Gunsmith's Top 5: Full Autos
This week we are featuring our favorite full autos. As a Type 2 SOT and Type 7 FLL, we can have things and make things that the average person can’t have.
While any full auto will give you giggles, these are our top 5.
#5 - vz 61
My favorite part of the full auto VZ is the top eject. There’s just something about it that’s so fun.
This PDW from Czechoslovakia was completed in 1961 and designed for security forces. It is a closed bolt, straight blowback is known most for its upward ejection and low recoil. Because it’s chambered in .32 ACP, it’s controllable and easy to keep on target—even while firing 850 rounds per minute.
#4 - M2 Browning
Test fire of a customer’s semi-auto M2
Why do I like the M2? It’s a fully automatic .50 BMG.
Also known as “Ma Deuce,” the M2 has been in use longer than any other firearm in the U.S. military (except the 1911). It has seen almost every conflict—from the Second World War to the War in Afghanistan.
Browning designed the M2 near the end of the First World War to fight Germany’s armored planes. This .50 cal shoots 450 to 600 rounds per minute (though aircraft M2s shoot at a much higher rate) and has an effective range 2,000 yards.
#3 - AK-47
Full auto AKs are just so fun to shoot. They just sound great. Plus they’re cheap, reliable, and rugged.
Officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova, the AK was adopted by the Soviet military in 1948. Known for their durability, the AK rarely fails to cycle even in the worst conditions. Because it only has eight parts, the AK-47 is easy for almost anyone to operate, disassemble, clean, and reassemble.
The AK-47 is one of the most recognized and notorious guns in the world. Its prominence–-especially in the Middle East—is due in part to the United States.
It all started in the 1980s when the U.S. supplied the anti-communist forces in Afghanistan with Chinese made AK-47s. Since then, the U.S. has continued to provide weapons to proxy forces in the Middle East. From 2009 to 2013, the U.S. supplied 42% of the total arms to the area, and most of the smaller weapons were AK variants. More recently, in 2017, the U.S. armed anti-ISIS Syrian forces with AKs purchased from manufacturers in the former Eastern Bloc.
Reports have shown that many of these AKs have ended up in the hands of terrorist organizations—exactly those that the U.S. is supposed to be fighting against. But maybe after America’s recent donation to the Taliban, the M16 will become the hot new item in the Middle East.
#2 - MG 42
How could you not love the MG 42? It’s a belt fed machine gun which shoots 1200 rounds per minute–twice as fast as the 1919.
This is a true full auto. It can’t even shoot single fire. The RPM is so fast that it’s nearly impossible to fire one round at a time.
The most notorious machine gun from the Second World War, the MG 42 designed to replace the MG 34. Not only was it cheaper and faster to produce, but it was also more reliable, durable, and lighter.
It was so effective that the Germans focused their strategy around the MG 42. Their infantry supported the machine gun units—unlike the Allies who used machine guns to support their infantry. But obviously it wasn’t enough for them to win the war.
#1 - MP5
This is the most iconic full auto, at least of my generation. The MP5 has a cult following and has been featured in several movies and video games.
It’s a 9mm closed bolt submachine gun with the same roller delayed blowback system first seen on the CETME but inherited from the notorious MG42. With this mechanism, the MP5’s rate of fire is between 700 and 900 rounds per minute while still maintaining reliability. It’s light, controllable, and easy to keep on target.
The MP5 was developed in the 1960s by H&K and adopted by several German police and military units six years later. Since then, over forty nations’ militaries and law enforcement groups have adopted the MP5.
The MP5 became iconic in 1980 when British SAS forces used it during the Iranian Embassy siege to rescue hostages. Though it’s now been replaced in many law enforcement groups and militaries, it’s still the best full auto in my book.
Next Up
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