Building an AK-47 Pistol.... laws and info...

[Quarterbore]

I have a thread on these forums on building an AR-15 pistol but I keep getting questions about how to do an AK pistol so I decided to clone the AR-15 pistol topic and make it specific t the AK-47. These tips would apply to ANY imported pistol including things like an UZI, FAL :roll:, Sten, etc, etc...

Legal Issues:

Letter RE using a rifle receiver to build a pistol:
http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/user/...tf_letter7.txt

October 1, 1992


Firearms Technical Branch
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
650 Mass. Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20226

Dear Sirs:

The Greensboro, NC BATF Compliance Office suggested that I write to
you for information on the following point.

I am interested on whether it is possible to have a commercially
manufactured rifle receiver changed to be legally considered to be a handgun
receiver, and how this can be done. The Compliance Office said that this
might be possible via a "Letter of Determination", but advised me to write
to you about the criteria and procedures.

For example, if a person has a rifle receiver and wishes to have it
built into a rifle-caliber handgun suitable for steel silhouette target
shooting, comparable to the bolt action Remington XP-100 handgun. I
understand that the serial number of this receiver is recorded as being for a
rifle. Could this person have this receiver's serial number considered to be
a handgun receiver? If so, what procedures and paperwork would be
necessary.

Sincerely,

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Oct 29 1992
Dear Mr. XXXXX:

This refers to your letter of October 1, 1992, in which you inquire
about the legality of manufacturing a handgun which utilizes a rifle
type receiver.

26 U.S.C. Chapter 53 # 5845(a)(4), the National Firearms Act (NFA),
defines the term "firearm" to include a weapon made from a rifle if
such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches
or a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length.

Utilizing the receiver of an existing rifle for the purposes of
manufacturing a handgun would constitute the making of a firearm as
defined above. Individuals desiring to make such a firearm must first
submit an ATF Form 1, Application To Make And Register a Firearm and
pay the applicable $200 making tax.

If an individual were to obtain a rifle type receiver that had not
previously been utilized in the assembly of a rifle, a handgun could be
made and not be subject to the provisions of the NFA. Verification
must be obtained from the manufacturer of the receiver to establish
its authenticity.

We trust the foregoing has been responsive to your inquiry. If we may
be of any further assistance, please contact us.

Sincerely your,
(signed)
Edward M. Owen, Jr.
Chief, Firearms Technology Branch

LEGAL Issues with Two Grips on a PISTOL

This is a complicated subject and I have compiled most of what I know along with feedback from others here: http://quarterbore.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=121. Note, to make this perfectly clear... THE BATFE IS OF THE OPPINION THAT TWO PISTOL GRIPS ON A PISTOL MAKES IT AN AOW! It may be possible to challange this in a court of law BUT the BATFE has been quite clear on their oppinion on the subject!

A few links:

922(r) and NFA weapons: http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/user/...tf_letter3.txt

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
Washington, D.C. 20226

MAR 22, 1994

LE:F:FE:RLB
3312.5

Mr XXX
Address
City, State

Dear Mr. XXX:

This refers to your letter of February 28, 1994, in which you
inquire as to whether the making of certain National Firearm Act
(NFA) weapons is prohibited by Title 18 United States Code
(U.S.C.), Chapter 44, Section 922(r). The weapon in question is a
FN/FAL type firearm having a barrel length of less than 16 inches
which is assembled from an imported British L1A1 parts kit and a
domestically manufactured frame or receiver.

Title 18 U.S.C., Chapter 44, Section 922(r) provides that it shall
be unlawful for any person to assemble from imported parts any
semiautomatic rifle or shotgun which is identical to any rifle or
shotgun prohibited from importation under 18 U.S.C., Chapter 44,
Section 925(d)(3), as not being particularly suitable for or
readily adaptable to sporting purposes.

However, the Bureau has previously determined that the lawful
making of an NFA weapon would not violate Section 922(r), since the
section only addresses the assembly of "nonsporting" firearms, and
not the making of NFA weapons. Therefore, the lawful making of a
short barreled rifle would not be precluded by Section 922(r).

If you decide to proceed with your project, it will be necessary
for you to obtain prior approval by first submitting an ATF Form 1
(Application To Make and Register a Firearm) and paying the
appropriate $200 making tax. Additional information relative to
this procedure may be obtained from the following source:

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
NFA Branch, Room 5300
650 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20026

We trust that the foregoing was responsive to your inquiry. If we
may be of any further assistance, please contact us.

Sincerely yours,
[signed]
Edward M. Owen, Jr.
Chief, Firearms Technology Branch

NOTE: 922(r) DOES NOT APPLY TO NFA WEAPONS (AOW, SBR, MGs)!!!

