Posted on 06/22/2008 12:44:27 AM PDT by neverdem
HUDSON - For years, marksmen have used a technique called bump firing: shooting a semiautomatic rifle from the hip and allowing the weapon's recoil to pull the trigger.
With the assault-weapons ban keeping most fully automatic weapons out of their hands, it was one of the few ways for enthusiasts to enjoy the thrill of firing a machine gun.
Bill Akins found a way to simulate that action by inventing a device that mechanized the recoil resistance of a semiautomatic rifle to fire more rapid, and accurate, bursts of bullets.
The Hudson man spent nearly a decade designing the Akins Accelerator, got a patent for it and then 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.
That was until the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives banned the Accelerator - two years after approving it - forcing Akins to the brink of bankruptcy.
Akins now is taking the fight to the federal government.
He has filed a pair of lawsuits against the ATF - in U.S. District Court in Tampa and in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington - challenging the agency's ruling and asking to be compensated for more than $1 million in financial losses.
His attorney, John R. Monroe of Georgia, said the lawsuit in Tampa argues that the ATF ruling that banned the Accelerator was "arbitrary and capricious" and asks for a federal judge to grant an injunction against it so Akins can resume production of the device.
The other lawsuit asks for unspecified damages for compensation for his losses.
Monroe said the basis of the legal challenge is that the ATF overstepped its authority.
The 1968 Gun Control Act defines a machine gun as a weapon that "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."
Monroe said the Akins Accelerator does not fit the definition of a machine gun.
"While the ATF might not like it, they're stuck with the laws that Congress passed," he said. "They have no policy-making authority outside of the boundaries of the laws."
Akins, 55, said the issue boils down to fairness.
"They arbitrarily changed their mind and didn't offer any compensation," he said.
ATF officials wouldn't comment on the pending litigation, but a spokesman said the agency stands behind the decision to outlaw the Accelerator.
Drew Wade said the ATF initially approved the device after test-firing a prototype Akins sent the agency in 2003. He said the prototype malfunctioned when it was tested and analyzed by a senior technician from the ATF's Firearms Technology Branch.
But the agency approved the Accelerator anyway, saying in a letter 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 an August 2005 letter.
Wade said the agency reversed its position after someone who bought a fully functioning Accelerator requested another test-firing. This time, it worked.
Shortly after, federal regulators issued a new ruling, concluding the Akins Accelerator was a machine gun prohibited under the National Firearms Act and the Gun Control Act of 1968.
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 of the devices sold. The recipients had to sign the document and return it to the ATF with the removed springs.
Wade wouldn't comment on the rationale for the ATF's reversal of its ruling.
The Accelerators, made of injection-molded plastic, sold for about $1,000 each. They came with tools and instructions on how to attach the device to a semiautomatic rifle.
Similar to a Hellfire, which attaches to the trigger guard and has been on the market for decades, the Accelerator was based on the target-shooting 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 devices were made for a Ruger 10/22, but Akins intended to make them for other rifles, too.
The device was a hit. Internet chat rooms buzzed with excitement from posters who had heard about the Accelerator, and Akins was flooded with orders from across the country. Akins' customer base was sport shooters and gun enthusiasts.
"They were selling like hot cakes," Akins said.
In 2006, a few months after full production began, the ATF reversed its ruling, leaving Akins with a worthless product, a mountain of debt and a warehouse filled with more than $750,000 worth of useless stock.
Akins wrote to the ATF, asking for clarification.
What followed was a flurry of vague and often contradictory correspondence that never fully explained why federal regulators changed their position, Akins said.
To the ATF, the mechanism was an illegal converter kit that, in the wrong hands, could turn a normal target-shooting 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.
"They took everything from me," Akins said. "This is America. How can they do that?"
To see a demonstration of the Accelerator, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P8AbTKvykE.
Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.
Why am I not surprised?
For the 27 billionth time... the "assault weapons ban(s)" don't actually ban "fully automatic" firearms, which have been largely illegal since the 30's. They only ban semi automatic firearms that look similar to them, regardless of how they function.
Doesn't anyone in the media care about writing facts?!
"Overstepped its authority?"
Our ATF?
Say it ain't so. /s
Surely you jest?
And before I've even had my 1st cup of coffee.
Sheesh.
Oh, and I apologize in advance for calling you "surely." lol
Where is the picture with the guy smacking his forehead “Not this sh*t, again!”
For all intents and purposes it does the same thing as an automatic. However, I’m not sure I’d plop down a grand for one. I’m assuming it’s the tuned mechanical equivalent of a ‘standing wave’ (pressure) that basically matches the recoil cycle, etc.....must be touch to tune....
There are a whole lot of U.S. Govt. agencies that aren’t worth a cup of spit. The B.A.T.F. is right up there near the worst.
Lots of criminals like Lon Horiuchi that should at the least be in prison for their “official “actions and sitting in an electric chair if I had my way.
Murderers and scum.
Is it really that hard, after all these years of manipulation by the MSM, to understand that they know full well what the particular "fascts" are.
Their purpose is to give mis-information (re-define, if you will) to the general public.
fascts = facts
Actually, automatic weapons are not illegal and never have been. However, the process, procedure and conditions for owning and possessing one is arduous for sure. It's been a long time since I possessed a FFL but as I recall, in order to own a full auto one must apply for a permit through their local police authorities, must have an approved method of securing the weapon, and must be willing to allow law enforcement to inspect one's home and storage faculty anytime there is a gun issue that could possibly involve a weapon such as the owner possesses. Like I said, it's been awhile since I have read through the conditions. So, anyone is welcome to add to or correct my inputs. Like a Freeper needs an invite to do this :)...
This is a 55-year-old man. How can he be that naive?
1) purchase it from a federally licensed dealer who is a Class 3/FSOT.
2) submit a Form 4 in duplicate approved by the chief law enforcement officer in your locality (unless you are chief officer of an LLC in which case the signature is not required)
3) supply two passport photos and two sets of fingerprints
4) and submit $200 per weapon to the ATF and wait for them to process the application (I've never had to wait more than 6 weeks for any of mine).
This is all subject to local and state ordinances. It's all a lot of unconstitutional hoops to jump through in order to exercise a fundamental right.
Best regards,
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.
....
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.
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