# What exactly does "semi-automatic" mean in U.S. gun terminology? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 2, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876 "2013-01-02T20:42:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/1 "2013-01-02T20:42:00Z")
I have a factual question about firearms terminology. Please keep it in GQ. I was reading an article about the AR-15 rifle: [Bushmasters Flying off Shelves](http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=18008427)and there was a discussion about “semi-automatic” that confused me: > [@](#): > > Asked to explain the gun’s appeal to a non-shooter, he says: "Some people, they have a nice Corvette in their garage. They don’t drive it every day. They just wanted one. It caught their eye. They think it looks great. " He just wanted a Sig-Sauer, he says. He thinks it looks great. He likes the military style and the fact it’s not too expensive to shoot. Plus, it’s fun. > > Fun how? > > Fun because of the semi-automatic feature. “You can shoot 30 rounds in 10 seconds or less. It’s kind of an adrenaline rush.” It’s comfortable, too. “The gun doesn’t produce enough kick to hurt you.” And, if you don’t want to use the semi-automatic feature, “You can squeeze the trigger one by one and get a different feeling.” That sounds to me like if you keep your finger on the trigger, it will keep firing, 30 rounds in 10 seconds or less, and that’s a semi-automatic fire. However, in Canada, that sounds to me like an automatic weapon, which would be prohibited. The Criminal Code, s. 2, defines “automatic weapon” thus: > [@](#): > > \*“automatic firearm” > > « arme automatique »\* > > “automatic firearm” means a firearm that is capable of, or assembled or designed and manufactured with the capability of, discharging projectiles in rapid succession during one pressure of the trigger; So in Canadian terminology, if it fires more than one bullet in rapid succession with one pressure of the trigger, it’s an automatic weapon. But that sounds to me like the semi-automatic feature of the AR-15. Am I missing something, or do we have two different definitions of “semi-automatic” here? ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/2 "2013-01-02T20:45:57Z")
Semi-automatic means that for each pull of the trigger, one round is fired. You can certainly empty a 30-round magazine in 10 seconds like that if you want an ‘adrenaline rush’. The person quoted is an idiot. And semi-automatic isn’t a ‘feature’, it’s just one action type out of several. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/3 "2013-01-02T20:49:53Z")
Two versions of semi-automatic in US Army bullet speak. 1. Semi-automatic give one bullet per trigger pull. This is the most common. 2. Semi-automatic may give a three (I know of one case - two) round burst with each trigger pull. This give a small spread pattern without the muzzle climbing or moving too much from recoil/gas energy or the person flinching. Automatic is hold the trigger until the magazine or belt empties. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/4 "2013-01-02T20:50:46Z")
semi-automatic (aka autoloading): the weapon uses some energy from the firing of a round to cycle the action and load a fresh round into the chamber, but does not fire more than one round per trigger pull. Types of semi-automatic actions include but are not limited to blowback, recoil, and gas operated. this distinguishes them from revolvers (which have multiple chambers which are loaded manually and brought in line with the barrel) and non-autoloading arms which require the user to cycle the action manually. **ETA:** > [@smithsb](#): > > 1. Semi-automatic may give a three (I know of one case - two) round burst with each trigger pull. This give a small spread pattern without the muzzle climbing or moving too much from recoil/gas energy or the person flinching. NO. any arm capable of firing more than one round per trigger pull is automatic (i.e. defined as a “machine gun” by the US gov’t.) ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/5 "2013-01-02T20:51:51Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Two versions of semi-automatic in US Army bullet speak. > > 1. Semi-automatic give one bullet per trigger pull. This is the most common. > 2. Semi-automatic may give a three (I know of one case - two) round burst with each trigger pull. This give a small spread pattern without the muzzle climbing or moving too much from recoil/gas energy or the person flinching. > > Automatic is hold the trigger until the magazine or belt empties. I don’t know how the Army does things, but in the Marine Corps #2 is called ‘burst’. IIRC, the selector switch even says ‘burst’. Calling it semi-auto is inaccurate and muddies the waters. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/6 "2013-01-02T20:51:57Z")
ETA: I’m going to hold off rather than be incorrect in case smithb knows something about ‘burst’ I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/7 "2013-01-02T20:52:58Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Two versions of semi-automatic in US Army bullet speak. > > 1. Semi-automatic give one bullet per trigger pull. This is the most common. > 2. S**emi-automatic may give a three (I know of one case - two) round burst with each trigger pull.** This give a small spread pattern without the muzzle climbing or moving too much from recoil/gas energy or the person flinching. > > Automatic is hold the trigger until the magazine or belt empties. That’s still considered full-auto fire as more than one round is fired per trigger pull. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/8 "2013-01-02T20:53:11Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Semi-automatic means that for each pull of the trigger, one round is fired. That’s what I understood it to mean. But then why does he say: "And, if you don’t want to use the semi-automatic feature, “You can squeeze the trigger one by one and get a different feeling.” " ? ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/9 "2013-01-02T20:53:36Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I think the “Fun how?” quoted guy simply described it poorly. He was trying to say you could rapidly fire as fast as possible, which might be 30 rounds in 10 seconds or so, depending > > or > > you could slowly squeeze off shots at a more deliberate pace which would feel much different but, regardless, it still WILL require one trigger pull to discharge each and every round. > > You’re right, semi-auto means one trigger pull for one round shot. He just described the rapid fire poorly. If he gets off 30 rounds in 10 seconds, he still had to squeeze the trigger 30 times in 10 seconds. I really love how the author of the article set it up so that ‘semi-automatic’ sounds all scary. Fun how? _SEMI AUTOMATIC!!_ :eek::eek::eek: > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > That’s what I understood it to mean. But then why does he say: "And, if you don’t want to use the semi-automatic feature, “You can squeeze the trigger one by one and get a different feeling.” " ? Because as I pointed out, he’s an idiot 😉 He tricked out his rifle with a new handgrip, laser sights, etc. so he could pretend to be a swat guy. Those are the most annoying gun owners, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t like the analogy in general, but for those guys the firearm really is an extension of their dick. He probably drives a big truck with a loud exhaust. