Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles full auto question re: M2 carbine

this isn't AR related, but I thought one of you guys might know the answer....a friend inherited an M2 carbine from his father who was a Navy pilot in Korea and brought it back with him.

he wants to pay the tax and get it registered....anybody done that with a previously unregistered full auto?

I woudl think it not possible due to the 80s something law about not building any new ones. Not sure where you find out that question without asking the wrong folks.

Of course you know you can swap parts and it be a semi auto version, IE not hard at all to simply swap parts out, and keep the good parts for a rainy day...

I'll do the research tomorrow and find out. Worst case, it'll still be a nice M1.

No you can't. The view of the ATF is once a MG, always a MG.
Your friend is SOL. His dad screwed him by not paying the $200 when he could. The right answer is destroy it and tell no one. The legal answer is have your attorney surrender it to the police or ATF and have them destroy it. Many would stick it in a pile of junk that belonged to the deceased owner, hoping for a new amnesty program, denying its existence if caught in possession of it or for use if TEOTWAWKI occurs.

Consider the risks and benefits. Choose wisely.




Unfortunately , the heir is in the middle of worse case. There is no way to make your friend's MG legal. Had his dad paid the $200 stamp 23 years ago, that piece of metal would be worth about $8000. Now it is an express ticket to 10 years in a federal prison.


On second thought, contact Reuben Mendiola - www.dealernfa.com and ask him. You may (but I doubt it seriously) be able to have a Class III dealer take it and have it classified as a post-86 dealer sample. That would prevent its destruction, but your friend could not own it unless he became a class III NFA dealer.

Interesting, I hadn't thought of the serial number issue part of it.

Someone could be surprised, if all the parts were swapped and it truly was a semi auto again, and all of a sudden SHTF.

Jeff

I'm still wondering how US property came home and wasn't considered stolen? Did they allow that before?

It happened a lot. Not so much with M2s.

If the receiver is marked M2 and it was not registered before the 1986 McClure Vollkmer bill, then there is no way to get it added.

If it's an M1 or M2 stamped receiver and it had previously been registered as a machinegun, you simply fill out a BATFE Form 1.

If it's an M2 and has not been registered (which would be VERY rare), you can strip the parts and either turn in, or destroy the receiver** per BATFE regulations; or you can possibly donate it to your local law enforcement agency.

If it's a non-previously registered weapon that is stamped M1, you can strip the M2 parts (Selector, 9 spring, secondary disconnecor or autosear, and sear lever). You'll need a new trigger housing pin because the sear lever serves in that capacity. Then you can dispose of the parts, or turn them into BATFE, and keep the M1 Carbine.

Those are your options.

**Even though there is no physical difference between the M1 and M2 Carbine receiver, the M2 was created as a machinegun.

wow, kevin. you really know your stuff.

you're right. on all counts.

-tom

My first job gunsmithing was working for a class 3 importer...I've never been into machineguns, but you can't work in that environment and not pick up a few things. I've worked on a WHOLE BUNCH of M1 and M2 Carbines (somewhat of a favorite of mine).

I once had a VG++ DCM M1 Carbine (bought it while in High School for $18).

While I was in Vietnam I ordered an "M2 Conversion Kit" (for $35) that had all the change-out parts required to convert an M1 to an M2.

While I was away my father did a little further inletting of the stock (all that was needed to swap the parts out/make room for the Trip Lever that tripped the M2 Trigger Group and make room for the Selector Switch alongside the Receiver).

We left it set up as an M1, but had the "extra parts" (which technically wasn't legal) somewhere else.

Unfortunately I didn't realize that I could have gotten it "Registered" (BTW it was "free" during that 6 month grace period) in 1968, I believe I'm correct on that date.

Later on I sold everything and no longer had that as a concern, just wished I'd done the registration and I'd still have it today.

But, as stated, there's NOTHING you can do about it at this date other than if it's marked as an M1 to put M1 parts in it and do away with the M2 goodies. If it's marked M2 you're SOL.

It can also be donated to a military museum.

ATFs position is that if it has EVER been a machinegun, it is ALWAYS a machinegun.

Well of course!

However, if it's marked "M1" and has M1 parts in it (and there are no M2 parts accompanying it), and there's no written record that it was an M2, then what is it?

An M1

right...

was there an option for another answer?