A Glock switch or Glock auto-sear (sometimes called a button or a giggle switch) is a small device that can be attached to the rear of the slide of a Glock handgun, converting the semi-automatic pistol into a selective fire machine pistol capable of fully automatic fire. As a type of auto sear, it functions by applying force to the trigger bar to prevent it from limiting fire to one round of ammunition per trigger pull. This device by itself, regardless if it is installed on a slide or not, is considered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to be a machine gun, making possession of the device illegal in the United States under most circumstances.
Operation
A Glock switch functions by applying force to a semi-automatic pistol's trigger bar to prevent it from limiting fire to one round of ammunition per trigger pull. Normally, in a semiautomatic pistol, after firing, the trigger bar catches the firing pin until the trigger is released, but when depressed by the switch it does not catch. A Glock switch thus converts the weapon into a machine pistol capable of automatic fire. The device is roughly the size of...