glock switch atf
Courtesy ATF

At the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, machine gun conversion devices have become one of the top enforcement priorities. An ATF report on guns used in crimes found that the number of machine gun conversion devices seized by law enforcement went up 570% from 2017 to 2021, and officials say preliminary numbers from 2023 show another huge increase.

“New machine guns have been against the law in the United States since 1934, the days of Al Capone and the Tommy gun,” ATF Director Steven Dettelbach said. “But we’re seeing them all over the place … we’re talking about the rate of fire being 800 or even 1,000 or more rounds a minute. Think about how many bullets that is.”

He said conversion devices are increasing the danger to already-outgunned police officers and increasing the risk of stray bullets hitting bystanders. ATF firearms experts demonstrated the devices for NBC News at a law enforcement firing range in Washington, D.C.

“There are all kinds of different machine gun conversion devices that are incredibly deadly,” Dettelbach said. “Some of them just go on normal Glock-type handguns. This is, this is a Glock weapon, right? Doesn’t look like anything different. Right? This little square piece of plastic that comes off the back makes this into a fully automatic weapon that is capable of causing mass casualties.”

Converted handguns are extremely difficult to aim and control, he said.

— Ken Dilanian in A tiny and cheap device called a ‘Glock switch’ lets criminals create their own machine guns

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

105 COMMENTS

  1. Doesn’t matter, there are still millions of idiots who believe otherwise! AND it doesn’t change the agenda!

    • From the AFT Director’s own mouth:

      “…we’re talking about the rate of fire being 800 or even 1,000 or more rounds a minute. Think about how many bullets that is…”

      Well, unless my math is way off, I’m thinking it’s 17 rounds from a G17 (such as the one shown in the photo at top) if the trigger is pulled seventeen times, and the same 17 rounds if the trigger is pulled once in full auto. This AFT guy must think the average listener is going to believe switching to full auto is like engaging “God mode” in a video game and enjoying an endless spray of lead.

      • You mean you haven’t bought a 1000 round magazine yet?
        I thought all of us who owned firearms had the 1000 rounder in all our guns?
        LOL, these idiots never cease to amaze. And the glock switch stupid easy to make it’s so simple. You’ll never stop criminals from doing this, hence why they are criminals.

  2. “…the number of machine gun conversion devices seized by law enforcement went up 570% from 2017 to 2021, and officials say preliminary numbers from 2023 show another huge increase.”

    Repeat after me, “In common use…”

  3. “New machine guns have been against the law in the United States since 1934, the days of Al Capone and the Tommy gun,” ATF Director Steven Dettelbach said. “But we’re seeing them all over the place … we’re talking about the rate of fire being 800 or even 1,000 or more rounds a minute. Think about how many bullets that is.”

    You’d think the director of the ATF would know that ‘new machine guns’ have only been illegal since 1986. UNREGISTERED machine guns have been illegal since 1934.

    And that’s 18 rounds. Then you have to reload.

    • What an idiot. He doesn’t know basic Federal gun laws AND he is HEAD of the ATF! He probably has no idea what the NFA, GCA, FOPA actually say and regulate. This is the problem of Government. Imagine the head of the FAA having never been to an airport or even flown in an airplane.

      • Well, the Secretary of Transportation has no background in transportation infrastructure, The Secretary of Energy has degrees in Political Science and French (not much to do with energy in those majors) and the “Border Czar”/VP has not been to the border, so …

        (Just edited a typo, originally wrote “Boarder Czar”, may have been more accurate, that.)

        • The Secretary of Transportation does have experience in not being able to fix pot holes in a small town though, so he is perfectly qualified to run the DOT

        • the secretary of Transportation thinks he is qualified for the job because he has been rear ended a few times.

      • My brother use to say, “Hire the handicaped. They are fun to watch.” This ATF Director fits

        • Old, Of course he did. He was referring to idiots who think they know it all, like dacian, the DUNDERHEAD, MINOR49er and Albert

      • He doesn’t know basic Federal gun laws AND he is HEAD of the ATF!