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/10 "2013-01-02T21:22:57Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Because as I pointed out, he’s an idiot 😉 > > . I’d like to offer the equally and perhaps more plausible opinion that the news reporter is confused with what he said. Its very easy and happens all of the time when a reporter is writing and trying to paraphrase quotes when they don’t really understand the topic. I’m willing to bet that if you contact the person, he would be indignant and insist he didn’t say that, but was misquoted. As attractive as it might be to say that the reporter did this on purpose, I’m sure Hanlon’s principle applies and that it happened due to ignorance instead of nefarious reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/11 "2013-01-02T21:29:40Z")
I have a simpler explanation - the reporter is ignorant about gun terminology. I noticed the direct quotes don’t contain “semi-automatic” anywhere. It’s the reporter that uses the phrase while book-ending it with direct quotes. ETA: D’oh! Ninja’d Even the kind of idiots who trick out their guns with all sorts of bling aren’t usually quite so stupid as to mistake semi-automatic for full automatic fire. It’s also possible the gun is modified, legally or illegally. There are readily available kits (both legal and illegal) that will allow an AR-15 to fire in bursts or full-auto. Obviously the legal versions have some restrictions dealing with ATF registration and such. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/12 "2013-01-02T21:33:31Z")
Then the question becomes, why do journalists not bother to educate themselves about the topic. You may very well be right, there are plenty of instances of ‘journalists’ talking out of their ass when it comes to gun terminology. Do they just assume that they know all they need to know, e.g. guns are scary, and saying ‘semi-automatic’ makes it scarier? Or are they wilfully refusing to learn more because the limited knowledge they have is sufficient to advance their agenda? ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/13 "2013-01-02T21:36:10Z")
They are too busy to spend enough time to understand all the intricacies of all the different topics they are expected to report on completely accurately 100% of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/14 "2013-01-02T21:37:30Z")
Meh. Journalists are ignorant about a lot of topics. See: 99% of all science-related news articles ever written. And in the internet/blogosphere age, writers are expected to submit more and more stuff in less time and with less editorial scrutiny. You would think a hot button topic like guns would get a bit more scrutiny, but that’s expecting a lot more work than most articles typically get. ETA: D’OH! NINJA’D AGAIN! ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/15 "2013-01-02T21:38:43Z")
**Great AntiBob** , it’s been illegal to convert any non-full-auto to full-auto since [1986](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearm_Owners_Protection_Act#Machine_Gun_Ban). The number of legal full-auto firearms available to civilians has been fixed since then - you can repair an existing full-auto, but the ATF will rain destruction upon you if you build a new one. It’s illegal just to own full-auto parts, if you also own the corresponding semi-auto firearm. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/16 "2013-01-02T21:38:57Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > They are too busy to spend enough time to understand all the intricacies of all the different topics they are expected to report on completely accurately 100% of the time. Of course they are. But we aren’t talking about an ‘intricacy’ here. It’s a basic piece of information about how guns work. Furthermore, it’s a piece of information they see as a ‘gotcha’. Also, it’s an important enough issue that yes, I do expect them to have a little more than a passing familiarity before they report on it. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/17 "2013-01-02T21:41:33Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > **Great AntiBob** , it’s been illegal to convert any non-full-auto to full-auto since [1986](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearm_Owners_Protection_Act#Machine_Gun_Ban). . Sort of. You can still use the existing pre-1986 parts. And one sort of loophole is that only some of the lower part of the AR-15 is considered the “firearm” for ATF purposes, which can be entirely replaced with the older gear. It still needs to be registered with the ATF, though. ETA: [Wiki link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AR-15#History) (check towards the bottom of the History section). ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/18 "2013-01-02T21:46:39Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Then the question becomes, why do journalists not bother to educate themselves about the topic. You may very well be right, there are plenty of instances of ‘journalists’ talking out of their ass when it comes to gun terminology. > > Do they just assume that they know all they need to know, e.g. guns are scary, and saying ‘semi-automatic’ makes it scarier? Or are they wilfully refusing to learn more because the limited knowledge they have is sufficient to advance their agenda? As a computer guy, I can tell you when writing on computing topics, reporters are frequently wrong or misleading. Sometimes in ways that confuse my parents. And sometimes in ways that harm innocent people or insult large portions of the population (especially when writing about video games.) I assume an expert in plumbing would say the same thing about reporters writing on plumbing topics. The real problem here is that the only topic the report is expert on (assuming this was published in a general newspaper and not specialist press) is journalism. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/19 "2013-01-02T21:50:38Z")
The "automatic’ part of semi-automatic is that the weapon automatically extracts and ejects a spent cartridge and feeds a fresh round into the chamber. > [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > It’s also possible the gun is modified, legally or illegally. There are readily available kits (both legal and illegal) that will allow an AR-15 to fire in bursts or full-auto. Obviously the legal versions have some restrictions dealing with ATF registration and such. There is a neat [stock](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U6tORrODJE) that can be added to an AR that allows one to easily “bump fire”. For now the ATF has declared it legal. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876/20 "2013-01-02T21:51:27Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > ETA: D’OH! NINJA’D AGAIN! Ha Ha [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-does-semi-automatic-mean-in-u-s-gun-terminology/645876.md?page=2)