With a Firearm Acquisition Certificate, Semi-auto AK-47's were widely available for purchase in Canada until 1992. Legislation in that same year, however, prevented any further sales of semi-automatic rifles which fall under the term ‘assault rifle’ to anyone without a Restricted Weapons Permit.

Still, for the average rifle enthusiast, getting such a permit is not always easy or even possible and a further perceived disadvantage of having the permit is that the RCMP reserve the right to inspect the rifle at any given time. Soon after these laws were passed, some literature appeared and can still be found online which explains how these semi-automatic rifles can be made into full-auto conversion weapons.

The literature in question was complied by illegal gun enthusiasts and encouraged the user to retool their own weapon by removing the second sear which the manufacturer had designed for the weapon so that it would only ever fire at a semi-automatic rate.

The procedure for retooling the gun included steps which required the user to dismantle the gun, remove the magazine from the receiver, remove the receiver cover by holding in the square button that sticks out the back of the cover and slide the return spring and the bolt-carrier with piston assembly out of the rifle. Following this the user must then use a twist-tie to tie the second sear back to the pin that runs through the receiver of the gun.

Upon the rebuilding of the weapon (sliding the piston and bolt-carrier back into the rifle, sliding the return spring back into the bolt-carrier and sliding the other end of it into its guide slot and the replacement of the receiver cover) the weapon could fire over 600 rounds per minute.

Still, it is a great concern that so many gun owners are modifying firearms in North America because it is illegal. Other such illegal modifications include the hacking off of a length of a barrel and the addition of a compensator for the weight of the gun. It is also considered an illegal modification when the finish is changed dramatically or if you rechamber a gun for a new calibre of bullet, or even if the shooter opts for some recycled clips.