A Reminder of Why You Can't and Don't Want to Convert Your AK to full Auto.

[edsinger]

He discovered the problem with his AR at the range and a LEO heard it and came over to investigate. Presto! Federal prison sentence!Poor guy wasn't even trying to break the law or be stupid about anything.

Surely there is more to this story? This just seems so 'crappy' to do to the guy.

Nice LEO, maybe he shouldve tried to stand up for the dude in court since he heard them overtalking about it being a malfunction.

Yeah, whats the story with this crap? What did he accomplish by doing this?

"A gun that malfunctions is not a machine gun," Larry Pratt, executive director of GOA, said. "What the [federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] has done in the [David] Olofson case has set a precedent that could make any of the millions of Americans that own semi-automatic firearms suddenly the owner [of] an unregistered machine gun at the moment the gun malfunctions."

"It didn't matter the government had repeatedly failed to replicate automatic fire until they replaced the ammunition with a softer primer type. It didn't even matter that the prosecution admitted it was not important to prove the gun would do it again if the test were conducted today," the magazine said. "What mattered was the government's position that none of the above was relevant because '[T]here's no indication it makes any difference under the statute. If you pull the trigger once and it fires more than one round, no matter what the cause it's a machine gun.'

"David Olofson is a victim of BATFE abuse," Pratt said. "He has been railroaded by an agency that is out-of-control."

I concur..

He said the Special Agent in Charge, Jody Keeku, asked for a re-test and specified that the tests use "soft primered commercial ammunition."

&

U.S. District Judge Charles Clevert


&

Not possession, not even Robert Kiernicki was charged with possession (who actually possessed the rifle), though the ATF paid Mr. Kiernicki 'an undisclosed amount of money' to testify against Mr. Olofson at trial," Savage said.

These three guys SUCK. Especially the last.

READ THIS STORY!

 

[Bastispah]

This is super stupid, Stupid i say!!!!! Nice LEO, maybe he shouldve tried to stand up for the dude in court since he heard them overtalking about it being a malfunction. Makes me sick[/quote

what he said

 

[Bastispah]

I got this from an AK guru board

so you admit its hearsay?

 

[samot]

Nice post! Which forum did you find it on?

If you're still having trouble convincing some idiot not to modify their firearms, tell them about David Olofson:
Owner of broken rifle surrenders for 30-month sentence

That guy got 30 MONTHS for simply possessing a rifle that was broken and would fire more than one shot with each trigger pull.
He discovered the problem with his AR at the range and a LEO heard it and came over to investigate.
Presto! Federal prison sentence!
Poor guy wasn't even trying to break the law or be stupid about anything.

I can't fathom why anyone would intentionally screw around with their weapon when the people that prosecute you are thugs that will nail you to the wall when you don't even want it to work that way.

Imagine what they would do to someone that purposefully modified their gun to full-auto...

I mean, what was he supposed to do ?????????
Its a malfunction!!!!!
That would be like your brakes failing in your car & crashing into another vehicle & going to prision for agravated Battery/assault
Sorry, end rant, its just that particular story struck me the wrong way

 

[edsinger]

More information on this case,

Ah, but there's more to the story than the fact that he's a felon. David Olofson was an Army reservist, an average citizen, and a gun-owner. David owned an AR-15 rifle, which is basically a replica of the M-16 military rifle, but without some of the military specs. It's a great gun to shoot, as I've used them on multiple occasions (both the M-16 and AR-15!)
David loaned his gun to a friend, who brought it to a local rifle range. During his session, the friend moved the safety switch past the 'fire' position and fired. The M-16 has three positions, safe, single shot, & three round burst. The AR-15 has two positions, safe and fire. The gun fired several short bursts of multiple rounds, then jammed. Obviously this was a malfunction of the weapon, as an AR-15 is not designed for multiple shots. However, someone near the range called the police and reported machine-gun fire. The ATF got involved and found that the weapon was NOT modified by Olofson or his friend. Obviously the ATF and the prosecutor felt that they could not charge him with the modification of the weapon as there were none, so instead they charged him with the illegal transfer of a machine gun. Considering there was no transfer, other than a loan, I'm not sure exactly how that even flew, but the prosecutor brought the case and he was convicted. Now David Olofson sits in a federal penitentiary awaiting an appeal.

