brainer for them. This is one government organization that definetly needs to be disbanded!

Exactly and the majority of the public defends the feds for both of those cases so......... I guess this is a shoe in.

[AK-74me]

Originally Posted by Dukesdad

I had an old 10-22 that every so often would run the whole mag out at once. Never did figure out the problem but the guy who bought it had a great time withit...

The ATF is en route to your location as I type this.