Posted on 12/26/2007 8:43:59 AM PST by devane617
HUDSON - It was a simple idea, with big potential.
For years, marksmen have been using a technique called bump firing, shooting a semiautomatic rifle from the hip and allowing the weapon's recoil to pull the trigger.
With federal regulations keeping fully automatic weapons out of their hands, it was one of the few ways for firearm enthusiasts to enjoy the thrill of firing a machine gun.
If there was only a way to simulate that action, Bill Akins wondered, by creating a device that mechanized the recoil resistance to fire more rapid, and accurate, bursts of bullets.
Thus the Akins Accelerator was born.
Akins, 54, is an expert marksman, ex-Marine, Elvis impersonator, seventh-generation Floridian and member of the National Rifle Association.
The Hudson man spent nearly a decade designing his Accelerator. He got a patent for his invention. Then he poured his life savings into marketing and producing it for distribution.
In the era of gun control laws, the device promised to revolutionize target shooting.
"They were selling like hot cakes," Akins said. "We were truly amazed by the response."
That was until the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives banned the Accelerator - two years after approving it.
To the ATF, the mechanism is an illegal converter kit that, in the wrong hands, could turn a run-of the-mill target rifle into a 700-round-per-minute killing machine.
Threatening him with imprisonment, officials ordered Akins to cease production, turn over the recoil springs from his existing stock and hand over his customer list.
And they didn't give him a dime in return.
More than five years later, Akins is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy.
His business partner has severed ties with his company. His investors have bailed. He has a warehouse in Oregon filled with more than $750,000 worth of useless stock. His reputation has been sullied by trade publications that once praised his invention.
He can't afford to hire a lawyer to challenge the ATF's ruling.
"They've destroyed my dream," Akins said. "Eleven years of my life, gone like that."
Case Closed, ATF Says
ATF officials stand behind their decision to outlaw the Akins Accelerator.
Drew Wade, an agency spokesman in Washington, said the ATF initially approved the device after test-firing a prototype that Akins sent them in 2003.
Records indicate that the prototype malfunctioned when it was tested and analyzed by a senior technician from the ATF's Firearms Technology Branch, according to Wade. But the agency approved the Accelerator anyway, saying in a letter that it did not meet the criteria for a machine gun and, as a concept, was allowable under federal law.
"FTB has concluded that your submitted device is not designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun," ATF officials wrote in a letter dated Aug. 23, 2005.
Wade said the agency reversed its position after someone who bought a fully functioning Accelerator requested another test firing.
This time, Wade said, the mechanism worked.
Shortly after, federal regulators issued a new ruling: The Akins Accelerator is prohibited under the National Firearms Act and the Gun Control Act of 1968.
The stop-production order came in an ATF letter dated Nov. 22, 2006. Besides mailing in all recoil springs in stock and his customer list, the agency demanded that Akins send an affidavit to each customer to account for all the devices sold. The recipients had to sign the document and return it to the ATF with the removed springs.
Wade would not comment on Akins' contention that the ATF erred in its decision-making.
"That's the bottom line is that we believe it's a machine gun," the spokesman said. "End of story."
Reversal Of Fortunes
Akins questions that rationale.
He cites sections of the 1968 gun control act that define a machine gun as any "weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger."
"That's not what the Akins Accelerator does," he said. "It isn't a gun. It isn't a machine gun. It's an accessory; that's all it is. These guys are making it up as they go along."
Officials from the NRA and the National Sports Shooting Association, chief advocates for gun ownership in the country, were not willing to comment on Akins' dilemma.
"We just don't know enough about it," said Ted Novin, the shooting association's president.
Before he patented the Accelerator, Akins did his homework.
He consulted lawyers such as James H. Jeffries III, who represented the NRA in high-profile lawsuits against the federal government, and sought a legal opinion from the ATF's Firearms Technology Branch.
They all thought his device was permissible under federal law.
"I wouldn't have invested millions of dollars on this if I knew it wasn't legal," Akins said.
Bringing his product to the marketplace, he established Akins Group Inc., took out bank loans and a second mortgage on his home to fund production, and began advertising in Shotgun News and other firearms publications.
The Accelerators, made of injection molded plastic, sold for about $1,000 apiece. They came in a small box with tools and instructions on how to attach the device to a semiautomatic rifle.
Buzz Spread Online
Similar to a Hellfire - which attaches to the trigger guard and already is on the market - the Accelerator was based on the practice of bump firing.
Once the trigger is pulled, the Accelerator's spring mechanism takes over and the trigger reciprocates at high speed, using recoil resistance to imitate automatic fire.
