Is it possible for a civilian to purchase a military-type assault rifle?

4 Responses

1. ΣΩ guy

   November 21st, 2009 at 6:00 am

   Hi

   The short answer is yes.

   The process is to find a gun that was added to the National Firearms Act registry prior to 1986 and is transferable.

   Once you have located the desired gun, you do the paperwork, get fingerprinted, have your picture taken, get the approval of your local police, and send all that to BATF with $200.00. A few months later, if you have been a good person, they will send you a paper with a tax stamp affixed. That paper completes the transfer of the gun to you.

   Now to the practical side, since no guns have been added to the registry since 1986, some of the models that you may want are not directly available. The H&K guns are altered using a registered sear, so you may be able to buy the basic model you want and drop in the legal machine gun. The M16 types can be made by taking a legal M16 and attaching the components. You can make up one of the M4s that way.

   The cost of a transferable gun starts at about 3500.00 and goes up from there. Most of the ones you are asking about are in the 10,000 to 15,000 range.

   You will not be able to buy one directly from a manufacturer unless you are a law enforcement agency.

   If you want more information, here is the link to the ATF NFA handbook.
   http://www.atf.gov/firearms/nfa/nfa_handbook/index.htm

2. StealthBeast

   November 21st, 2009 at 6:00 am

   Depends what you consider "Military-type"

   Without a felony you can go down to just about any gunshop in the USA and buy an AR-15 in 5 minutes. http://consumermaven.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/ar-15.jpg

   Is THAT what you consider military-type?

   If you mean purchasing a fully-automatic, that’s considered by the BATF to be a machine gun, and is covered additionally by the NFA… that’s a totally more complicated process.

3. Jan G

   November 21st, 2009 at 6:00 am

   The definition of an assault rifle is a fully automatic weapon like the US M-16. These are highly restricted and even illegal in many states.

   The guns that look like them that the media and anti gun nuts refer to as assault weapons are just semi-automatic rifles no different than thousands of hunting rifles except for their "cool" look. The term assault weapon has been spun by the politicians and the media for political gain and is completely inaccurate.

   In the USA you cannot buy from a manufacturer. You have to buy in person at the gun shop. You can buy semi automatic rifles in most states. Some have put bans on these rifles calling them assault weapons as described in the previous paragraph. Check your local laws.

4. Jerry H

   November 21st, 2009 at 6:00 am

   Possible? Yes. Easy? Not so much. An assault rifle is a machine gun, by definition. As such they’re regulated by the National Firearms Act of 1934 et seq.

   First, you have to live in a state that allows you to own one. Then, you have to find someone who has one to sell. You can’t own one manufactured after 1986, so getting a new one isn’t an option. Then you have to submit a BATFE form that includes the permission and signature of your local chief law enforcement officer and wait for a background check to be performed (several months). If that doesn’t turn up anything to block your purchase, you buy a $200 tax stamp and, finally, you’re allowed to buy your assault rifle.

   Try here for on-line forms and advice:

   http://www.titleii.com/TitleII.com/About.html

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