The Free Talk Live BBS
Free Talk Live => General => Topic started by: Sam Gunn (since nobody got Admiral Naismith) on October 02, 2009, 02:50:15 PM
-
I'm considering building my own AK from an 80% receiver. It's about 40 bucks for a receiver that's got all of the holes drilled and just needs to be bent and welded and finished. I'm kind of feeling uneasy about doing the welding myself (even though I'd have an excellent teacher) and making sure the receiver is bent perfectly.
Anyone have any experience with this?
The benefits are that you get to build your own rifle pretty much from the ground up and make it completely yours in every way. And you don't have to register it or file DROS papers or deal with any FFL nonsense unless you plan on selling it (and then you'll need a firearms manufacturer license in most cases). Only real drawback is finishing the receiver.
It sounds like a really awesome project that I'd love to do. But I still have reservations.
I'll probably go for the AK if I do the 80% complete because it seems like its A LOT easier to finish than the AR lowers because you can get them with everything pre-drilled and not have to tap anything (I HATE tapping) or precision locate any drill points or do any milling (I don't have access to a mill).
What do you guys all think?
For AR lowers http://www.ktordnance.com has great stuff and they deal in silver and gold.
For AK (and other) lowers http://www.survivalmonkey.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9839 has a good list of a variety of resources.
-
http://bbs.freetalklive.com/index.php?topic=18150.0
I'm just sayin' is all.
-
I understand your concern and I appreciate it, but this is completely legal and there is no question of getting busted by BATFE or in my case CalDOJ for doing anything illegal with this unless you're selling them without serial numbers and without a license. I have no intention on messing with those guys. I know they're in charge, and I'm not going to break any gun laws and risk losing my right to own and go to jail for a decade.
Oh yeah, and you have to make sure the rifle you build conforms to your state gun control standards. Mine would need a bullet button (fixed mags) and a fixed stock or a non-pistol grip/thumbhole stock for use with detachable mags.
You can buy these 80% complete AK receiver flats from tapco.com for god's sake! The folks at ktordnance.com fought the ATF over this and the case law is now firmly decided. Notice ktordnance is still up for business.
Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that you MUST FINISH THE BUILD from the 80% receiver YOURSELF. Nobody can do it for you because then that would be illegal.
-
It's legal to make your own AK? That fuckin awesome!
-
http://bbs.freetalklive.com/index.php?topic=18150.0
I'm just sayin' is all.
So John, understanding that there is no legal ambiguity in attempting this build (unlike nutter NHAT's retard shotgun out of pipe), what do you think of it? If you have any experience would you say finishing one of these receiver flats is a worthwhile endeavor?
-
The only real reason to do it is if you expect the government to come and take your guns one day. In California, you can't sell a gun privately without going through a dealer, so there really is no way to get a gun legally there without being on a list.
-
It's legal to make your own AK? That fuckin awesome!
Yes but there are restrictions on it. You pretty much CANNOT sell it. YOU personally have to be the person who finishes the receiver. You MUST follow all state and federal laws. It cannot be a banned or regulated firearm type.
-
The only real reason to do it is if you expect the government to come and take your guns one day. In California, you can't sell a gun privately without going through a dealer, so there really is no way to get a gun legally there without being on a list.
Well you can, but only if its 50+ years old or black powder.
Have you done this? If so, how was your experience completing the receiver?
-
It's legal to make your own AK? That fuckin awesome!
Yes but there are restrictions on it. You pretty much CANNOT sell it. YOU personally have to be the person who finishes the receiver. You MUST follow all state and federal laws. It cannot be a banned or regulated firearm type.
Except for having to follow a bunch of restrictions that sounds like a cool project. I never even considered they'd have kits like that.
-
It's legal to make your own AK? That fuckin awesome!
Yes but there are restrictions on it. You pretty much CANNOT sell it. YOU personally have to be the person who finishes the receiver. You MUST follow all state and federal laws. It cannot be a banned or regulated firearm type.
