Well, I've finally convinced my friend to sell his AK-47 and start building a real rifle, the AR-15, specifically he'll be building an M4 clone. Now he wants all the evil features on it: flash hider, bayonet lug, collapsable stock, and he's gotta 37mm launcher on the way as well. Now my understanding (this is what I've told him), is that if you attach a nut to the magazine release so a magazine cannot be removed and weld or braise the nut so it is permanent, the evil features are legal. If I am wrong in my process of thought, please correct me. Thank you for your input.

In general principle, if the receiver is not capable of accepting a detachable magazine, it is not subject to the provisions of the AW ban.

However, exactly what constitutes "not capable" is a matter of technical interpretation by the BATF.  [b]I[/b] would agree that a welded or brazed nut preventing removal of the magazine is "non-detachable" but BATF might not agree that it renders the rifle "not capable" of accepting a detachable magazine.

Commercial offerings of non-detachable magazine AR's in the past have included a complete absence of the magwell, or permanently, fully welded magazine, as well as one wierd system with rails which allowed the magazine to be released from the locked position, lowered out of the magwell on those rails/tracks, and pivoted for reloading.

If you (or your friend) were proposing to go into commercial production, I'd urge you to send a sample off to ATF Tech Branch for a type determination.  For a one-off personal use gun, I might go so far as to say that complying with the letter of the law wouldn't even require welding or brazing the nut... just requiring the use of a screwdriver/wrench combo should be sufficient, and providing that there's no way to operate the mag catch "normally" by just backing off the nut a bit (lose the spring and shorten the threaded section of the mag catch so the nut can't be backed off and the mag catch operated without the nut dropping off entirely).

So to summarize, if you make the rifle not capable of accepting a detachable magazine, it can have all the "evil features" you like since it's not subject to the AW ban.  However, simply making an otherwise detachable magazine non-removable does not necessarily render the RECEIVER not capable of accepting a detachable magazine.

Unfortunately, my friend does not have the funds available to put into a preban, and doesn't want to cut up and weld a perfectly good preban upper either. His bet is on the AWB sunseting in 2004. Maybe a far fetched thought to some of you, some of you not. He's willing to go through the bs to load mags, just trying to clarify if it would be legal. I think I would weld the nut just to be safe though.

I was consideing building an AR pistol and came to the conclusion that a fixed 30 rouder would be the way to go.  I'm not sold on welding because it may effect the feeding of the mag if it bends or otherwise deforms the aluminum mag, and then you are stuck with a jam-o-matic.  

I thought about epoxying a Thermold in place, but was informed that the BATF does not consider any form of gluing permanent (at least for telestocks).

If anyone knows of/finds out about a ruling on the mag catch modification, please share.  

IF you decide to do it, let me know. I've got the brazing setup. However, we are gogin to want to insulate this bugger well. Don't want to excessively heat up the lower. Epoxy might suffice...you know how the smokies are in his area......

:)

get the FAB10 receiver it has the permanet 10 rd mag and if im not mistaken, its approved by the ATF.    
            FREE

Umm...no.

Heheh...He's looking for this to be legal until a time when the AWB sunsets. Then bust out the dremel, get a new mag release and Hello AW!!

It's not so much the legality...If it doesn't have a detachable magazine it's simply not an AW. But whether brazing/welding the mag release is concidered permanent....

No FAB, if I can't do a quick reload, I'd rather have 30 than 10.