Barber2678
New member
Ditto.
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Full auto AK converstion to semi-auto
- Thread starter cptmclark
- Start date
Ditto.
Dfariswheel
New member
To try and sum all this up:
1. It is a Federal FELONY CRIME for any military personnel to attempt to bring ANY weapons or munitions home.. PERIOD.
Before entering the US all military personnel are advised of this and are SEARCHED to be sure they aren't attempting to bring in contraband like drugs or weapons.
There have been several cases lately of military personnel having been placed under arrest and charged.
2. The Federal government forbids the import or possession of new DEWAT, "Deactivated War Trophies", so he can't bring a deactivated AK home.
DEWATs are no longer legal to import.
3. The government has ruled that a firearm that was originally manufactured as a full-auto CANNOT be "un-made" or legally converted to semi-auto.
"Once a machine gun ALWAYS a machine gun".
That means that if you removed all the full-auto parts from the gun and welded the holes up, it's STILL considered to be a full-auto weapon.
4. Your friend can "probably" (this depends on federal law AND military law) bring home the basic parts of an AK, NOT including the receiver, barrel, and full-auto parts.
These parts could be legally assembled to an American made receiver.
I'm SURE there will be some military paperwork and authorizations that will need to be filled out.
Bottom line: If your friend is considering "sneaking" a weapon, ESPECIALLY a full-auto into the country, he's about to:
A. Get arrested.
B. Get charged with a FELONY CRIME and either court marshaled or tried in a civilian court.
C. Lose his military career.
D. Lose his license to practice medicine.
E. Get sent to prison.
Frankly, this is one of those times where, friend or no friend, you're much better off just walking away and refusing to have ANYTHING to do with it.
1. It is a Federal FELONY CRIME for any military personnel to attempt to bring ANY weapons or munitions home.. PERIOD.
Before entering the US all military personnel are advised of this and are SEARCHED to be sure they aren't attempting to bring in contraband like drugs or weapons.
There have been several cases lately of military personnel having been placed under arrest and charged.
2. The Federal government forbids the import or possession of new DEWAT, "Deactivated War Trophies", so he can't bring a deactivated AK home.
DEWATs are no longer legal to import.
3. The government has ruled that a firearm that was originally manufactured as a full-auto CANNOT be "un-made" or legally converted to semi-auto.
"Once a machine gun ALWAYS a machine gun".
That means that if you removed all the full-auto parts from the gun and welded the holes up, it's STILL considered to be a full-auto weapon.
4. Your friend can "probably" (this depends on federal law AND military law) bring home the basic parts of an AK, NOT including the receiver, barrel, and full-auto parts.
These parts could be legally assembled to an American made receiver.
I'm SURE there will be some military paperwork and authorizations that will need to be filled out.
Bottom line: If your friend is considering "sneaking" a weapon, ESPECIALLY a full-auto into the country, he's about to:
A. Get arrested.
B. Get charged with a FELONY CRIME and either court marshaled or tried in a civilian court.
C. Lose his military career.
D. Lose his license to practice medicine.
E. Get sent to prison.
Frankly, this is one of those times where, friend or no friend, you're much better off just walking away and refusing to have ANYTHING to do with it.
Hi, Dfariswheel,
I think we are wasting our time. Cptmclark seems detemined to help bring in an AK-47, is going to read the law in some way that will allow him to do that, and nothing anyone says will deter him. I think it best to just drop the whole thing, let him and his doctor friend do their thing and let the chips fall. If they succeed, fine. If they end up in federal prison, no one can say they weren't warned.
Jim
I think we are wasting our time. Cptmclark seems detemined to help bring in an AK-47, is going to read the law in some way that will allow him to do that, and nothing anyone says will deter him. I think it best to just drop the whole thing, let him and his doctor friend do their thing and let the chips fall. If they succeed, fine. If they end up in federal prison, no one can say they weren't warned.
Jim
Time to close the thread
Well, I guess two of you guys get off on insulting folks who are thousands of miles away. No one but you has written any suggestion of illegal activity, disonorable, or bad intended. I already asked that further replies of an insulting or attacking nature be taken elsewhere. Maybe you don't read the questions before firing off your attack. It sounds as if you two are jugdging others by yourselves. You like strong words like "you'll go to prison, he'll lose his medical licesnses, "his schemes, "felony crime" (are some felonys not crimes?), "sneaking a weapon". You attack me because someone else asked if DEWAT was appropriate in this case. One of you tells the world that sombody he knows nothing about is:
"he's about to:
A. Get arrested.
B. Get charged with a FELONY CRIME and either court marshaled or tried in a civilian court.
C. Lose his military career.
D. Lose his license to practice medicine.
E. Get sent to prison.
Well well, are you a judge, lawyer specializing in this stuff you imagine, or just blowing off? You opinion is not welcome in this thread. If you can't stand that, just go ahead and blow.