        You clearly don’t understand how stuff works. Ya see,that’s not a bug,that’s a feature. His qualifications,,

      • Gov’t Energy Dept person in charge of nuclear waste Sam Brinton was stealing ladies luggage at the nation’s airport and wearing them to work.

    • Came to point out exactly the same thing. This is the quality of government we are dealing with. What is scarier, a thug with an FA converted Glock or a national level law enforcement officer who doesn’t know the law even in his specific arena of enforcement?

      • The difference is that a thug probably not shoot your dog or wife or bbQ a building full of children. That’s why we have Biden’s AFT!

  4. ““New machine guns have been against the law in the United States since 1934, the days of Al Capone and the Tommy gun,” ATF Director Steven Dettelbach said.”

    Lie, you can this day find transferable Uzis and AK-47s available for sale, and AKs were designed in 1947, and UZIs in the 1940s, if memory serves…

  5. From the videos I’ve seen of the Glock switch in action, they fire so fast that the entire mag is empty before the shooter could move the gun towards another target.

    What good does it do to shoot the same point of aim 34 times?

    “…already-outgunned police officers…”? Really? Their police departments are the only ones (other than the military) allowed to buy new machine guns and they can buy select fire rifles.

      • My friend, Barley, has a giggle switch on his G17. He has been practicing speedy switch-outs of his 32 round magazines so he can hit that 1,000 rounds per minute goal.

        • 1000 rounds a minute of 9mm is going to be even more expensive than the most expensive lawyers. Even with 10 cent reloads with DIY cast bullets made of discarded battery lead that’s $100/minute and $6000/hr. Even OJ’s dream team wasn’t making that much.

        • MADDMAXX December 10, 2023 At 10:29
          Your comment is awaiting moderation
          31.25 magazines changed every 1.87 seconds… Sounds doable, but where will he find time to change out that melted barrel….

          Two for TWO? WTF? Just my turn? Fucking algorithm can’t understand numbers? Fuck it I’m outta here…

    • Mad Max them gangsters gots gunms that go brap brap.
      “The Scorpio is Reeeady.”
      Ain’t no sht.
      The cops will always be outgunmed.
      Where the mistake is made is in not letting We The People have the same power the non law abiding have.
      For real.
      Check our Rap Sheets officer.
      your going to put me in DOC?
      and you wonder why?
      We Are The Good Guys.
      make us bad
      Take away our rights
      Felons cant have gunms.
      Cat food cost money
      Injuns ate dogs
      The Sun has a hole in it.
      Uncle Sugar Wants Your Gunm.
      And its been awhile
      Since I could,,,,,,

      • I would love me a Skorpion in 9 Mak with a longer barrel to make a nice PCC to go with my Commie pistol collection. Jesh, I can’t wait for the Uke war to be over so someday maybe cheap Makarov ammo comes back again.

      • gangsters gots gunms that go brap brap.

        Actually it’s BRA-AA-A-A-A-AAA-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-AAAPPPPP….

        Hmmmmmmmmmm, not moderated? What they mad at me now?

        • MAXX,

          Nah, they’re just

          (1) F*cking with you, and

          (2) Lulling you into a false sense that things are returning to some semblance of normalcy (although, on the other hand, completely inconsistent and irrational “moderation” pretty much IS normal, for this site!).

    • My hat is off to anybody who can put 34 rounds into the same point of aim in full auto with a converted Glock. More likely it’s 2-3 rounds in the same general vicinity and 30+ rounds “over there somewhere.”

  6. Revelations.
    The 2nd Amendment is a No No.
    Amendments have nothing to do with the rights of criminals.
    Any law abiding gunm owner who believes there is such a thing as writing on a piece of paper that protects them from being categorized as criminals are fools.
    Your just not getting it, citizens whom have beliefs in freedom and the Constitution that guarantees that freedom are not of the New Sociable Acceptable society.
    ButtFckingCamelQuearrGoatMidgetTransmissisionDiarreahsexsplatters are A Okay , not citizens that believe in, uhhhhh, they just better be like us.

