How can I own an assault rifle?

Join the army. They’ll give you an assault rifle for free, teach you how to use it and fly you all over the world so you can shoot people with it.

Buy an automatic softair gun. That is all you can be trusted with anyway.

The real fun is in precision shooting. Anybody can bullet-spam, but it takes skill to hit a target at 500m. Plus, ammo is expensive when you shoot full-auto.

Licenses to own full auto weapons in America are hard and expensive to get. Then to buy a fully automatic firearm will cost you about about a year’s wages, if you get approved by the ATF.

I recently bought a Mini-14, which shoots 5.56 NATO rounds, but buying an automatic weapon entails jumping through multiple hoops, so the Mini-14 is single shot. But since aimed fire is still the most effective combat technique, a “sniper” rifle is still your best bet.

You all are a presumptive bunch, that’s for sure. O_o

An actual select-fire rifle costs $15,000 and up, plus a $200 tax stamp. They must be entered in the NFA registry before 1986 and they must be transferred from a dealer licensed to sell NFA items. You must pass a several month long background check with the ATF, and you must also have a local CLEO sign off on the transfer. I’m also pretty sure that you wouldn’t be able to buy without US citizenship anyway.Legally-owned assault rifles have only been used in crimes twice, and both times it was a cop committing the crime.

As stated above, Full-auto assault rifles require shitloads of paperwork, hoop-jumping, and money. And if you’ve ever fired one, you quickly realize that it’s overrated, if for no reason other than recoil spoils your aim to the point where you will be lucky to hit with more than a couple of shots out of the whole clip.

Besides, jealousy or “because it’s cool!”, are bad reasons to get any gun. People like @Nullo and @CaptainHarley have other reasons to have guns; a love of target shooting, home/farm defense, or something like that. Firearms are not toys or status symbols.

I don’t know if I can post on my own answer, but should I get a semi auto rifle in australia and is it hard to get

@dimitri685, here is a link with information you may find useful.

First off, yes, you can post your own answer. Fluther is rather conversational that way.

Second, semi-autos are usually a lot easier to get in places where firearms are legal, but there are also probably state and local laws to deal with that I doubt anyone here is familiar with, so the exact procedure still varies. For instance, New Hampshire has pretty loose gun laws; the only requirement for owning a gun is a clean criminal record, though concealed-carry is restricted to 18+. Figuring out the laws where you are would take some research.

Personally, I am more of a pistol person, but regardless of the length of what I fire, I like the control of one shot per trigger pull. I also find a ragged hole the size of a quarter inside the 9-ring to be better than a line of little holes going off the top of the target. If you want to shoot, semi-auto is better. If you just want to destroy things, firearms are not the most effective/efficient way about it. No, I won’t give you any of the many ideas/experiences I have had in that department!

I’m ignorant as the gun laws in Australia.

As I recall, you’re young. Have you tried skeet shooting?

What type of shooting/gun experience do you have?

You might want to consider visiting Las Vegas or Texas or Russia or some other place where you can simply pay to fire a machinegun on a range. It’s much less expensive and less hassle.

SpatzieLover I’m just a begineer.

And I can’t get a semi-auto in Australia. Looks like I’ll have to move to America

@dimitri685 If you end up doing that, make sure that you pick a state with liberal gun laws. States like Missouri and Texas (I think) don’t require that you have any more than money and a clean record. Other states, like Illinois and New York, would rather you not have a gun at all (but are required to permit it, under the 2nd), and will make your life difficult if you do.

@Nullo Very true! And the small Northeast corner of the US has more states than the whole of Australia, so you have literally fifty differences sets of state laws, not to mention county laws… research your destination before moving!

@jerv This one was at least thought up for fun. In terms of ammunition (~$40/rd), it is the ultimate in conspicuous consumption.

It occurs to me that there are mod kits for the 10/22 (a semiautomatic rimfire rifle) that introduce a crank and a second rifle for continuous operation – rate of fire is determined by the rpm of the crank handle. AFAIK it bypasses the usual restrictions.
Of course, that’s just waiting to jam.

@tom_g It’s just the coolness factor, is all. If he had a target there might be more cause for concern. The only danger that I expect is that the OP’ll go to all this trouble and expense and then the novelty value would wear off, and he’d be stuck far from home with a costly machine that he doesn’t really want or need, and he won’t ever be able to get off of whichever lists the application process puts you on.
Though I recall reading once that some people buy automatic weapons as a sort of investment. As the demand for this kind of firearm grows, so does the asking price, since under the various restrictions the manufacture of new autos is strictly prohibited.

@tom_g I tend to miss sarcasm until I have at least 100mg of caffeine in my system, and my sense of humor is generally offline until I hit 150mg; I am rather slow in the mornings.

I share your concerns. I was raised around guns, and learned very young about what they really are and how to use them responsibly. People who never learned that but want guns for the cool factor scare me about as much as those who buy a handgun for self-defense but never take any courses, and only slightly less than the criminally insane.

Though I have shot quite a bit, I personally have never owned a gun. I don’t hunt, I don’t shoot competitively, I live in a fairly safe area that is free of predators (human or animals), and I just don’t want to spend money and file a lot of paperwork for something that is useless to me. And since I live in a city, its not like I can go target shooting in my backyard like I could in rural NH/VT.

My point is that firearms are a responsibility, not a toy or fashion accessory. If I want a toy, I go to Toys R Us and buy one. If I want bling, I’ll go buy some jewelry, or maybe get a tattoo. Buying a real gun just because it’s cool is the height of irresponsibility.

The more I think of it, the more I think you, OP, would be happier with a pellet gun. They’re Category A, which means that you need a permit and a Genuine Reason, like target shooting or pest control. Best part is that they make automatic pellet guns, though that would probably be a tough sell to whichever board regulates these things.

@Nullo Are Airsoft guns in the same category?

@jerv No data, though I would think not given the lower energy. I’ve been shot with both steel BBs and airsoft BBs, and the steel one did a lot of damage.

@Nullo I used to have a CO2 Airsoft Beretta 92. One day on a lark, I put my hand about three inches from the barrel and fired. I figured that, based on how they felt when fired from four feet away, it wouldn’t be bad. It stung for about 2–3 minutes, but left no mark.
The place i bought it also had a gas-operated 93R, which was fun in burst-fire, and an assortment of SMGs and Assault Rifles. All of the fun of full-auto without the expense (well, some of them were $300–450, but the ammo is cheap) or risk to life, limb, and property. Just remember to wear eye protection ;)

I’ll think ill move to texas. Thanks for your help

@dimitri685 Best of luck to you, and make sure you check out the rules regarding alien firearm ownership!

I found out about a week ago that there are places in Las Vegas that will rent you a select-fire rifle for use on their ranges.

@Nullo they are not just in Las Vegas, there are a few dozen ranges that will do the same thing spread across the US.

Depending on which machine gun or assault rifle you choose to rent, the ammunition can cost anything from a few cents to over $5 a round.