Anyone here into firearms?

Isamu · 05-12-2011, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacCool

Yes, although if it's a full-auto weapon it would have had to be registered prior to May of 1986. You'd have to be a class 3 SOT to have any recently manufactured full-auto. And, one would have to be sure that full auto weapons are legal in the state where you live. Just because federal law permits it under some circumstances, various state laws do prohibit individual possession of various Title II weapons.

I've made many Title II weapons, mostly short barrel rifles. The paperwork is a moderate nuisance, and it typically takes the ATF 3-4 months to do the background check and run the paperwork, but it's do-able.

so what your saying is you are a gunsmith? because, I want one of those ^

MacCool · 05-12-2011, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Isamu

so what your saying is you are a gunsmith? because, I want one of those ^

Actually I'm a doctor (not a gunsmith, Jim...

) Anyway, no gunsmithing required, rather I "assembled" it from various parts bought separately from various manufacturers. I registered that particular lower receiver with ATF as a short-barrel-rifle and paid the $200 for the tax stamp so I could use it with the 11.5 inch barrel in the photo, but I could have just as easily have used a completely legal 16-inch barrel and skipped the registration. If a person assembles a Title II weapon like that, ATF defines them as the "maker" of the weapon.

The M16/AR15 platform is highly modular and lends itself well to that kind of construction. Although some special tools are necessary, it's a pretty straightforward assembly and well within the capability of anyone with even modest tool-using skills. The hard part is knowing what parts are good, and work well with each other. Earlier in this thread, I made reference to so-called "tier 3" weapons like Bushmaster and DPMS based on their manufacturing specs and QA process, or lack thereof. Those are the kind of parts and brand of parts that most serious rifle "makers" avoid, based on a known history of what works and what fails on these weapons when they're put into hard use.