  7. So what’s POTG’s incentive to be “law abiding”? Beats me! In ILLannoy (Glockswitchland) they treat us like we’re gangster disciples. And coddle the gangbangers🙄😕

    • Because your are or were at on time a socially acceptable citizen.
      Now you believe in a Constitution and a Supreme Court or President that will protect it.
      That’s -Just -Not -Acceptable.
      President Biden is the greatest president America has or ever will have
      President Biden is the greatest president America has or ever will have
      President Biden is the greatest president America has or ever will have
      President Biden is the greatest president America has or ever will have
      Forever and Ever Amen.

    • There are fewer and fewer reasons for anyone to remain law-abiding and if we’re to assume this righteous government of ours is leading by example one can reasonably conclude that to remain law-abiding is to remain a chump of the highest order.

      While everyone else is getting theirs and getting away with it the law-abiding keep paying more for less and being scapegoated for the ills of the world. Ills which beget further restrictions on liberty which coincidentally affect the law-abiding.

      • Well , I dont like jail , so there is that.
        However if enough POTG was locked up I guess Hell wouldn’t be no bad place to be?

  8. A 1 second shot of all your ammo is pretty useless except for a Hail Mary…then you are done. Somebody is a good salesman.

    Glad the movies have everybody convinced there is unlimited ammo in every gun.

    • My favorite is in RED when a couple of guys with ARs, advancing on a house, are dumping shell casings at a rate that would require a small fleet of Apache gunship chain guns to produce.

  9. You would think that a person who is going to be the head of a Federal Department would thoroughly school themselves in the history, laws and mandates that apply to that department.
    He should be fired for incompetence and fraud.

    • Why should we think that? He fits right in with the rest of the gaggle of idiots in Dementia Joe’s administration.

  10. And here in Washington state, I can’t buy a semi auto AR-15, I can have the one I already own, but cannot buy a new or used one. Common use means nothing when law makers refuse to accept common sense.

      • They’re worth $0 here, because we cannot transfer them in state. We can sell them out of state, but that adds shipping costs and FFL costs. And now there are FFL costs on both ends, because FedEx and UPS won’t accept a gun from a non FFL shipper.

        • So if Bob said I’ll give you $2,789 for your AR and 100rnds of emu you couldn’t/ wouldn’t sale it?
          I’d bump the price up and sold.

    • “Common use for lawful purpose” is not recognized by the 9th Circus judges that have reviewed the WA law. Their opinion is assault weapons aren’t commonly used for “self defense” which ignores the text of Heller “in common use for lawful purposes, such as self defense”. They know they are defying SCOTUS but they are satisfied with delaying the inevitable end to these ban laws.

  11. Imagine that. Criminals tend not to follow the laws. Who would have thought that?

    Why don’t they just make Murder, Rape, Assault & Robbery against the law?

    • I go back and forth wondering whether these gun-control ldiots don’t understand that criminals don’t obey laws or if they really believe their shtick that more laws restricting guns will somehow cause criminals willing to murder to suddenly obey.

      It’s a tough call, part of me thinks no one can be that stupid but, then I learn that the Director of the BATFE doesn’t know how the NFA and Hughes amendment work so, maybe they are that dumb.

  12. A blast or two of full auto at the range, maybe, would the kind of experience where, afterward, you and your female shooting companion, look at each other, sigh that it is over, and light up your cigarettes.

  13. Typical bureaucrat, Detteldick hasn’t a clue on firearms except what he’s read on a memo/spreadsheet.

  15. I think by this time even Democrats should recognize that there isn’t a single competent person in the Biden Administration. They certainly haven’t selected the best people of diversity by any means. If I were a member of one of those diverse groups I would be really angry that they picked such a bunch of losers to represent me. These people are nothing but a bunch of bought off hacks who have no idea how to serve the American Citizens of this Country. Each and everyone of them needs to be turned out and replaced by people who are willing to serve the American public not illegals, criminals, human and drug traffickers or foreign governments unfriendly to the USA. Biden and company have to go in 2024.

    • “I think by this time even Democrats should recognize that there isn’t a single competent person in the Biden Administration”

      Actual performance numbers:

      “U.S. crude oil exports in the first half of 2023 averaged 3.99 million barrels per day (b/d), which is a record high for the first half of a year since 2015, when the U.S. ban on most crude oil exports from the United States was repealed. In the first half of 2023, crude oil exports were up 650,000 b/d (19%) compared with the first half of 2022“

      “Gross domestic product in the United States grew at a remarkable 5.2% in the third quarter, ahead of China, long the engine of global growth.