The 922(r) law

From http://resource.lawlinks.com/Content...itle_18_44.htm

(r) It shall be unlawful for any person to assemble from imported parts any semiautomatic rifle or any shotgun which is identical to any rifle or shotgun prohibited from importation under section 925(d)(3) of this chapter as not being particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes except that this subsection shall not apply to -

(1) the assembly of any such rifle or shotgun for sale or distribution by a licensed manufacturer to the United States or any department or agency thereof or to any State or any department, agency, or political subdivision thereof; or

(2) the assembly of any such rifle or shotgun for the purposes of testing or experimentation authorized by the Secretary.

NOTE: 922(r) ONLY APPLIES TO SEMIAUTOMATIC RIFLES AND SHOTGUNS!!! Ie Does not apply to Pistols, or manually operated firearms or NFA weapons as SBRs or AOWs (See below)!

http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/user/...f_letter24.txt

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
Washington, D.C. 20226

AUG 13 1997 E:CE:FT:EMO
3311

Dear Mr. :

This refers to your letter of July 30, 1997, in which you ask
additional questions about the number of imported parts contained
in rifles based on the AK 47 that are imported into the United
States.

Title 27 CFR, Section 178.39(a) states that 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 (emphasis added) is prohibited from importation
under section 925(d)(3) as not being particularly suitable for or
readily adaptable to sporting purposes. Firearms based on the AK
47 design are not approved for importation with separate pistol
grips, folding stocks, bayonet mounts, threaded muzzles, flash
suppressors, grenade launchers, night sights or bipod mounts.

Therefore, if you assemble an AK type firearm using more than 10
imported parts listed in paragraph (c), the assembled rifle must
have a one piece thumb hole style stock and may not have a separate
pistol grip, folding stock, bayonet mount, threaded muzzle, flash
suppressor, grenade launcher, night sight or bipod mount.

If you plan to assemble an AK type weapon using 10 or less of the
imported parts listed in paragraph (c), the rifle is not required
to have a one-piece thumbhole style stock. However such rifle many
not be in a configuration that meets the definition of
semiautomatic assault weapon as that term is defined in 18 U.S.C.,
Chapter 44, Section 921(a)(30).

- 2 -

You also asked about marketing a parts kit containing a combination
of domestic and imported parts. In order to respond to your
inquiry concerning the legality of using these parts on an imported
AK type rifle, it is requested that a sample of the parts kit be
submitted.

We trust that the foregoing has been responsive to your inquiry.
If we can be of any further assistance, please contact us.


Sincerely yours,
[signed]
Edward M. Owen, Jr.
Chief, Firearms Technology Branch

Following from http://www.atf.gov/regulations/27cfr178.html

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:
(1) The assembly of such rifle or shotgun for sale or distribution by a licensed manufacturer to the United States or any department or agency thereof or to any State or any department, agency, or political subdivision thereof; or
(2) The assembly of such rifle or shotgun for the purposes of testing or experimentation authorized by the Director under the provisions of Sec. 178.151; or
(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.

(c) For purposes of this section, the term imported parts are:

(1) Frames, receivers, receiver castings, forgings or stampings
(2) Barrels
(3) Barrel extensions
(4) Mounting blocks (trunions)
(5) Muzzle attachments
(6) Bolts
(7) Bolt carriers
(8 ) Operating rods
(9) Gas pistons
(10) Trigger housings
(11) Triggers
(12) Hammers
(13) Sears
(14) Disconnectors
(15) Buttstocks
(16) Pistol grips
(17) Forearms, handguards
(18 ) Magazine bodies
(19) Followers
(20) Floorplates

[Quarterbore]

Originally Posted by webjedi

This may be a stupid question, but since the AMD-65 was originally manufactured with 2 pistol grips, can it fit the definition of a pistol under 27 CFR 179.11? I could see the the BATF arguing this weapon was originally designed to be fired with 2 hands and therefore cannot be categorized as a pistol.

Regardless of how it was originaly built, these parts kits are now no longer firearms of any type. Consider that most parts kits are parts from machineguns, it should be clear that the fact that this used to have 2-grips is a non-issue as long as you build it in a legal way. In the case of an AK-pistol, the BATFE has been clear that their OPPINION is that two grips is an AOW...

[Carson01]

So i am going to build an AK as my next rifle project. This is something i can take my time with. For everyone else out there thinking about doing the same thing, once this thread is over, it will help them get through the process i am going to go through.


Rules & Laws (to my knowledge)

1) 25% of the parts used MUST be manufactured in the USA
20 total parts counted, the ak and variants only include 16 total exchangable countable parts.
so, to drop the count to 10 or less imported parts, no less than 6 u.s. parts are required. in ak's of course. different weapons require different counts.


2) Muzzle brake must be pinned/welded

3) Stock must be fixed or pinned

I will research the parts needed, create a plan, and carry out the plan. (with a little help from my friends >

In the mean time, Anyone have any good suggestions? I am going to start off of a 100% reciever.