Posted: 8/27/2001 12:27:41 PM EDT
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Sorry if this one's been covered....I'm new! What is the legality of converting an AR-15 to a fully automatic weapon? I've heard several conflicting answers to this question, but I was wondering if anyone had any good comments or online references to this one... [uzi]Thanks! [heavy] |
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For the vast majority of people (meaning, those without FFLs and SOTs), the only way to make an AR15 full auto legally is to purchase a registered Drop-In Auto Sear (DIAS). The DIAS is itself considered a machine gun, even though its just a couple of chunks of metal. The process for buying one of these is the same as buying any other machine gun, but they're a bit cheaper. You can then buy a post-ban AR lower, have the "block" milled out, install the full-auto fire-control parts, and drop an upper (of any configuration) on it. Note that you must leave the DIAS in the gun unless the rifle is first put back into legal post-ban configuration. Otherwise, it is not legal to convert an existing AR to full-auto unless you're a licensed manufacturer and you're making them for a government agency. No new *transferable* "machine guns" have been allowed on the registry since 1986. -Troy |
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Cool. That was my understanding too, but my local gun dealer and the Bushmaster website\catalog claim it is *absolutely* illegal to convert an AR-15 into a fully automatic weapon. Perhaps they were playing it safe by not encouraging the practice of full-auto conversion... [:\] |
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Legally, installing a drop-in conversion is not "converting an AR-15 to fully automatic", since the registered drop-in part is already the legal machinegun, and when you take it out, the rifle is a legal semiautomatic. So bushmaster is correct, but their language is a bit confusing to someone who doesn't know about drop-in conversion parts. |