]
You have no idea who "he" is, and are pleased to ignore that "he" took the question to the legal folks in theater for an answer" Is your expertise greater than the military lawyers?, or do you think this is macho and maybe a chance to maybe inpress your friendsby your many words. I doubt you succeeded.
I asked a technical question or two, and I sincerely thank you folks who shared real knowledge and opinions intended to be helpful. The accusations those two make about me and the other soldier are false and they know it. Men don't do that. Nuff said.
I think it's time to close this thread. If somebody needs it to boost their ego with unfounded bravado, have at it.
Thanks again for those who use this forum as intended. I have long enjoyed it.
Well, I guess two of you guys get off on insulting folks who are thousands of miles away. No one but you has written any suggestion of illegal activity, disonorable, or bad intended. I already asked that further replies of an insulting or attacking nature be taken elsewhere. Maybe you don't read the questions before firing off your attack. It sounds as if you two are jugdging others by yourselves. You like strong words like "you'll go to prison, he'll lose his medical licesnses, "his schemes, "felony crime" (are some felonys not crimes?), "sneaking a weapon". You attack me because someone else asked if DEWAT was appropriate in this case. One of you tells the world that sombody he knows nothing about is:
"he's about to:
A. Get arrested.
B. Get charged with a FELONY CRIME and either court marshaled or tried in a civilian court.
C. Lose his military career.
D. Lose his license to practice medicine.
E. Get sent to prison.
Well well, are you a judge, lawyer specializing in this stuff you imagine, or just blowing off? You opinion is not welcome in this thread. If you can't stand that, just go ahead and blow.
]
You have no idea who "he" is, and are pleased to ignore that "he" took the question to the legal folks in theater for an answer" Is your expertise greater than the military lawyers?, or do you think this is macho and maybe a chance to maybe inpress your friendsby your many words. I doubt you succeeded.
I asked a technical question or two, and I sincerely thank you folks who shared real knowledge and opinions intended to be helpful. The accusations those two make about me and the other soldier are false and they know it. Men don't do that. Nuff said.
I think it's time to close this thread. If somebody needs it to boost their ego with unfounded bravado, have at it.
Thanks again for those who use this forum as intended. I have long enjoyed it.
I think there is one longshot way that it can be imported.
As I remember, if it is imported specifically to be recieved by a museum it can be brought in as part of a display. For this to happen it would require alot of red tape and hoops, but I think I remember reading it in the regs when I had my C&R FFL.
If his home base has a museum with a weapons display it could be donated to them.
As I remember, if it is imported specifically to be recieved by a museum it can be brought in as part of a display. For this to happen it would require alot of red tape and hoops, but I think I remember reading it in the regs when I had my C&R FFL.
If his home base has a museum with a weapons display it could be donated to them.
I've heard from a lot of people who have come back, who found a really nice battlefield pickup of some kind. PPSHs, even BARs! ...and they left them there with their squad when they shipped out. Or, if they were contractors, had a "wall o' guns" in their offices somewhere. Over there.
Not gonna come back here.
Not gonna come back here.
Well, I guess two of you guys get off on insulting folks who are thousands of miles away. No one but you has written any suggestion of illegal activity, disonorable, or bad intended. I already asked that further replies of an insulting or attacking nature be taken elsewhere. Maybe you don't read the questions before firing off your attack. It sounds as if you two are jugdging others by yourselves. You like strong words like "you'll go to prison, he'll lose his medical licesnses, "his schemes, "felony crime" (are some felonys not crimes?), "sneaking a weapon".
Get over it; the fact you don't like the answers given is not an insult or an attack. Whether you like it or not, the law and the consequences of violating the law have been correctly stated here by the previous posters. Very simply, it cannot be legally imported by a serviceman as a war trophy. Your interpretation of the law is wrong, and thats not a lay opinion.