Most of the Accelerators were made for a Ruger 10/22, but Akins intended to make them for other rifles.
Overnight, the buzz about the Accelerator spread across the Internet.
"This thing is cool," one buyer gushed in a sporting chat room. "I can't believe it's legal."
But in 2006, several months after full production began, the ATF reversed its original ruling, outlawing the device and leaving Akins with a worthless product.
Akins wrote to the ATF, asking for clarification.
What followed was a flurry of vague and often contradictory correspondence that never fully explained why the federal regulators changed their position, Akins said.
"I wanted to explode," he recalled. "I started calling everyone I know, looking for help."
The NRA understood his dilemma, a spokesman told him, but didn't have a dog in the fight.
Akins turned to several pro-gun Republicans in Congress. Staff members promised someone would look into it.
"They said they couldn't do anything," Akins said. "Their hands are tied."
At the very least, he hoped to recover some of the money - his own and investors' - which he estimates at several million dollars.
"I don't understand how the federal government could come into my life like this, destroy my business and not offer compensation," Akins said.
"We did everything by the books."
Feeling Shaken And Stirred
The man behind the Akins Accelerator has toured the country impersonating Elvis onstage. He and his wife, Jeannie, live in a modest home on 2 acres along a winding road, in a rural corner of west Pasco County where you still can see the stars at night.
"I haven't made a lot of money over the years," Akins said. "But I've done all right for myself."
He considers himself a patriot and a rugged individualist in the Jeffersonian tradition.
He is an unflinching defender of the Second Amendment and a 30-year member of the NRA who learned to appreciate guns as a kid hunting rabbits in rural Florida.
He joined the Marine Corps at the height of the Vietnam War.
He has voted Republican his entire life, twice for George W. Bush.
And he loves his country.
"I was brought up to believe in America, in the principles of right and wrong," Akins said. "My boyhood heroes were John Wayne and Roy Rogers. I was a child of the 1950s."
That's why his ongoing feud with the federal government and the lack of backup for his cause have shaken him to the core.
He cites the Ruby Ridge shootings and the Branch Davidian siege by ATF agents in Waco, Texas, as examples of how the government crushes dissent.
He wonders if they will come for him, too.
"They're a bunch of jack-booted thugs," he fumed. "I wouldn't put it past them."
He also said he feels betrayed by the pro-gun lobby.
A few weeks ago, the NRA sent him a membership renewal. Akins stared at the one-page letter for a while. He sighed.
"I couldn't bring myself to renew it," he said. "What's the point, right?"
That’s laughable.
I can tell you right now what the NRA has done in the last couple of weeks. You can’t tell me anything your group has done since I have been a member of FR.
Why would the NRA get involved with a device that clearly makes a semiautomatic into something fully automatic? Why should my dues go to your viewpoint?
How much money are you going to send to the inventor of this fully automatic device?
They already looked into it and no comment. Didn't you read the article?
Call the GOA. They have never accomplished anything so far. This might be their chance. No, not really. They will be AWOL as usual.
The second amendment was not about hunting. It was about the average joe being equipped to function as a capable militiaman, if necessary. So obviously, the M16 is required equipment if the second amendment is to be of any use in the way it was intended. A side benefit of prolific hunting is that there becomes a plentiful supply of young men experienced in firearms for potential military service. I would like to see hunting versions of the M16. Maybe some single shot black powder versions and some that fire shotgun shells. The more citizens familiar with the m16 the better. More gun shops carry parts, gain expertise in repair of m16s...the more the better.
Like you said, the soldier’s equipment varies according to specifics. So I suppose the other more specialized weapons could/should be made available to certain civilians that show elevated aptitude or skill and a heightened security clearances of course...possibly, I’d have to think more about that.
But in general, for the general public, without putting too much thought into it, I would say that the M16 and similar weapons is a good place to draw the line. Night vision and body armor and other such non weapon equipment should also be available. Actually, I think these things already are available to the general public, but I’m not completely sure about it.
I could see allowing cities to have a little bit tighter restrictions on these firearms within city limits...possibly.
Sure I read it.
“no comment” makes no sense to me. THat’s why I asked why they don’t run with this and make something of it.
What I was thinking was that in urban warfare, submachineguns shooting pistol calibers make more sense. While in the rural areas, the M16 would make more sense. Also, burglary and theft are more of a concern in the inner city. THere maybe should be stricter regs on keeping assault weapons locked up in a safe of some kind in the inner cities. An M16 is not a good choice for home defense in a highrise apartment. But a shotgun would be.
