Semiautomatic rifles becoming automatic unintendedly?

[Anthony Appleyard]

Is it known (and how early) for ordinary self-reloading semiautomatic rifles to fire fully automatic unintendedly because of some such cause as internal wear or damage, and that suggested making a rifle fire auto intendedly? Some of the early guns in this list

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_submachine_guns

look much like ordinary rifles with an ordinary narrow receiver. But I suspect that using an ordinary rifle that way may over-stress its internal mechanism.

 

[SilvrSRT10]

I've heard that an SKS with a dirty firing pin can go fully auto. It'll empty a magazine in seconds. But you have no control over it. Once it starts, it won't quit until the mag is empty. Not a full auto you want to deal with.

 

[Anthony Appleyard]

From my British point of view, I can imagine a man who has never seen automatic gunfire except on television and at the cinema, going hunting with a semiautomatic hunting rifle; his alarmed reaction when he aims and fires, expecting the usual "bang", but instead his rifle goes "tatatat".

 

[oppo]

I once had a 12 gauge do that to me. I believe the culprit was actually a weak sear spring. As soon as it got hot, it start doubling. It was certainly an interesting surprise.

 

[SilvrSRT10]

From my British point of view, I can imagine a man who has never seen automatic gunfire except on television and at the cinema, going hunting with a semiautomatic hunting rifle; his alarmed reaction when he aims and fires, expecting the usual "bang", but instead his rifle goes "tatatat".

Specially if you have a 20 round mag in it. Even though it takes only a second, it would feel like an eternity.

 

[Bluez]

I once had a AR with a very worn trigger (I shoot a lot)
And it would double most times, sometimes triple.

I replaced the trigger when I identified the culprit.
Never know when the ATF is looking for a score....