      “The US has really outperformed relative to other countries for the past year,” Innes McFee, chief global economist for Oxford Economics, told CNN.

      The United States has powered ahead of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada and other advanced economies this year.

      Last month, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development became the latest intergovernmental body to upgrade its forecasts for US growth this year and next, while downgrading the outlook for the 20 countries that use the euro currency.“

      “The U.S. labor market started 2023 on a high note. The economy added 517,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department, far exceeding the 187,000 jobs the Dow Jones had anticipated.

      Among the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ findings for the month was also the market’s historically low unemployment rate of 3.4% or 5.7 million people. That’s the lowest it’s been since 1969. The rate “continues to show the we have an especially tight labor market,” says Ben Zipperer, economist at the Economic Policy Institute, meaning one in which workers have a lot of opportunities.“

      • The Real Unemployment Rate (U6) is 6.70%. The Unemployment rate you quoted, U2, does not include people who gave up looking for work.

        For most of the last year, the economy added about 200,000 new jobs per month, while 170,000 new jobs per month are needed just to accommodate population growth.

        New jobless Claims are still around 200,000 per week. The economy is not booming.

      • Civilian job participation rate reached a high of 63.3% under President Trump in October 2019, where it stayed until the WuFlu panicdemic tore into the job market in March 2020. The rate hasn’t matched that zenith during the Gropenfuehrer’s term; it now stands at 62.8%.

        — https://www.bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/civilian-labor-force-participation-rate.htm

        The U2 unemployment rate for November 2023 was 3.7%, not 3.4. Regardless, that number is not representative of the actual employment rate as pointed out by Louis above.

        Furthermore, the numbers are frequently adjusted downwards in the two months following the Bureau’s estimate of job numbers.

        1. These data are estimates because they are based on surveys, not counts.

        2. Sampling error, confidence intervals and statistical significance can change how we interpret the monthly employment numbers.

        3. Some of the data are preliminary. (hence the “adjustments” during the following 2 months)

        5. Wages aren’t rising at the rate they appear to be.

        6. The unemployment rate doesn’t include people who are not part of the labor force, such as people who want to work but have given up looking.

        — https://journalistsresource.org/economics/bls-monthly-jobs-report-key-facts/

        • All you got is “Yeah, but… “

          “WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a healthy 199,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell, fresh signs that the economy could achieve an elusive “soft landing,” in which inflation would return to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target without causing a steep recession.

          Friday’s report from the Labor Department showed that the unemployment rate dropped from 3.9% to 3.7%, not far above a five-decade low of 3.4% in April. The jobless rate has now remained below 4% for nearly two years, the longest such streak since the late 1960s.“

          https://apnews.com/article/jobs-economy-inflation-rates-hiring-federal-reserve-953387b195e6c58703b33ef94dad11b4

  16. MADDMAXX December 10, 2023 At 09:19
    Your comment is awaiting moderation
    rate of fire being 800 or even 1,000 or more rounds a minute. Think about how many bullets that is.”

    And what difference does rate of fire matter if you only have one or two mags and absolutely NO control of the firearm… Gangbangers don’t carry a pocketful of magazines and they don’t practice daily with their “full auto” Glocks…

    Glad I decided to stop by this morning, nothing like seeing “MODERATED” on your first FUCKING post in a week… Y’all have a good day, later…. Is it “gangbangers”, “full auto” or “of” that offended the almighty fucking “algorithm”? Censorship at its absolute finest…

    • The so called director is not speaking to you or me. He is speaking to scared spoon fed gun ignorant Americans who stand for nothing and fall for anything…like Gun Control.

  17. “He said conversion devices are increasing the danger to already-outgunned police officers and increasing the risk of stray bullets hitting bystanders.” half a$$Ed half right Dettelbach.

    Clearly bangers using these are more dangerous to bystanders but cops would appear to be in less danger since bangers hopped up on whatever are obviously less capable with fire control and ammo conservation.

