Question

[Ericman]

Okay. I know you can do whatever you want with guns that a preban in MA in terms of flash hiders and folding stocks as long as its registered as a preban gun etc etc.

There is a chinese ak at the gunstore with a folding stock and is obviously preban. The weird thing is, were there should be a flash hider is this weird thing on it. I know my aks well and its not a 74 flashider, or a muzzle nut. Whatever it was it was welded on. But it had a bayonet mount and folding stock. So the question is, when the time comes to replace the barrel can i get one with a flashider or threads?

 

[Ericman]

obviously you need some catalyst in order to answer me:

I Found exactly what model it is:

http://www.chicom47.com/

If you look under polytech, the gun is the underfolder version. I cat tell its the polytech underfolder and not norinco because of the pistol grip type.

So can I replace the barrel with a threaded one?

 

[crak]

Yes, you can replace the frankenbarrel with a threaded and bayonet lugged barrel as long as the reciever is pre ban. No state laws are in place to punish you.

But don't get too excited yet, you may have qualified for the prize behind Door Number Two!

By changing out the barrel, you may now be assembling a new weapon according to US 922r and you start having to play the parts count game with the Feds. I'm not sure if the age of the gun or it being Chinese has anything to do with it, so you should check up on that. The gist of it is, you can't import non-sporting foreign firearms anymore (Thank George Bush). And on top of that, you cannot get around that import ban by assembling a non sporting firearm from parts in this country that would have been banned from import as a whole rifle.

The two ways of getting around that are attacking the "non-sporting" part (see Saiga), or attacking the "foreign" part (which is what you'll have to do). You successfully turn your foreign gun into a domestic gun if it has 10 US parts. So when you go to change that barrel you might be unlocking a can of worms and you'll have to replace the stock, pistol grip, trigger group, blah blah blah with US parts to keep your newly assembled rifle legal. Doesn't matter if your new barrel is US and you don't want to change the rest of the gun. You need 10 US parts before it's legal again. Google AK47 ATF parts count list and you'll get a list of 16 or so parts of which 10 must be US..

Aside from parts counts on a rifle, there was some drama going on last summer about a new ATF rule interpretation prohibiting importing barrels and oher parts for "non sporting" rifles. For a little while, it seemed like they were going to stop the parts from coming in in the first place and screwing everybody who wanted to use them on a gun that already had 10 US parts. I believe they reversed this decision, but you'd better confirm that.

How does it feel to live in the most free nation in the world?

 

[jhrosier]

I would not assume that a gun with a barrel "nut" welded in place to "delete" the threaded barrel is pre-ban. This was done to many of the imported guns to bring them into compliance with the ban.

 

[JonJ]

I would not assume that a gun with a barrel "nut" welded in place to "delete" the threaded barrel is pre-ban. This was done to many of the imported guns to bring them into compliance with the ban.

Correct. Romanian WASR's have a welded nut over the threads and they are NOT pre-ban.

 

[securityboy]

#1. Why bother replacing the barrel? A couple minutes with a dremil, to carefully cut off the muzzle cap, and I bet you find threads under the muzzle cap. That will be a lot easier than replacing barrels...

#2. Assuming you do replace the barrel, (and it is a legitimate pre89 ban import gun) I disagree with this quote:

By changing out the barrel, you may now be assembling a new weapon according to US 922r and you start having to play the parts count game with the Feds.

If that quote were true, you'd need to add US parts if you took the barrel off say a Styer AUG (which has an easily removed barrel), because by the above theory putting the barrel back on would be assembling a prohibitted weapon. While I aknowledge ATF has so odd rulings, this would just be too "silly". If the gun is genuine preban (and had qualifying features at the time of the ban) subsiquent repairs/replacement of original parts/features does not affect its "pre ban ness"

#3. (maybe this should be #1 because it is an important point) I would be suspect of an underfolding AK with a welded muzzle nut, as being "preban". It is most likely a post 89 gun that some one "converted", which may or may not be legal in Mass, and without US parts would not be legal anywhere in the USA. What is listed as the model #???

 

[crak]

I was assuming post 89 pre 94.

Sec. 178.39 Assembly of semiautomatic rifles or shotguns.
(a) No person shall assemble a semiautomatic rifle or any shotgun using more than 10 of the imported parts listed in paragraph (c) of this section if the assembled firearm is prohibited from importation under section 925(d)(3) as not being particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes.
(b) The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
(...)
(3) The repair of any rifle or shotgun which had been imported into or assembled in the United States prior to November 30, 1990, or the replacement of any part of such firearm.

They specifically list repair of pre 89 to be an exception.

 

[securityboy]

I was assuming post 89 pre 94.

There would be a very slim chance that such a gun is Mass legal. For it to be Mass legal, it would have needed to be "converted" into an assualt rifle prior to 1994, which would have required the US parts swap back then, except I don't recall anyone selling (on a large scale) US parts prior to 1994, therefore making a legal conversion unlikely...

 

[crak]

True. Need more history on this gun.