Select fire

The presence of select fire modes on firearms permits more efficient use of rounds to be fired for specific needs, versus having a single mode of operation, such as fully automatic, thereby conserving ammunition while maximizing on-target accuracy and effectiveness.

[4]: 225–226  The next version (M1918A1) had a unique rate-of-fire reducer mechanism purchased from FN Herstal with two rates of automatic fire.

[5] Another German design that used select fire was the StG 44 that was the first of its kind to see major deployment and is considered by many historians to be the first modern assault rifle.

[6] "The principle of this weapon -- the reduction of muzzle impulse to get useful automatic fire within actual ranges of combat -- was probably the most important advance in small arms since the invention of smokeless powder.

Another method is a weighted trigger, such as the Steyr AUG, which will fire a single shot when 4.0 - 7.1 kg (8.8 – 15.4 lbs.)

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 (which is widely used by SWAT teams and military special operations personnel) fires single shots, three-round-bursts, and automatically.