  18. “… we’re talking about the rate of fire being 800 or even 1,000 or more rounds a minute.”

    Belt-fed glucks?

    • 17 rounds at 1000 RPM = 1second. Short gunfight that. We’ve been told, after all, that when the bad guy stops to reload the victim under fire will leap up and disarm him, right?

  19. My God! The ATF just admitted the obvious? Will wonders ever cease? Next, MINOR49er and dacian the DUNDERHEAD will learn about firearms. Albert Hall is just a lost cause.

  21. Defund and eliminate the ATF criminal organization, destroy all of their database and records. Next, FBI, IRS, EPA, FERC, Capital Police, NEA, etc. Reset to the small limited government that we are supposed to have.

    • THIS is the answer. Return federal government to about 1840 proportions. Keep a very small standing military while encouraging strong state militias, control imports and exports for tax purposes, CONTROL migration, the borders, and travelers, coin money, handle multi-state disputes through courts, and leave people the EFF ALONE. The private sector can and should do 99.9% of the governments jobs for far cheaper, faster, and with better results.

      Isn’t it interesting that our military must hire civilians to perform such a vast array of duties that soldiers do not need to perform, yet the vast majority of the federal government itself does not?

  22. My Dear God. This man is the textbook definition of a government “official” who knows absolutely nothing about the very matters his agency is “in charge” of. And yet another textbook example of why Americans have lost all faith in the federal government.

    But hey, when communists have been infiltrating the nation’s education system for 50 years, and most Americans are dumb as a box of rocks, this is what you get. Why? No pushback against idiots like this and his fellow communist democrat party associates.

    Sadly, I see no eventual outcome to this nation’s out of control federal government except eventual action by a committed 3-6%. I pray I’m wrong, but it shouldn’t take generations to have justice for a constitution that’s ~250 years old, (no I’m not doing the math – I hate math!).

  23. If the U.S. DepartmentofJustice were to only prosecute “Giggle Switches” alone the demographics of prosecution and incarceration would be unacceptable.

    That is the main driving force from pursuing the endeavor.

  24. “When the ATF Director Publicly Acknowledges That Gun Control Laws Don’t Really Apply to Criminals”

    Not finding any relationship between headline and article, or even the link to the NBC article.

    • Unless the story has been edited, I found the link to the NBC article at the very end of the post, in the hyperlink just after “–Ken Dilanian in (link – title to NBC article)”

      The pull quote from the NBC piece:

      “If someone’s getting caught with these pieces (in Texas), it’s just a misdemeanor,… In the federal law, it’s a felony and so we’re just asking Texas to match the federal side of it. So that way, if these criminals are getting caught with these, the punishments are harsher.”

      Note: not “caught using it,” only “caught in possession of it.”

      • “I found the link to the NBC article at the very end of the post, in the hyperlink…”

        Based on the headline, I expected to read the words “don’t really apply” as a quote from the ATF Director.

        The NBC link reports on the difference in between state law and federal law; not exactly “don’t really apply”.

        • You’re right.

          Since Dan Z. is listed as the author, perhaps he wrote the headline. (The body of the article is all pulled from the NBC post.)

          Maybe he would explain his take on the article.

      • I am not sure how possessing a Glock switch can be a State misdemeanor when it is a Federal felony, but I am sure that the Feds want Texas to change their laws and prosecute on the switches, to avoid spending Federal time and funds on those criminals.
        After all, the Feds have those evil Republicans and Catholics to frame for thought crimes.

  25. A normal Glock or any other pistol is capable of inflicting mass casualties. Then again, any shotgun can inflict mass casualties. This was demonstrated at Columbine HS, The Washington Navy Yard, The Capitol Gazette, and Sante Fe Texas HS. Of course any normal motor vehicle can inflict mass casualties. This was demonstrated at Nice France.

    China has a problem with mass murders committed with knives.

    Of course the record most people murdered by a lone assailant was the Happy Land Social Club arson fire. The only weapons were a match and a pop bottle full of gasoline.

  26. “…we’re talking about the rate of fire being 800 or even 1,000 or more rounds a minute. Think about how many bullets that is.”