Except for having to follow a bunch of restrictions that sounds like a cool project. I never even considered they'd have kits like that.
Yea it is pretty cool. Only restrictions are CA gun laws pretty much in our case.
I'm looking at this parts kit which would ship to my door: http://www.atlanticfirearms.com/storeproduct807.aspx
And then I've been checking out a variety of receiver flats, but I am liking the one from tapco http://www.tapco.com/proddesc.aspx?Id=AK0665 which would ship to my door as well.
The alternative would be for me to spend 50-150 bucks on a finished receiver which I would then have to DROS and pay a 25 dollar fee to the state and negotiate a dealer transfer.
Due to the pistol grip on the parts kit I would also need to buy a bullet button like this: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=141809436 to keep it CA legal.
-
Well you can, but only if its 50+ years old or black powder.
The 50+ years old thing is only for "curio and relic" firearms as defined by the Feds. And ONLY for rifles and shotguns. No C&R handguns.
You could, for example, buy and sell a Russian SKS or a Mosin Nagant or a M1 Garand without a dealer. Your grandpa's 30-30 would have to go through a dealer.
Have you done this?
No, because it's cheaper and easier to buy an assembled gun than to spend hundreds of dollars purchasing the required equipment to bend flats, drill holes, and to rivet them together. If you want to assemble your own gun, you can buy a registered receiver for $60:
http://www.nodakspud.com/page2.htm
-
Due to the pistol grip on the parts kit I would also need to buy a bullet button like this: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=141809436 to keep it CA legal.
LOL, what's the fuckin' point then?
-
Well you can, but only if its 50+ years old or black powder.
The 50+ years old thing is only for "curio and relic" firearms as defined by the Feds. And ONLY for rifles and shotguns. No C&R handguns.
You could, for example, buy and sell a Russian SKS or a Mosin Nagant or a M1 Garand without a dealer. Your grandpa's 30-30 would have to go through a dealer.
Have you done this?
No, because it's cheaper and easier to buy an assembled gun than to spend hundreds of dollars purchasing the required equipment to bend flats, drill holes, and to rivet them together. If you want to assemble your own gun, you can buy a registered receiver for $60:
http://www.nodakspud.com/page2.htm
Yeah, in CA there is a special rule for 50+ years and another for 1899 and prior. C&R handguns must be registered within 5 days of purchase here. I've also been looking at finished receivers, but I kind of like the idea of finishing my own (I have a friend with all of the specialty tools required to finish it) and the price is like 100 buck difference after DROS plus BS dealer fees, because CA dealers seem to hate doing out of state transfers and rape you for it.
-
Due to the pistol grip on the parts kit I would also need to buy a bullet button like this: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=141809436 to keep it CA legal.
LOL, what's the fuckin' point then?
Have you seen this in action? They're just as easy to operate as a lever, you just poke a bullet tip in the hole and the mag drops out.
-
Due to the pistol grip on the parts kit I would also need to buy a bullet button like this: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=141809436 to keep it CA legal.
LOL, what's the fuckin' point then?
Have you seen this in action? They're just as easy to operate as a lever, you just poke a bullet tip in the hole and the mag drops out.
My point still stands. It is practically useless as an assault weapon.
-
Due to the pistol grip on the parts kit I would also need to buy a bullet button like this: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=141809436 to keep it CA legal.
LOL, what's the fuckin' point then?
Have you seen this in action? They're just as easy to operate as a lever, you just poke a bullet tip in the hole and the mag drops out.
My point still stands. It is practically useless as an assault weapon.
Eh, when the SHTF the bullet button can go because at that point it won't matter anymore what the law says. But until then, the BB isn't a significant hindrance.
Besides, it's NOT an assault weapon. That's the whole point. Assault weapons are illegal in CA unless they were registered when the ban went into effect. Besides "assault weapon" in CA is a bullshit legal term we prefer to avoid using.
