A legal machine gun is very expensive to buy. If you have a class 3 licence and are able to leagally own a fully automatic weapon are you allowed to build your own machine gun??? Like say I bought a new thompson smg from auto ordinance, would I be allowed to convert it to full auto if I had a machine gun licence? Or would I have to buy one that was originally a real fully automatic weapon? A thompson smg that is authentic goes for $15,000-30,000, a new semi auto goes for $1,500.
2007-05-02 20:37:25 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
In May of 1986, Reagan signed into law a bill that forbids registering machine guns for civilian use. This means that almost all machineguns owned by civilians were made before May 1986. This makes the supply fixed (actually it goes down slowly) while demand increases.
To make a machine gun, you need to have a Federal Firearms License ($200/3 years) and be a class 3 Special Occupational Taxpayer ($1000/year). The machine gun must also be for government use, this is how the manufacturers like Colt and Bushmaster do it.
Since the government understands that research is required to make new and better weapons, any class 3 can obtain a letter from a government organization allowed to use NFA weapons and use this letter to obtain permission to make a machine gun from the ATF. This machine gun would be made for the government, but kept for research by the person making it. It can only be transferred to a government organization or another dealer.
Converting a semi-auto to full auto is the same as making a new machine gun; all of the above rules apply. You are much better off just paying $5000 to $15000 for a machine gun. Becoming a dealer/manufacturer is more expensive than just paying the license fees.
Ranb
2007-05-05 05:48:32 · answer #1 · answered by ranb40 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bound's hubby here:
You can not legally modify a factory original semiautomatic rifle into a machine gun. There are several engineering considerations to keep in mind. Also, under the law to manufacture a firearm you have to have a special license from BAFTE. It would not be worth it.
Actually, if you want to do this the legal route, if you can find a legitimate receiver from a Thompson SMG at a price you like you can get a Thompson Machine Gun parts kit from Sportsmans Guide for $700 and assemble a Thompson. This would be your only legal alternative to buying one on the market.
Good luck.
2007-05-03 00:38:46 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It depends. There are state laws and federal laws regarding firearms. Start with ATF. You might have to register the semi as an automatic after you do the conversion.
Now remember this is about fire arms and not weapons. For instance you can increase the power of a nail gun and make it into an automatic with no license what so ever. You could even legally fire the modified nail gun (as long as it didn't use gun powder) in you backyard even if you could get it to shoot 2,000 nails a minute and shoot through a car door at 50 feet.
2007-05-02 20:52:49 · answer #3 · answered by gregory_dittman 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Having the Class III license merely allows you to own or possess the fully automatic gun. It does not allow you to build a machine gun or convert a semi auto weapon into a fully automatic one. That requires other licenses and permits. None of which are easy or cheap to get.
2007-05-02 22:43:36 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
As long as you have your Class 3 you are allowed to convert semi-autos to Auto, however you need to make sure that automatic weapons are legal in your area. And there might be more registration requirements if you do the conversion.
2007-05-02 20:46:45 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Janie's Got A Gun by Aerosmith Big Guns by Skid Row
2016-05-19 04:53:52 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Even though you have to be fingerprinted, background checked, photographed and registered with the FBI in order to own a machine gun--making it the safest thing around--you still aren't allowed to make one. That's because some idiots thought the public would be served better by freezing the number of machineguns in circulation. Yes, that's as stupid as it comes but there's no reasoning with these people. If registration was the answer to gun crime and not simply a method to mindlessly ban, wouldn't it work better?
2007-05-02 20:55:40 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Just letting the BATF know that you want to do such a thing is putting yourself under their microscope. I assure you, unless you have unlimited funds, and the right political connections, you will NOT succeed in this venture.
2007-05-03 00:35:25 · answer #8 · answered by WC 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
buy a new one
2007-05-03 02:03:32 · answer #9 · answered by matthew j 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