    This is ONLY being said to instill fear. This has no basis in fact or reality. I would love to see a 1,000 round magazine on a Glock. Think about how heavy and unwieldy that is.

    At some point in this life, people just need to wake up to the reality that our technology is simply outgrowing stupid laws. It will not matter what the ATF or the Democrat party (or anyone else) thinks about it. DC lawmakers need to grow up and do their jobs or they will all get bowled over.

  27. Keep in mind that BATFE now considers bump stocks and forced reset triggers to also be machine guns, not just Glock switches and coat hooks that happen to fit in ARs. In 2017, bump stocks were mainly range toys and few had heard.of an FRT, but both were legal. Of course, they only go after the bump stocks and the FRTs that law abiding people possess, and let the thugs run around with full auto Glocks. Occasionally, they’ll catch somebody ordering a couple hundred switches off of Wish.

  28. Let’s be honest now. The problem the government is having is the fact that 99.9%, of the people who buy sell possess, and use glock switches are black teenagers.

    And that is a problem for a soci@list pr0gressive government (and libertarians) that wants to end “mass incarceration.”

    The scariest thing in America is a black teenager with a machine gun. Unfortunately the white atheists disagreed with the christians. Who said a father is necessary in the home. It seems the white atheists don’t believe a father’s love and discipline is needed in a home. Where children are buying machine guns.

    Once again everyone wants to blame the gun. And they don’t want to blame the children either. It’s the atheists who should be held accountable. Along with the soci@list pr0gressive who hate the traditional family of one man and one woman.

    As president Eisenhower said, “the enemies of the United States are atheistic in nature.”

    An undisciplined child with any gun is the issue.

    A child with guidance and discipline from a loving father is not an issue at all. When that child has a machine gun.

    • We’re well past the father in the home solution seeing as how most of these ghetto fabulous illiterates are themselves fathers.

      • No. The father was replaced by a government welfare check. And the government told Mother’s not to get married, and they could live for free. In government housing without a man.
        Its all supported by the atheists and the Leftists. Who said a father is not necessary in the home.

      • If the white atheists and their welfare money would just stay out of everybody’s bedroom, things would return to a peaceful normal.

  29. Looks like Glocks are destined for the short list of assault weapon bans. I still have not bought one of those bricks (at least they’re reliable).

  30. The government and many in the “gun community” are trying to put that genie back into the bottom. But that is not possible. Low cost machine guns are here to stay.

    A 3D print machine can make anything you want. The star trek replicator from the 1960s is here it is real.

    You don’t have to have a government permission slip. And you don’t have to pay the government tax to get a machine gun now.

    And as many above have commented, machine guns are in common use now.

    • edit
      The government and many in the “gun community” are trying to put that genie back into the bottle.

      But that is not possible. Low cost machine guns are here to stay.

  31. ATF Director Steven Dettelbach obviously suffers from a Freudian phobia of being outgunned by law abiding citizens as well as criminals who are armed with large caliber, long barrelled, high capacity assault penises that can fire dozens of rounds without reloading.

  32. OXYMORON , NEEDED … UUUM ,,, REALLY CRIMINALS DON’T BREAK THE LAW …
    WHY HAVE LAWS CRIMINALS ARN’T GOING TO BREAK LAWS ANYWAY …
    CRIMINALS ARE THE MOST HONEST LAW~BREAKING PEOPLE ANYWAY …
    THAT MOVIE ” OSCAR , YEP , YA ARE AN OX AND A MORON …
    O NEVER MIND …

  33. MORE proof that Dittelbach is a moron. “But we’re seeing them all over the place … we’re talking about the rate of fire being 800 or even 1,000 or more rounds a minute. Think about how many bullets that is.”

    The -American with their Glucks are spraying lead is a given they will not hit what they are “aiming” at. Perhaps the rubbernecking -Americans hanging out will be hit by stray rounds.

  34. “New machine guns have been against the law in the United States since 1934, the days of Al Capone and the Tommy gun,” ATF Director Steven Dettelbach said.

    False, new machine guns for civilian use were banned in 1986, not 1934.

    You can buy the old ones if you are willing to spend a huge amount of money.

    Or you can print a conversion device illegally for a few cents worth of plastic.

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