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A selective fire firearm fires semiautomatically and at least one automatic mode by means of a selector depending on the weapons design. Some selective fire weapons utilize burst fire mechanisms to limit the maximum or total number of shots fired automatically in this mode. The most common limits are two or three rounds per pull of the trigger.
Selective fire weapons, by definition, have a semiautomatic mode, where the weapon automatically reloads the chamber after each fired round, but requires the trigger be released and pulled again before firing the next round. This allows for rapid and (in theory) aimed fire. In some weapons, the selection is between different rates of automatic fire and/or varying burst limiters. The selection is often by a small rotating switch often integral with the safety catch or a switch separate from the safety—as in the British SA80-family.
Some selective fire weapons offer a burst mode as the second option, where each pull of the trigger automatically fires a predetermined number of rounds (generally two or three), but won't fire any more until the trigger is pulled again. The current U.S. standard assault rifle, the M16A2, and the M4A1 carbine variant of this rifle fire a maximum of three rounds with each pull of the trigger in burst mode. In this design, it retains the count of previously fired rounds and may fire fewer than three rounds. Other designs reset the count with each trigger pull allowing a uniform three round burst as long as rounds remain.
A common version of the Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun (widely used by SWAT teams and military special operations personnel) fires single shots, three-round-bursts, and fully-automatically. A special variant uses a two-round-burst to minimize the chances of missing with a third round. Some automatic cannons have larger burst limiters to coincide with higher rates of fire.
Selective fire weapons are regulated in the United States under the National Firearms Act of 1934; their new manufacture for the civilian market was prohibited by the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986. Those still in circulation often command prices significantly higher than similar models still available to law enforcement and military agencies.
Labels
Several labels can be used on selectors, depending on the model:
- S (Safe), E (Semi-automatic), 3F (Burst fire), F (Fully-automatic)
- S (Safe), 1 (Semi-automatic), 3 (Burst fire), 30 (Fully-automatic)
- A picture of a white bullet (Safe), a black bullet in a closed box (Semi-automatic), three bullets in a closed box (Burst fire), several bullets in an open ended box (Fully-automatic)
See also
- List of firearms
- Bump fire - a technique to simulate fully-automatic firing with a semi-automatic rifle
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