Back in the days when robbing banks got you fame and glory — and ultimately a body full of FBI bullets — John Dillinger was rigging his 1911 the full-auto way.

“During the bank robber era, some guns-savvy outlaws had gunsmiths make select-fire handguns for them. In fact, an Arizona gunsmith created a full-auto 1911 .38 Super for John Dillinger, complete with vertical forearm. In the early days, it was no big deal. It wasn’t until the National Firearms Act of 1934 that machineguns were treated any differently than other firearms.”— Patrick Sweeney, 1911, The First 100 Years,” from the chapter “Between the Wars.”