The only way it could be imported as a complete weapon is as a post-sample by a FFL/SOT working in conjunction with a licensed importer and a bonafide LE agency requesting a purchase or demonstration of the weapon in question, on agency letterhead, through the FFL/SOT. Keep in mind, there is no easy way around the Arms Control and Export Act which controls all goods on the US Munitions List (such as small arms & ammunition). Even if imported legally as a postie, your friend couldn't possess it unless he got himself an FFL & SOT and a LE demo letter - and even then he could only legally possess it while he had an FFL/SOT. I've seen a bonafide LE demo request/purchase of an overseas FN MAG languish for almost a year while BATFE pushed paper and investigated the request.
Perhaps your persistence in this line of question is that you don't understand BATFE's "once a machinegun, always a machinegun" rule. No matter what you do to the receiver to make it function only in semi, it would still be considered a machinegun. The only way around this would be to cut the receiver with a torch, removing at least .25" of material in each of three cuts across the receiver. In short, for the receiver to be legally destroyed and considered nothing more than parts is to cut it into four pieces with a .25" wide torch. Even then, the parts will still be regulated under the ACEA and require an import permit.
Here is a method that would probably satisfy the IRS, the BATFE, most of the posters on this forum, and maybe even the US Army - purchase a "dummy" receiver, and transfer the various parts from the original gun to it. It would then not only not be a machine gun, it would not even be considered to be a firearm. The appearance and sentimental value of the original gun would hopefully be largely maintained. Cost is about $40 at http://www.clearviewinvest.com/detail.asp?product_id=018-AK47-7000
Dfariswheel
New member
How about this DON'T TAKE OUR WORD.
CALL the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms local office and ASK THEM, if it's possible to bring an AK-47 into the USA.
Some of us who posted are experts and have actually dealt with these issues before in the "Real World".
Since you posted this and asked our opinions, and are upset when no one agreed with you, ASK THE REAL EXPERTS.
Call BATF and ASK.
CALL the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms local office and ASK THEM, if it's possible to bring an AK-47 into the USA.
Some of us who posted are experts and have actually dealt with these issues before in the "Real World".
Since you posted this and asked our opinions, and are upset when no one agreed with you, ASK THE REAL EXPERTS.
Call BATF and ASK.
predator86
New member
he asked a question that only a few awnsered, obviously the proper authorities on the other side are already looking into it like he stated....so why not just shut up and awnser his question of converting it to semi-auto....do any on you know him personally??? then who cares if he gets sent to jail on his own time???
besides its not a bad thing to break the law, our founding fathers were criminals to the british.......
besides its not a bad thing to break the law, our founding fathers were criminals to the british.......
Jim Watson
New member
Ectually, old chap, in the o.p., the question concluded "...know the requrements of the law to make it a US legal semi-auto?"
It was not a straightforward nuts and bolts question, it was originally a legal matter and he has been told repeatedly that it can't be done except by token use of a few parts as a built up kit. I think he will find that the "authorities on the other side" have NO authority in what is brought into the country.
It was not a straightforward nuts and bolts question, it was originally a legal matter and he has been told repeatedly that it can't be done except by token use of a few parts as a built up kit. I think he will find that the "authorities on the other side" have NO authority in what is brought into the country.
so why not just shut up and awnser his question of converting it to semi-auto...
It was not a straightforward nuts and bolts question, it was originally a legal matter and he has been told repeatedly that it can't be done
Problem here is that the technical info is available at multiple sites on the internet. So is the legality of doing it.
But only on a forum can you ask what appears to be an honest question, and get so much entertaining feedback!
No one in todays military is stupid enough to ask an FFl to help transport a weapon. why would he? much easier to take it apart and have it shipped in multiple containers labeled "unit supply". then you just have to deal with the
E2 back at base.
Of course, I'm just pointing out a method that i THINK (and was told) works.
I deny any first hand knowledge of such......
MAJ USAR
Joe the Redneck
New member
These questions all have one answer -You need to consult an attorney.
You want to go through the IRS because you consider it a tax stamp issue. Fine. What if the BATFE also needs to be contacted. You could do the right thing according to the IRS, but if you run afoul of the BATFE, you buddy is still in hot soup.
This is why you go to an attorney. He or she will research the matter from all angles and give you a real answer.
Joe
You want to go through the IRS because you consider it a tax stamp issue. Fine. What if the BATFE also needs to be contacted. You could do the right thing according to the IRS, but if you run afoul of the BATFE, you buddy is still in hot soup.
This is why you go to an attorney. He or she will research the matter from all angles and give you a real answer.
Joe