Posted on 05/14/2010 11:18:22 AM PDT by grady
“The airsoft can be converted to an AR-15,” firearms manufacturer Leo Gonnuscio told FoxNews.com after testing the make and model of airsoft guns seized by the ATF.
Having concluded that several other airsoft guns could not be converted to fire real ammunition, Gonnuscio said he was surprised to find that he was able to to transform this particular gun to the real thing -- and with “minimal work,” because its bottom half, or “receiver,” is so similar to an AR-15's.
To make the airsoft receiver function just like an AR-15’s, Gonnuscio said, “All you have to do is drill one hole.”
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
“You’ll shoot your eye out, kid.”
Any attempt to convert it will result in a lethal weapon...to the one pulling the trigger.
If what this guy is describing is just taking the lower receiver, or stripped lower, as FOX shows in the article, and substitutes all the other parts (something the AR-pattern allows), then this may be doable, but the phrasing is disingenuous.
But if so, I can see why the ATF would be having kittens, since that's also the serialized part that their own regs considers the "firearm".
To make the airsoft receiver function just like an AR-15’s, Gonnuscio said, “All you have to do is drill one hole.”And once that's out of the way, the rest is even easier. The AR-15 receiver is the only part of the semi-automatic rifle that is given a serial number, and is the only part that is regulated. All the remaining parts of the real thing can be purchased by anyone – any kid, criminal or terrorist.
The cost of buying the Taiwan-made airsoft gun and all the parts needed to convert it to an AR-15 comes to roughly $1,100 -- more than the cost of some real AR-15s. But someone who can’t clear a background check or has been refused a gun for any other reason could use this method to make his own lethal weapon, Gonnuscio said.
That could be a legitimate beef.
There are several toy guns which can have one or another .22lr receiver and barrel dropped into them with only a little dremel work. There are youtube examples of toy bullpups, etc. being ‘adapted’ to shoot .22lr. Upping the caliber is not all that difficult ...
Clearly bad information based on gross ignorance on the stress points, tolerances and operation of the internal parts of the AR-15 lower receiver. I can’t wait to see the YouTube tests.
I think the story is almost on the level. The toy in question can be made into a fully operational gun by just adding a proper barrel, stock, trigger and firing mechanism. The excess plastic will have to be removed when that happens, of course.
So all this really means is that today’s criminals can spend MORE money to create an unsafe, unreliable weapon versus one they can buy today on the black market, for less.
BY, the way, a commenter at the FOX site wrote this ...
“illrowland
I noticed they didn’t mention that if this supposed conversion actually fires 5.56 nato ammunition. I doubt the veracity of this so called expert. So they are saying this toy has a direct impingment gas system a .223 barrel, and can withstand 50k cup without blowing up in the shooters face? B.S”
He didn’t read the article either ;-)
Exactly.
If they can fire a whole magazine through this thing without it blowing up in their face,
we’ll listen to them about possibly restricting it. Possibly.
But it has to be the loudmouth that is stating this that does the firing.
“With the appearance of full metal jacket military 5.56 ammunition on the commercial Market, it has come to the attention of the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) that the use of military 5.56mm ammunition in sporting rifles chambered for Caliber .223 Remington cartridges can lead to higher-than-normal chamber pressures and possible hazards for the firearm, its user and bystanders.
Tests have confirmed that chamber pressures in a sporting rifle may be significantly higher in the same gun when using military 5.56mm ammunition rather than commercially loaded Caliber .223 Remington cartridges, according to SAAMI.
SAAMI points out that chambers for military rifles have a different throat configuration than chambers for sporting firearms which, together with the full metal jacket of the military projectile, may account for the higher pressures which result when military ammunition is fired in a sporting chamber.
SAAMI recommends that a firearm be fired only with the cartridge for which it is specifically chambered by the manufacturer.”
Additionally, SAAMI's Unsafe Arms and Ammunition Combinations Technical Data Sheet page states:
The .223 Remington is rated for a maximum of 50,000 CUP while the 5.56mm is rated for 60,000 CUP. That extra 10,000 CUP is likely sufficient to cause a failure in a chamber that's only rated for the "sporting" .223 Remington.
The .223 Remington and the 5.56mm NATO, when checked with a chamber ream from a reliable manufacturer of each, also have discernable differences in the areas of freebore diameter, freebore length (leade) and angle of the throat.
(Ironically, given the nature of the on-line confusion exhibited by .30 caliber shooters, no similar SAAMI advisory is given concerning 7.62 NATO beyond the fact that those who have rifles chambered in "308 Winchester" shouldn't attempt to shoot cartridges marked "7.62x39" or "300 Savage." Well, duh!)
However, the estimable Clint McKee of Fulton Armory, has thoughtfully provided a brief monograph, The difference between 5.56mm and .223 Remington chambers in the AR-15®-type rifle, which explains this issue in greater (but quite readable) detail.
Olin's Winchester Ammunition site, in 2001, addressed this matter as well, in a concise monograph by Paul Nowak, and Randall Rausch has a number of excellent technical documents, with graphics displaying the differences between the two cartridges, available at AR15barrels.com. Of particular interest are headspace and reamer dimensions.
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http://www.thegunzone.com/556v223.html
This article deals with "Real" guns and ammo. Not some toy. I'd like to see the actual claim tested. (from a safe distance.)
I thought this was already debunked. This is an old article, isn’t it, older than May 6th?
And Estes model rockets can be converted to carry tactical nukes...
“What he is probably trying to say is that the AR-15 upper receiver, which is not serial numbered or regulated, can be attached to the air soft lower receiver.”
This is correct. The article is saying a standard AR15 upper receiver group (which would contain the pressure and can be bought without background check) would be attached to an airsoft lower.
In theory I understand the concern. In reality, drilling that “one little hole” and getting the geometry correct so that the gun is functional is quite difficult.
This is tard sophistry in action.
This is such an emotional tard argument and misdirection; why waste time on this to start with, so may others ways to accomplish the task. Sounds more like a construct to promote another issue in line with other phony issues/charges.
That could be a legitimate beef.
Only if owning an AR-15 were illegal.
And, it’s not...
That’s all the ATF cares about: it can fire ONCE.
The Jr Hi I went to way back when classified rubber bands as lethal weapons. I wish I was kidding.
can be converted into an aircraft carrier
by attaching 101,000 tons of steel and drilling a couple holes. Even before that modification, the similarities are striking!
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