Reply #21: Modern firearms are made in such a way..

[X_Digger]

.. that it doesn't require _removal_ of material, but _addition_ of material.

So the idea that taking a file to the fire control parts of a modern firearm to achieve full auto fire is a falsehood in it's face.

You would have to manufacture a sear of some kind that trips the disconnector after the bolt has been pushed fully into battery while the trigger is depressed. Removing the disconnector, or filing down the disconnect sear surface will result in what's called a 'hammer follow', which more often than not results in an OOB (out of battery) discharge. This occasionally happens- see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWygoxV_ApM . If the hammer follows the bolt as it travels forward, the result is that the firing pin is against the primer as the round is pushed forward into the chamber, and it can fire at any point in that forward stroke.

Above that, I stand by my point- if this 'conversion' were so easy, why wouldn't criminal gangs (not known to be very law abiding) hire a competent machinist to convert their arms to full auto?