SMGs of course are “submachineguns” because they’re generally full auto like other machine guns, despite firing pistol-caliber cartridges. However, my question is, why are “automatic rifles” not simply called a different form of machine gun? Surely every SMG and LMG isn’t smoothbore right? Why aren’t “assault rifles” just called “intermediate machine guns” or something of the sort when they’re fully automatic just like SMGs?
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A general rule of thumb, though not perfect: if it’s magazine-fed, it’s a rifle; if it’s belt-fed, it’s a machine gun.
But yeah, it all has to do with history, as so many things do. Also, there is no real definition of an “assault” weapon. That’s political speech for fear-mongering and vote acquisition.
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