Category: Full Auto Fun

If you only have a couple grand to spend, there are some choices out there for you. In this post I’m featuring my friend Jason’s Cobray M11 9mm machine pistol. He got his a few years ago for $1500 bucks, plus the $200 NFA tax. Prior to 1986, I believe these could be had for $400, plus the $200 NFA tax. Today they are going for more than 3 grand.

I’ve actually shot this particular machine pistol. Compared to an MP5, it’s a little rough to shoot, and difficult to control, but with a little practice you can get pretty decent with it. If you use the metal magazines, and use decent ammunition, it’ll function pretty reliably. With the metal mags inserted, the stock won’t go all the way in like it will with the plastic ones, but the plastic mags don’t tend to be as reliable. Like I mentioned, it’s also finicky about ammunition. We’ve had bad luck with Sellier and Bellot and Wolf. Domestic or quality import works well. The M11 has a high rate of fire, so it empties the magazine quickly. There are kids that can reduce the cyclic rate though, and also kits to convert it to .22LR for cheaper full-auto fun. Here’s Jason shooting the M11:

[googlevideo]-5915823085654945068[/googlevideo]

I have the CM11, which is a semi-auto carbine version of the M11 with a fixed stock. It’s not nearly as much fun to shoot though ;) The CM11 is pretty much the same, except it fires from a closed bolt. The ATF generally won’t approve open bolt designs for semi-autos because of the ease of conversion.

UPDATE: Sorry folks.  I didn’t realize the video would autoplay.  I changed it to a google video.

The Russian have developed a very novel replacement for the AK74 assault rifle, known as the AN94 Abakan. If there would be any rifle who’s existence makes me want to strangle Congressman Hugues (more about him later), it’s the AN94.

It’s chambered in the same 5.45x39mm round the AK74 fires, but it’s mechanics are totally different than the Kalashnikov. The operating system is called “blowback shifted pulse”. It uses a pulley mechanism, in addition to a standard gas system, to chamber and fire another cartridge for a single stroke of the piston. This allows the AN94 to have a selective rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute, or 1800 rounds per minute. It can also fire semi-automatic, or two shot burst. But the cool thing about the Abakan is that it puts the shots so close together, that the muzzle has no chance to climb before the second shot leaves the barrel. This puts the two rounds so close to each other, that it effectively strikes the same place twice, which is apparently quite effective at defeating body armor. The Abakan has not yet proven itself in combat yet, but just for sheer novelty of the design, I’d love to own one.

Here’s one in action with a Spetsnaz commando.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=9u5n0BSzVt0[/youtube]

On burst mode fire, you can barely distinguish the two shots, but I’m pretty sure this is burst mode fire, because it doesn’t quite sound clean enough for single shot.

No full auto day would be complete without talking about the rifle that set the pattern, giving meaning to the life of we Evil Black Rifle shooters. The Sturmgewehr 44:

The SG44 was the first assault rifle, and the concept was later adopted by the Soviets in the famous and ubiquitous AK-47. Unfortunately for the Germans, and fortunately for us, they weren’t able to produce them in large enough numbers to affect the outcome of the war. The SG44 was originally called the Maschinenpistol 43, but Hitler canceled the project, but the army wanted it badly enough that they saved it by renaming it Sturmgewehr, or “Assault Rifle”. The SG44 fires a medium power version of the German 8mm, the 7.92 ‘Kurz’ round.

Here’s some crappy video of a lucky bloke firing one.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=r1xVQg9suPA[/youtube]

I think if you ever have the opportunity to shoot a rarely encountered piece of history such as this, you should take care to get good video!

Of course, what good is a historical post about Hiram Maxim and his machine gun, if you don’t get to see one in action.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=unp8aOQSwS8[/youtube]

I love the sound of machine guns in the morning.

Ask people on the street who the most influential people of the 20th century were, you’ll probably get a lot of answers; Hitler, Stalin, Marx, Lenin, etc. I have a different answer:

Hiram Maxim With His Machine Gun

Maxim’s invention of the belt-fed water cooled machine gun would spell the end of Europe’s geopolitical significance by the end of the 20th century. From 1914 to 1918 the great empires of Europe made suicidal charges into the wall of lead laid down by Maxim’s invention, and lost entire generations of young men in the process. World War I greatly weakened Britain, and laid the foundation for the rise of the Third Reich in Germany. World War II finally killed off the British Empire, along with every other colonial European power. The face of the world would never be the same again.

I’ve decided that today is going to be Full Auto Day here at Snowflakes in Hell. Today, our posts will be dedicated to one of the most influential inventions of the 20th century: the machine gun. I’ll have lots of video, pics, and commentary. Fun for the whole family. Posts will come out about once an hour, and I’ll wrap up the day with a post about The Hughes Amendment, why it sucks, and why we really have to figure out a way to get rid of it.

Those of you with RSS feeds got a preview, because I was an idiot and forgot to check the “Edit Time Stamp” checkbox in WordPress. I hope you will enjoy.