-
Well, if you expect the shit to hit the fan, then why bother with legalities?
-
Well, if you expect the shit to hit the fan, then why bother with legalities?
Because I don't want to go to jail.
Seems like an obvious one there...
-
So John, understanding that there is no legal ambiguity in attempting this build (unlike nutter NHAT's retard shotgun out of pipe), what do you think of it? If you have any experience would you say finishing one of these receiver flats is a worthwhile endeavor?
I guess if you have a machine shop and the knowledge, it may be worth it.
I don't need any more AK style guns, because I bought *Several* when they were still cheap, and posted relentlessly about it and was mostly ignored.
But hindsight is 20/20 of course.
-
So John, understanding that there is no legal ambiguity in attempting this build (unlike nutter NHAT's retard shotgun out of pipe), what do you think of it? If you have any experience would you say finishing one of these receiver flats is a worthwhile endeavor?
I guess if you have a machine shop and the knowledge, it may be worth it.
I don't need any more AK style guns, because I bought *Several* when they were still cheap, and posted relentlessly about it and was mostly ignored.
But hindsight is 20/20 of course.
I didn't have the money then :( (Maybe you wanna fit me a bullet button and send one my way?) :D
Now I do, so I am considering doing it very strongly. There's a build party in my area organized on calguns.net (our CA gun rights group who is currently kicking ass for us with lawsuits against the state to overturn gun control laws and are so far being somewhat successful) and there will be all of the tools there needed to get it done.
-
Because I don't want to go to jail.
Then buy a Cal-legal AK from a dealer :D
-
The ineffectiveness of government negates the question of whether to register a gun.
Back when I got wind of the ban coming here in CA. I told my friends and we ALL went out and bought at least 1 lower receiver(AR). Some guys bought 2 or 3. Same to a lesser extent when the 50 cal ban came. The guys that could afford it, pooled their money and bought 2.
When the registration came along, some registered and some didn't. I went down the the Van Nuys PD office to get the form. They had no idea what I was talking about. I went over to the North Hollywood PD office and they had the form but didn't know what to do with it.
I asked how they'd know if I registered the weapon or not? They would have to call Sacramento and have someone look it up by hand in a paper file system. Pretty unlikely.
I got pulled over for speeding once while I had 3 rifles in the truck bed. The cop asked me what they were and if they were registered. I told him what they were but didn't say if they were registered. I think he was just curious. He didn't ask to see them.
-
AK part kits are pretty expensive now. You could pick them up for around $100 a few years ago.
-
AK part kits are pretty expensive now. You could pick them up for around $100 a few years ago.
They went up because they banned the barrels from being imported.
-
The ineffectiveness of government negates the question of whether to register a gun.
Back when I got wind of the ban coming here in CA. I told my friends and we ALL went out and bought at least 1 lower receiver(AR). Some guys bought 2 or 3. Same to a lesser extent when the 50 cal ban came. The guys that could afford it, pooled their money and bought 2.
When the registration came along, some registered and some didn't. I went down the the Van Nuys PD office to get the form. They had no idea what I was talking about. I went over to the North Hollywood PD office and they had the form but didn't know what to do with it.
I asked how they'd know if I registered the weapon or not? They would have to call Sacramento and have someone look it up by hand in a paper file system. Pretty unlikely.
I got pulled over for speeding once while I had 3 rifles in the truck bed. The cop asked me what they were and if they were registered. I told him what they were but didn't say if they were registered. I think he was just curious. He didn't ask to see them.
You got a good story there. I've heard some horror stories about grandpa getting arrested and spending the rest of his life in prison because he never registered his several "assault weapons". Especially in North Hollywood. LA Sheriff is all about screwing over gun owners.
I think you're right that they are so inefficient that it helps those who don't register their old pre-ban guns, but when they get you they get you really hard. I guess that's why I'm interested in the 80% receivers, so I can skirt the whole registration nonsense completely and legally.