Set me straight

[Swampman1]

Ok guys, a friend of mine was saying that you cant own a full auto rifle or handgun in the US anymore. But I thought you can own one if made before 1986, and go through the proper channels. Can someone give me the scoop on this? Thanks.

 

[enutees]

As long as the gun was US made before 1986 and placed on the registry an individual can own it. Anything pre 86 post 68 that was foreign made is not transferable to an individual.

Again it has to have been registered with ATF prior to can't remember the date 1986 to be transferable. That's why they're so expensive now. No new ones.

 

[Saintsfan6]

^Exactly, you can legally obtain fully automatic (FA) firearms under certain conditions. One of the conditions is that it has to be made before 1986, essentially limiting the market to a limited quantity of available FA firearms. So if you want one, be prepared to pay way more than the semi auto counterpart. It makes the the market and prices/values for these firearms artificially inflated due to the limited availability.

 

[Integro]

Don't forget if you have a FFL and pay the proper Special Occupational Tax you can either purchase post-1986 guns, or build new ones. A sole proprietor can own those guns as long as he keeps the FFL/SOT.
A sole proprietor FFL could also purchase dealer samples of guns imported after 1968 (but before May 19, 1986) and legally keep them after giving up the license.

It can be a pain to jump through all the hoops to own a MG, but to say no one in the USA can do it is just plain wrong.

 

[Swampman1]

As long as the gun was US made before 1986 and placed on the registry an individual can own it. Anything pre 86 post 68 that was foreign made is not transferable to an individual.

Again it has to have been registered with ATF prior to can't remember the date 1986 to be transferable.

That's a key point that I didn't know about. Other than AR-15's, what are the most common U.S. made FA's found?

Don't forget if you have a FFL and pay the proper Special Occupational Tax you can either purchase post-1986 guns, or build new ones. A sole proprietor can own those guns as long as he keeps the FFL/SOT.

OK, another key point I did not know about. Very interesting. Not that I'll ever be able to get one of course.

 

[Integro]

That's a key point that I didn't know about. Other than AR-15's, what are the most common U.S. made FA's found?

Excluding the military's and LE agencies' guns, the most common by far are MACs and their clones/variants. I've read there are around 30,000 of them, with manufacturers really ramping up production as the May 19, 1986 cutoff neared. Some ppl in the industry have estimated there are only ~180,000 registered pre-1986 transferable MGs in the whole country. If the 30,000 number is correct, then more than 1 out of 6 would be a MAC variant of some type.

Edit: http://www.firearmsid.com/feature articles/012001/mac10history.htm says SWD registered 17,000 M11/9s and 3,800 M11A1s. That's over 20,000 MAC clones from SWD alone. Then add all the ones from other various clone manufacturers and the real MAC company.

 

[enutees]

And just to make you feel bad. When I bought my first machine gun in 1998 (some people go to bars when they turn 21) I paid $500 for a used m11/9. Same gun is hovering around $5k now. There use to be a ton of MG's under the 1k mark. It became a rich man's game really quick when the internet forums told people they were legal.