What the hell is wrong with you?: David Olofson - felon

Kiernicki testified that Olofson had told Kiernicki that the third position of the rifle's firing selector was for automatic firing, but it jammed, court records indicate. He also testified Olofson told him he had fired the weapon on the automatic setting at that same range without a problem.[3] According to Len Savage, a weaponry expert who runs Historic Arms LLC, BATFE paid Kiernicki an undisclosed amount of money for his testimony.[4]

David Olofson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Video

YouTube - David Olofson Update: CNN Lou Dobbs - January 22, 2009


I want to know the whole story here...something isnt right.

 

[CarmelHP]

These are the things that convicted him:



"Kiernicki testified Olofson told him the third position was for automatic firing, but it jammed, court records indicate. He also testified Olofson told him he had fired the weapon on the automatic setting at that same range without a problem, according to the records."


Above shows knowledge and intent.



"Haanstad said Olofson had provided weapons and ammunition to so many people he couldn't keep track. A search of his home turned up books on converting rifles to fully automatic, and e-mail on his computer showed he bought M-16 parts, records show."


Above, more intent.



"Olofson had contact with vigilante groups and professed to be part of the sovereign movement, which doesn't acknowledge federal laws as applying to them, Haanstad said."


Above, they really wanted to get him.

 

[techres]

His case make clear that the line is nothing you want to go near. And it is definitely not something you want to setup right at the edge of the property line with it and move in, tell others how nice it is, etc.

You have a malfunction, fix it. Stop shooting and get it to a smith.

I had a AK74 that I changed from the import thumbhole to a standard setup and used a tapco trigger group as a part of the process. The stock I used had a HUGE recoil pad on it.

I took it to the range and shot it. Bang, Bang, Bang, Ba-bang. WTF?!

I tried again, assuming I had misheard it. Bang, Bang, Bang, Ba-bang. Uh-oh.

I immediately took and boxed it up. Why? Because there was a problem and it needed sussed out and not on the line.

Standing there and thinking about it, I expected either a hammer follow or an accidental bump fire with an inclination towards the latter due to the thick buttpad.

I took it home and checked for follow over and over and over. Then I put on a new stock with a hard buttpad. Back to the range and it never happened again.

But here is the key - I stopped using it in the fail condition. I did not toy with it or find it convenient, and Lord knows I did not loan it out with instructions.

Nope, got it fixed and fast. Those laws are nothing to play around with. Nothing at all.

Olofson got a bum deal, but he also put himself in a position to get that deal. I will stay WAAAAYYYY over here. Both due to law, and due to safety.

 

[samot]

[/quote]=" A search of his home turned up books on converting rifles to fully automatic, [/quote]

THIS IS NOT INTENT

[/quote]"Olofson had contact with vigilante groups and professed to be part of the sovereign movement, which doesn't acknowledge federal laws as applying to them, Haanstad said." [/quote]
AND THIS IS NOT ILEGAL

However, i agree if there was such a problem with the rifle he should have definetly made attempts immeadiatly to have it fixed

 

[edsinger]

Still - it wasnt the situation that I expected, I just thought it misfired and they threw him in the slammer. Still, something is fishy here...

 

[evansvillethompsongunner]

When I first read the article, I immediately substituted their names for those of Kane, Millet, and Bowman. The Boys of BAT-F*** Troop are at it again.

 

[CarmelHP]

" A search of his home turned up books on converting rifles to fully automatic,

THIS IS NOT INTENT

"Olofson had contact with vigilante groups and professed to be part of the sovereign movement, which doesn't acknowledge federal laws as applying to them, Haanstad said."

