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Posted: 5/17/2012 6:52:23 AM EDT
Do you guys happen to know the range of serial #'s for pre ban era bushmaster m17s bull pups?  I have one, live in ny and would like to know what I can and cannot put on the muzzle of this thing.  Is there any other way besides the serial # to determine pre vs post ban?
Link Posted: 5/17/2012 7:02:53 AM EDT
[#1]
I think they introduced that rifle post ban.

Mine has a two digit SN and I bought it new around '98.
Link Posted: 5/17/2012 7:23:45 AM EDT
[#2]
Quoted:
I think they introduced that rifle post ban.

Mine has a two digit SN and I bought it new around '98.


From Wiki
The Bushmaster M17S is a semi-automatic bullpup rifle that was manufactured by Bushmaster Firearms International from 1992 until 2005. (Below it says 1994 to 2005 for Bushmaster.)

[edit] HistoryThe design of the M17S dates back to 1986 when the Australian company Armtech Ltd. developed the prototype as a prospective military rifle for the Australian Army. Two prototypes were developed, one for the 5.56x45mm NATO, the C60R, and the more revolutionary C30R that used caseless ammunition. The C30R was developed hastily and an out-of-battery ignition resulted in a prototype exploding during a high-profile demonstration.

The Australian Army adopted a licence-built version of the Steyr AUG, leading to the sale of the Armtech design to another Australian company, Edenpine PTY Ltd. Edenpine improved the design resulting in the ART-30 and SAK-30. The salient features of the M17S were in place but some Finnish Valmet parts were used instead of AR-15 parts to save money. Edenpine expressed interest in selling the design on the United States market and subsequently licensed the design to Bushmaster for local manufacture thus avoiding import restrictions. This rifle was sold from October 1992 to 1994 as the "Edenpine M17S Bull-Pup rifle." The distributor was Edenpine (USA) Inc., the American branch of Edenpine of Australia, headquartered in San Jose, California.

When Edenpine folded in 1994, the totality of the rights passed to Bushmaster, who manufactured it as the "Bushmaster M17S", starting just a few months before the approval of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. The M17S was the only American made bullpup rifle to be offered commercially, and the only one not banned by name. The BATF approved a version with a longer barrel sleeve which covered more of the muzzle thread. This made it impossible to securely attach the M16-style "Birdcage" flash hider.[1]

Link Posted: 5/17/2012 7:53:41 AM EDT
[#3]
Link Posted: 5/17/2012 10:58:50 AM EDT
[#4]
Link Posted: 5/17/2012 12:50:44 PM EDT
[#5]
mine has the a1 flash hider on it.  where are these 2 spanner nuts?  I was told on the safety side of the upper that it was a post bad due to the 4 small allen screws that hold the bolt slide to the inside.  Is this true or bs?

here's a crappy pic.  See the 4 screws in the middle of the rear portion of the upper... I was told those mean post ban.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/salty600x/IMAG0037.jpg
Link Posted: 5/17/2012 3:08:35 PM EDT
[#6]


***  ELVIS:  Please edit this and repost your reply.  I tried to quote and post below and ended up editing your post here by mistake, and I can't retrieve it now. Enitirely my fault and I am terribly sorry!  HardShell

Link Posted: 5/17/2012 3:26:56 PM EDT
[#7]
What nuts Elvis?  Does yours have the flash hider or the 4 screws in stock?
Link Posted: 5/17/2012 5:50:10 PM EDT
[#8]

Quoted:





There are indeed pre-ban M17s rifles out there. But not many. I saw a few come back for repairs when I worked there but they were rare and were the old split pin style receivers. Those were notoriously weak in the area where the pins went through the receiver would wear and bend fail after a while.




The later ones were better but only as good as the heat treat in the aluminum. A lot of them were heated to too high a temperature when they were teflon coated and the recievers were soft. Where the barrel is secured to the upper receiver with an allen screw the aluminum would bend after 60 rounds or less.




This was not caught on a lot of them in test fire because the factory test fire was only 10 rounds. We used to go through a lot of uppers in repair trying to find ones that weren't soft.




My suggestion to people that still have M17s is to hang them on the wall or sell them. If they break you probably won't be able to get any new replacement parts from Bushmaster as I've heard of people that have tried. A few people have called Bushmaster with M17 problems and they tell them to call us. We can't do anything for them since Bushmaster has all of the old inventory and the tools to fix them. (about $30,000 worth of inventory)
Oh and to answer the first question, if it didn't come with an A1 flash hider on it and has two spanner nuts on the end, it didn't leave as a pre-ban. All prebans left the factory with the short barrel sleeve and an A1 flash hider.
Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile





Interesting.



But I disagree that the M17s needs to be relegated to wall hanger status.



So some of the uppers are soft from improper heat treating.



They can be successfully reinforced, and kept shooting.



Companies like K&M Aerospace have been doing it for years.



And the issue with parts availability is well known.  In spite of that the M17s has been experiencing a resurgence of popularity.



Now companies like K&M are manufacturing some replacement parts as well.



