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submitted 8 months ago by girlfreddy@lemmy.ca to c/news@lemmy.world

Communities around the U.S. have seen shootings carried out with weapons converted to fully automatic in recent years, fueled by a staggering increase in small pieces of metal or plastic made with a 3D printer or ordered online. Laws against machine guns date back to the bloody violence of Prohibition-era gangsters. But the proliferation of devices known by nicknames such as Glock switches, auto sears and chips has allowed people to transform legal semi-automatic weapons into even more dangerous guns, helping fuel gun violence, police and federal authorities said.

The (ATF) reported a 570% increase in the number of conversion devices collected by police departments between 2017 and 2021, the most recent data available.

The devices that can convert legal semi-automatic weapons can be made on a 3D printer in about 35 minutes or ordered from overseas online for less than $30. They’re also quick to install.

“It takes two or three seconds to put in some of these devices into a firearm to make that firearm into a machine gun instantly,” Dettelbach said.

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[-] tal@lemmy.today 8 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

honestly think that anything short of straight up banning the sale of gunpowder

There's hand-loading, and I strongly suspect that gunpowder is not the hardest component to manufacture.

[-] Takumidesh@lemmy.world 14 points 8 months ago

Potassium nitrate and sulfur.

Gunpowder is the easiest part. The casing will be the hardest as you need pretty tight tolerances, but anyone who cares could have 50 trash cans full of cases in a week for a lifetime of reloading.

And if you don't have cases for reloading, you can always use a case less design, then it's just a matter of sourcing the projectile.

Of course there is always black powder, ball and cap, etc.

[-] daltotron@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago

I have heard it before that the hardest part is getting access to reliable chemical primers. But I think if you were looking at all available options on an equal footing, you'd probably be more likely to go with some sort of electronic ignition system, or something of that nature.

[-] hex_m_hell@slrpnk.net 0 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Guns are ~~harder~~ easier to manufacture than cartridges. Honestly, when civil war finally does break out it will be ammunition, not guns, that the government restricts access to because that's way easier to control and way harder to manufacture. Reloading still needs brass and primers, and those are hard to make for anything outside of a shotgun.

Edit: said exactly the opposite of what I intended to say.

this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2024
291 points (87.6% liked)

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