Originally Posted By gimp2x: what are the associated costs with a RLL ? I haven't been able to find any information of where you guys are legally purchasing these items. I've got about $20,000 budgeted, but obviously I'd like to spend as little as posssible to make room for other toys :)

The costs are a $200 transfer tax for an item registered to a dealer anywhere, or to a non-dealer in your state; $400 (because an extra transfer is required) if you buy from an out-of-state individual. In addition, you may have state sales taxes and dealer fees for handling transfers, which vary.

Since the only legal MGs are those registered prior to May 19, 1986, there are only about 100,000 total in existence; maybe 25,000 of these are AR/M16 RRs, RDIAS and RLLs. We buy them from each other, and from dealers who buy, sell and trade.

Check ads on the EE here, as well as on subguns.com and sturmgewehr.com. A few pop up on other boards like gunbroker and auctionarms, but they tend to be higher-priced.

You can also contact dealers and see what they may have in their fast-moving and very small inventories. A list of recommended dealers is www.subguns.com/c2c3/c2c3.htm

Originally Posted By pathfinder74: Originally Posted By joeblack: Originally Posted By E22CAPT: would it be possible to transfer the serial number from a sear that was distroyed to a new one by a manufacturer? <hr height=1px color=black noshade> No, the serial numbers can not be transfered. You must repair the broken device.  Sear trips, pins, and springs are easy to make/get. I'll accept this, but I'm curious where it's written in the BATFE "laws" that this can't be done. Also, I thought I read in a way older thread about this being done before... or was it something else? Is there anything firearms related that can be re-manufactured and serial number transferred (with the old part being destroyed to avoid duplicates)? Or am I thinking of something like car parts of something completely unrelated?

People get confused by the AW ban (1994-2004), which did allow receiver replacement. The machine gun ban, however, does not.

The reason is the different ways Congress worded the two bans.

--The '94 AW ban said that, effective on October 1994, no more so-called "assault weapons" could be manufactured for civilian ownership. It made no mention whatsoever of the "assault weapons" manufactured prior to that date, so there were no legal restrictions placed on the repair or receiver replacement of preban firearms.

--The '86 MG ban was a flat ban of all machine guns for civilian ownership, regardless of the date of the firearm's manufacture. But the law added a clause that proof of legal ownership of an existing MG prior to May 19, 1986 was an affirmative defense against prosecution. The "legal ownership" part has been interpreted by BATFE and the courts to mean any machine gun listed in the NFA Registry prior to May 19, 1986. And the "affirmative defense" clause means that under the law, all MGs are illegal for civilians -- but you cannot be prosecuted for owning one if it was registered prior to the effective date.

Now, a note about law in the U.S.: There are two bodies of law which govern us, those specifically written by Congress, and administrative law, which is written by government agencies empowered with enforcing the broad laws passed by Congress. Administrative law carries the same weight, and in fact the majority of specific laws governing us were written by agencies, not by Congresscritters. If you don't like an administrative law, you have the option of challenging it in federal court; otherwise, it remains the law of the land.

Among BATFE's administrative findings is that the 1986 ban, in effect, froze the status of machine guns. Thus, they prohibit many modifications. If a registered-receiver AR15 was converted via an unserialed DIAS, you cannot now drill the sear hole to "complete" the receiver. A registered-receiver Uzi which has its blocking bars intact cannot have them cut out now. Registered-receiver HKs cannot be drilled for the push-pin. In all three cases, these modifications would only be to bring the receivers up to spec to match their current Form 1s/4s. Yet doing so is a felony (manufacture and subsequent possession of a new, post-1986 machine gun).

My take: Given that BATFE states that it is a felony to drill one hole in an existing registered receiver that was manufactured and registered prior to May 19, 1986, there is no way they will legally let you replace the entire hunk of metal.

Yes, I know some transferable receivers have been replaced in the past. I wish the best to their owners.

Originally Posted By natethreet: Originally Posted By FloridaC3: Apparently (I think one of the guys posting in this thread pointed it out in another) KNS Precision has made a new part to prevent link breakage.. This could really bump up the value of a link, as fragility was the key issue after the sleect fire kits were made.. Lightning Link - BEST buy in M16's.. do you have a link to the thread?

Photo and a link to the website are in the second post on page three of this thread. So just back up a bit.

Originally Posted By nl12: can you use a RDIAS in an ar10?

Not legally, and not without modifications.

Originally Posted By nugentgl: Originally Posted By tony_k: Originally Posted By nl12: can you use a RDIAS in an ar10? Not legally, and not without modifications. Why not legally?

BATFE's view: A registered machine gun conversion device may only be used in the firearm for which it was originally designed.

If it were legal, we would all be buying $3k FNC sears and installing them in AR15s (yes, it can be done, and yes, it has been proposed to BATFE, which shot the idea down, ruling that any such host modification would constitute manufacture of a post-sample MG).

While the AR10 was designed by the same folks as the AR15, it is dimensionally different enough that it is no longer a drop-in conversion. Modifying the host AR10 to accept an RDIAS or other pre-'86 registered conversion device is considered by BATFE to be manufacture of a post-1986 MG.

Originally Posted By VelveteenMole: What about putting an RDIAS in an AR15 which has an upper that's designed to fire 6.5 grendel or even a 9mm conversion?  Does it matter if you have to modify the bolt carrier for timing or function, assuming it's necessary?

Uppers in different calibers or that require tuning for timing aren't a problem: As long as they bolt onto a standard-spec AR15 lower receiver, you are good to go with an RDIAS. At least, they are OK today -- who knows what BATFE will rule tomorrow?

Yes.

Nothing makes your cornhole pucker more than breaking open your rifle, having the RDIAS fall out into the weeds, and you can't find it.

It sucks.
Lots.