[winchester1094]

ok so straight up i live in md and i want to build a firearm for personal use...wut action, caliber, etc does it have to be and what do i have to do, get a serial or what?

[jknopp45]

Iono bout anyone else but sure as heck would love to construct my own 1911... that'd be pretty cool... anyone know how??? like what parts and tools id need or anything??? where do i find local laws on that before i get set up??? cuz i live in washington state so if anyone else lives here and know hit me up...

[janikphoto]

Originally Posted by fireball 3

Question? Would taking old milsurps and rebarrleing modifing the bolt, stock etc. be considered rolling your own? Dave

It is considered building your own, if you use a new receiver, like the AK flats that you bend and rivet yourself. The receiver is a key factor in any firearm, and is THE important piece to the BATF. You can have a parts kit, minus a working receiver, in your house and its not a firearm.

I have never built my own, but I am a regular reader/member at weaponeer.net where gunsmiths and advanced hobbyists share info on building guns from parts kits AND from scratch. They have built some CRAZY things over there!!!

That forum won't replace the help you can get here, just add to it. They pretty much just talk about building, and not all the other associated firearms talk that happens here.

[c3shooter]

LEGALLY- under Federal law anyway (your State laws may be MUCH more restrictive- if so, MOVE!) you may build a firearm for your OWN use. It cannot be a "Destructive Device" (think anti-tank gun), Short barreled rifle or shotgun or a machinegun. Other than that, if you want to sit down with a pocket knife and a chunk of steel, and whittle a 44 Mag revolver, you can.

Couple of points- you cannot SELL it. No, does not need a serial number. And as the guys pointed out, the RECEIVER is the part that is legally THE GUN- everything else is a peices part. Many hobbyist seem to start on making a semi-auto AK- there is a lot of do-it-yourself info and stuff out there. As are parts for AR's. It is NOT a matter of assemble the parts- expect to do cutting, drilling, filing, riveting, etc.

Just as a suggestion, for a learning experience, you might buy one of the black powder rifle kits, and get a little "hands on" with metal working first.

[WILDCATT]

its easy to make a simple gun if you have machine tools a lathe and bridgeport type mill.a piece of tube a rod a couple flat pieces ect.a sub gun is nothing. a 1911 is for a machinist.they are making 50s using round stock and 50cal mg barrels.
but the end point is you are taking a chance with the authorities.regardless if its legal.

[janikphoto]

Originally Posted by WILDCATT

...but the end point is you are taking a chance with the authorities.regardless if its legal.

Is this just one of those "catch-all" comments, like saying, "You are taking a chance driving a car, or walking outside, or eating beef", or do you really believe it is legally "dangerous" to build your own firearm?!?

Obviously, a lot of things COULD go wrong with your build (you could do a poor quality build that accidentally fired full-auto once, or you could forget that you can't sell it, etc...). However, the rules are very clearly defined at both a state and federal level. If you stick to them and do a quality build, you will be safe.

And all the talk about serial numbers has been covered over at the weaponeer board before. They say that federal law does NOT require it, but they always add one anyway. It just reduces the chance that some local sheriff may see the weapon and freak out. They might think the gun was illegally made or that a serial number was filed off in an attempt to hide a stolen weapon.

Why not add a serial number to document the order of your builds?

[The Swede]

Here is a page with homemade guns, But they are NOT mine.

http://www.thehomegunsmith.com/firearm-archive.shtml

[gunnrunner]

Originally Posted by Brass Scrounger

Been "rolling my own" for years. Of course, with the parts kits drying up, my builds these days are more oriented toward one-off "wonder how this would work out" designs. Latest is a 8x57 AK (yeah, call me nuts!)

So far have built (all semiauto):

AKs
DP28
MG42
1919A4
DShK
1911
AR15 - eh
probably some other stuff I can't recall.

Biggest thing to remember is to make DARN sure there is no way it can be "readily converted to fire full auto". And thats were I have the most fun. Any slob can reweld a receiver and chuck some parts in it - but it takes finesse to come up with a way to make sure full auto parts can in no way be used, and to come up with a way to make it fire from a closed bolt (if applicable).

ive been thinking about a project id like to bounce off a couple of you.
start with an H&R 12 guage barrell blank, chamber it in .50 bmg, scope it, recoil pad the crap out of it....and save about 3 grand. what yall think ?

[matt g]

Originally Posted by gunnrunner

ive been thinking about a project id like to bounce off a couple of you.
start with an H&R 12 guage barrell blank, chamber it in .50 bmg, scope it, recoil pad the crap out of it....and save about 3 grand. what yall think ?

The post you quoted was from almost 2 years ago. Brass Scrounger was last active on 4/25/07. Don't count on getting an answer from him.

There is no way in hell that I'd fire .50 BMG out of a thin shotgun barrel. It would banana peel after a couple shots.

[Dillinger]

Originally Posted by matt g

There is no way in hell that I'd fire .50 BMG out of a thin shotgun barrel. It would banana peel after a couple shots.

Q.F.T.

JD