So I would not count out the venerable M17s just yet.



Its a Must have for any Bullpup enthusiasts collection.



My M17s is actually a better shooter than my FS2000.

























 
Link Posted: 5/17/2012 8:07:05 PM EDT
[#9]
Quoted:
mine has the a1 flash hider on it.  where are these 2 spanner nuts?  I was told on the safety side of the upper that it was a post bad due to the 4 small allen screws that hold the bolt slide to the inside.  Is this true or bs?

here's a crappy pic.  See the 4 screws in the middle of the rear portion of the upper... I was told those mean post ban.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/salty600x/IMAG0037.jpg


Yours is a post ban.  Someone removed the two barrel nuts and just added a flash hider.
Link Posted: 5/17/2012 8:11:26 PM EDT
[#10]
With all the work I have done on these I can tell the soft ones from the others.  I end up having to put a metal sleeve in the section where the barrel attaches to the lower at the breach block.  I did not know that BM knew about the problem.  I just end up fixing their mistake.
Link Posted: 5/17/2012 9:09:30 PM EDT
[#11]
Link Posted: 5/18/2012 6:22:58 AM EDT
[#12]
Link Posted: 5/18/2012 6:51:25 AM EDT
[#13]
I was told this is a pre-ban lower, so if you SN is less, it might also be pre-ban.

Link Posted: 5/18/2012 7:01:18 AM EDT
[#14]
Quoted:
My M17s is actually a better shooter than my FS2000.


Well, I've had both, still have the FS2K, and my FN is a much better shooter simply from the weight. From the bench I'd say they were equal, but after 10 min of holding the M17s, I really wanted to put it down. And mine was fully converted/shortened/with weight reducing (cooling) slots from KKF. The weight was the only reason I got rid of it.
Link Posted: 5/18/2012 8:39:54 AM EDT
[#15]



Quoted:


I was told this is a pre-ban lower, so if you SN is less, it might also be pre-ban.



http://s17.postimage.org/tq45l8oq7/IMAG0060.jpg


I don't think you were told correctly.

 
Pretty sure yours is post ban

They were only in production for a few months when the ban

Took effect.

The number made was small.

Check out K&M website for clues on what to look for.
Link Posted: 5/18/2012 10:04:36 AM EDT
[#16]
Quoted:

Quoted:
I was told this is a pre-ban lower, so if you SN is less, it might also be pre-ban.

http://s17.postimage.org/tq45l8oq7/IMAG0060.jpg

I don't think you were told correctly.  
Pretty sure yours is post ban
They were only in production for a few months when the ban
Took effect.
The number made was small.
Check out K&M website for clues on what to look for.


It doesn't matter to me as I'm not in a ban state, but that's kind of confirms my suspicions.

ETA: According to the ATF letter on K&M's website, S/N P01514 is pre-ban (and recalled), so it's possible (probable?) that what I was told is actually correct and S/N# 1776 is pre-ban.
Link Posted: 5/22/2012 6:43:01 AM EDT
[#17]
Link Posted: 5/22/2012 6:51:53 AM EDT
[#18]
Link Posted: 5/22/2012 7:42:27 AM EDT
[#19]
I've got SN 0056 and it has the two lock nuts on the end of the barrel, so I suspect there are very few pre-ban rifles out there.

I'd sell it as I haven't shot it in something like fifteen years, but I also have an AUG A3 that I got through the board here with the exact same serial number.
Link Posted: 5/23/2012 5:26:47 AM EDT
[#20]
Quoted:
I've got SN 0056 and it has the two lock nuts on the end of the barrel, so I suspect there are very few pre-ban rifles out there.

I'd sell it as I haven't shot it in something like fifteen years, but I also have an AUG A3 that I got through the board here with the exact same serial number.


Might be a parts gun that someone slapped a post ban upper onto, especially if you bought it new in '98.
Link Posted: 5/23/2012 3:22:58 PM EDT
[#21]
This is the last M17S produced by Bushmaster. It was built February 2011

Link Posted: 5/23/2012 5:10:55 PM EDT
[#22]
That Last M17s is amazing
Whats the serial number?

was it made up out of the last parts they had?

How do you know about it?

Is It pre-Ban?
Link Posted: 5/24/2012 3:51:22 AM EDT
[#23]
Link Posted: 5/24/2012 3:55:08 AM EDT
[#24]
Link Posted: 5/24/2012 7:05:17 AM EDT
[#25]
Quoted:
Quoted:
That Last M17s is amazing
Whats the serial number?
was it made up out of the last parts they had?
How do you know about it?
Is It pre-Ban?


That photo was taken on a cell phone in the Bushmaster gunsmithing cave where I spent my last days with that company. It was built with leftover inventory before we packed it all up and shipped it to Ilion New York were it is now gathering dust.
I don't like Bullpups but this picture warms my heart. I like that we got to do some special things for GIBrat before the Freedom group plane flew away.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile


Erik, you, Paul and the rest of "The Real Bushmaster" crew did turn out some very special toys for me in those final days and I truly thank y'all!
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