Opinion
AKA the Glock “Switch”
Know on the street as “Glock Switches,” although they have nothing to do with the identically named manufacturer, they are made in clandestine shops domestically and unlawfully imported from China, illegally installed on handguns, allowing the pistol to be fired full-auto!
The “Switches” can be metal or plastic, and they are not difficult to manufacture. Anyone with a 3D printer or a very basic machine shop can manufacture these in great abundance.
Automatic Federal Felony
The act of installing such a device on an otherwise legally-owned Glock pistol (which takes less than a minute) instantly converts the pistol into a “machinegun” and simultaneously converts the one who possesses it into a federal felon!
A similar device could be (and probably has been) designed for other brands of common defensive pistols and will have an identical effect. Glocks are popular, so people designing these illegal devices predictably started there.
Glocks with a “Switch” fire at 1200 rounds/minute (20 rounds/second), which makes the entire affair utterly uncontrollable and thus laughable for any legitimate defensive purpose.
Operators thus have no interest in such a device, even if it were legal!
However, naive amateurs, along with assorted criminals, are predictably enamored with the prospect of a full-auto weapon and have thus been providing illegal manufacturers and importers with a lucrative market.
The real danger represented by “Switches” is the number of unaimed/uncontrolled bullets that they invariably send downrange (always way over the intended target). These will go several hundred meters past the intended target and will often injure many who are not involved in, nor even aware of, the primary incident.
In America, we call pistol-cartridge-firing longarms “PCCs” (pistol-caliber carbines). When capable of full-auto fire, they’re called “submachine guns.” Submachine guns are, of course, NFA firearms, but our military, as well as most law-enforcement agencies, lost interest in them several decades ago.
In Europe, submachine guns are called “machine pistols.” Manufactured in great abundance in the UK, Germany, and especially the Soviet Union during WWII, they have likewise largely faded away.
Full-auto firearms the size of pistols (on both sides of the ocean) were particularly disliked by soldiers owing to their inherent uncontrollability and proclivity for squandering ammunition.
So, we’ve been all through this before!
Now, “Switches” have garnered fresh popularity among naive clowns, who apparently haven’t thought much about spending time in a federal penitentiary.
Being confronted by such a self-deceptive buffoon scares me a lot less than if he were armed with a normal, semi-auto pistol, that he could actually aim.
However, I would be greatly concerned for the safety of people behind me, even those several blocks away.
ATF has a full plate!
/John
About John Farnam & Defense Training International, Inc
As a defensive weapons and tactics instructor, John Farnam will urge you, based on your beliefs, to make up your mind about what you would do when faced with an imminent lethal threat. You should, of course, also decide what preparations you should make in advance if any. Defense Training International wants to ensure that its students fully understand the physical, legal, psychological, and societal consequences of their actions or in-actions.
It is our duty to make you aware of certain unpleasant physical realities intrinsic to Planet Earth. Mr. Farnam is happy to be your counselor and advisor. Visit: www.defense-training.com