AND THIS IS NOT ILEGAL

However, i agree if there was such a problem with the rifle he should have definetly made attempts immeadiatly to have it fixed[/quote]

If you find books on converting to FA, and you find a rifle with FA, and you find an owner that says he knew it fires FA then a reasonable factfinder can conclude that there is knowledge and intent, regardless of what you think.

As for vigilante groups and sovereign movement, no one said it's illegal, but the G doesn't like it, so they made an extra special effort to nail him.

 

[edsinger]

I am not sure about this one. It is not just a case of a broken rifle. I will research this more before I form a final opinion. Still, that being said, something smells funny....

 

[samot]

=" A search of his home turned up books on converting rifles to fully automatic,

THIS IS NOT INTENT

[/quote]"Olofson had contact with vigilante groups and professed to be part of the sovereign movement, which doesn't acknowledge federal laws as applying to them, Haanstad said." [/quote]
AND THIS IS NOT ILEGAL

However, i agree if there was such a problem with the rifle he should have definetly made attempts immeadiatly to have it fixed[/quote]

If you find books on converting to FA, and you find a rifle with FA, and you find an owner that says he knew it fires FA then a reasonable factfinder can conclude that there is knowledge and intent, regardless of what you think.

As for vigilante groups and sovereign movement, no one said it's illegal, but the G doesn't like it, so they made an extra special effort to nail him.[/quote]

It was a malfunction. Did it say he "filed" or modified anything to make it FA, there was NO modification. Therefore there was no INTENT. There was stupidity, for not having the malfunction fixed or destroyed, but from what it reads he didnt intend to modify the firearm to fire FA. therefore NO INTENT, regardless if they found books on how to make FA. It was determined it would only duplicate full auto fire with light ammo.
How did he intend to make it FA??? He didnt , he just didnt have any intentions of fixing it... Regardless of what you think !

 

[alfahornet]

Olofson had an AR rifle with M16 parts in it and he knew better than that. He also knew it was 'malfunctioning' and shooting more than 1 round. Then lending that kind of rifle to someone else and having that person shoot it at a public range is not very smart. So not really surprised he got into trouble.

Now the ATF did use some controversial techniques for evaluating the rifle and did pursue this case very aggressively. He was charged and found guilty with the transfer of a machine gun not possession. Reasoning I heard it was easier to proof. Not sure if that is the case. Now in my opinion both sides didn't use the best judgment but I also believe Olofson got what he had coming.

I was curious of the outcome of the appeal. Googling it brought this up

Analysis of Olofson Appeal Ruling | Snowflakes in Hell

 

[edsinger]

Ok I have read some more and I think he was VERY stupid. Was it a crime that he did not get it fixed? Well, that is questionable but nonetheless, what he did was unsafe. He already knew the gun had issues and quite frankly it was dangerous not to fix it.

What it boils down to is that if you have a firearm that fires more than one round per single pull of the trigger, and you know it does this, you need to take it to a gunsmith and get it fixed pronto, because by the strict legal definition, you are in possession of a machine gun.

This is the best advice.


I think he was in the wrong, but question the 30 month sentence. I think it was a bit steep considering there was no precedent.

 

[samot]

Olofson had an AR rifle with M16 parts in it

Somehow i missed that part, now that i feel like a dumba$$, looks as if that IS intent. My apolopies

 

[VUPDblue]

Yeah, as much as I hate it, Olofson brought all his problems upon himself...

 

[Astrocreep]

Sorry if I derailed this fine thread
I was just trying to illustrate that things as monumentally stupid as intentionally altering your firearm in order to produce full-auto fire WILL land you in federal prison if anyone ever gets wind of your 'project gun'.

If Olofson got nailed for a malfunction he didn't mean to create, imagine what kind of field day a federal prosecutor would have at your trial.