Why would my logic put the supreme court case at risk?
Apparently you and I have different definitions of “militia”. I define “militia” to be synonymous with “citizen”.
I loved Fred Thompson’s remark:
“My idea of gun control is a good, steady aim!”
All the way to where our Founders intended.
What arms did our Founders say could be denied to the people?
What weapons did the Afghans use to eject the Soviet Union from Afghanistan?
What weapons were outlawed prior to 1934?
If you wish to tolerate criminality in our neighborhoods and use that to justify disarming me and other law-abiding citizens, you won't get what you claim to want. There is no reason to fear arms in the hands of the law-abiding. And there is no way to disarm the non-law-abiding short of hunting them down like the dogs they are.
The machine guns you fear are available today to civilians at ten or twenty times their manufacturing cost. That didn't stop the two bank robbers in L.A. from using them to shoot at the police and it didn't stop the two robbers from being shot dead for their efforts.
For a reality check on the NRA, watch the YouTube video at the link in post #60. NRA Board Member explaining how assault weapons really aren’t appropriate for ordinary citizens, though perhaps he could support it as long as we aren’t allowed to have any with a capacity of more than 5 rounds! If you’re so gung-ho about the NRA, you should devote your energy to pressuring them to clean house, instead of hanging around FR threads and insulting the intelligence of posters who understand that the Second Amendment is intended to enable ordinary citizens to take down the government if necessary.
I'll assume that you are not bsing about a drawing being a 'felony'. that said, we are so screwed and far gone its gonna cost a great deal of lives to fix the problems...
Sorry Dave, but the 2A aint about what you or anyone else determines that I 'need', and while a correct ruling by the supremes is desirable to compell the out of control suits to change course, it really isnt needed for my rights to exist.
the NBC dead horse has been repeatedely beaten here lately and the definition of arms remains the same, anything possibly useful to kick the ass of any threats to me or the republic at large is supposed to be available as far as my wallet allows...
Well I remember a time when persons had gun racks in their trucks and actual rifles or shotguns hanging on them rather than NRA stickers in the rear window.
Sorry but the NRA is much like the NRC. It's just a brokerage firm for compromises on basic rights and freedoms. I belong to no club or association. Most of them after a few years become invaded with compromising moderate clowns who render them useless or worse support their sellouts fer da children of course.
As for lobbying? That is the most corrupt form of access to congress in the nation. What is worse is fools who pay them for services rendered as most of them work for companies that have no problems working for both sides. You tell me why a lobbyist is going to end their own gravy train when they can slowly draw a steady check from suckers for years with limited wins just enough to make them seem crediable? If the NRA needs lobbyist to send it's meaasge loud and clear then that is a lot of it's problem right there. It needs to be encouraging membership itself to stand out side the Pro-gun control congressman's office and stay till they are heard. The problem however is there is a substancial portion of members who want us to have gun laws it seems. So for that reason I will never join it.
I have as about as much faith in the lobby system as I do union stewards and presidents. No they don't care about you, your rights, or nothing but making sure you pay dues much like the RNC and much like the NRA.
From the sound of things the NRA leadership is much like congress meaning in bad need of tossing them out on their ears. But I bet they use the slogans like if we don't compromise on gun laws we won't get nothing.
I call BS on that. Drawings are not NFA items.
I would agree [but the statute or precedent may exist], as I would also agree that the full functioning parts are no threat in lawful hands.
that said, the mere fact that we have a borderline majority of suits that would like to jail me for 'intent'[panties drenched at the thought of losing power] due to simple possession of a drawing is a sign of how far down the path weve gone.
spring cleaning will have to get done sooner or later, until then BLOAT...
However, you are correct we are screwed. Citizens need to understand that the M-16 issue and the items in the article are DECISIONS by a FEDERAL agency that is out of control and these "rules" were NEVER voted on by Congress or signed by the President. They were simply published twice in a journal and became a statute.
I’m amazed that you are amazed. This device conforms to the exact specifications of the law (a single shot with one pull of the trigger). This device requires that the trigger reset after each shot compared with a full auto weapon which only requires one pull of the trigger for multiple shots.
Using your reasoning, the Colt Single Action Army should also be deemed a machine gun because some shooters han cycle it at over 600 rpm.
Should read : Sorry but the NRA is much like the RNC.
Then you believe that if there never was a NRA, we would all be better off at this point on time? I don’t think so. That’s like saying that no one should have lobbied to take away partial birth abortion because what we really want is NO abortion.
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