re: My Uncle Has A Full Auto AK-47 From the 80’s, But No Class 3 License

quote:

---

quote:
is there any way we can ever legally own that gun?


No

---

Provided it is a transferable full auto AK yes it is.
No different than a silencer or SBR to the government.

That one little thing about it being transferable is the key.
The reason more transferable full autos aren’t owned by people is not the process but the price of the weapons. That gun, if transferable, is worth $30,000 -50,000.

Know where there is a MAC/Can & M-16 that are full auto but not legal, have wondered what he will do with them when he dies.

Call this attorney and get some guidance...if the gun qualifies as pre 86, then hell get you set up where you can take ownership

Joseph Cataldie
(225) 252-3375

Are there any public ranges or gun clubs that allow full auto anyway? I doubt it outside of a special club. Hell some don’t even allow double taps or mag dumps these days due to safety.

I mean your uncle isn’t shooting this in public most likely anyway.

Obligatory ATF meme

quote:

---

Are there any public ranges or gun clubs that allow full auto anyway?

---

Yes. All of them if you have the paperwork. A guy showed up at Sherburne brought 3 of them and let us shoot them. They weren't M16s. They were the cheapest rifles he could afford and he said he paid $9k each. They looked like an AK but the caliber was different. I forget what models he said they were. We had a great time.

quote:

---

You might want to figure out what you got.

First step is deleting everything you just wrote.

Second step is find a firearms friendly lawyer.

---

This is the only answer with stuff like that. Possession is a federal felony without a proper tax stamp. However, you can't trust the ATF not to rat frick you, so you can't call them up and say "Hey, is Serial Number #DontInfringeMe on your list?" because if it isn't, they're going to infringe the frick out of you.

You hire an attorney that practices GUN LAW. Not Jim Bob your wife's half-retarded cousin. Not Good Ole Jerry who's been your family's trusted go-to for minor legal matters for years. A GUN LAW attorney who knows the ins and outs of the process and how the ATF will frick you. That attorney can go to the ATF and make the request for a S/N search and if the ATF comes back and demands the weapon be surrendered because it's not on their list he can tell them to get fricked because of attorney client privilege.

Once the disposition of the rifle is known, then your options become clearer. This is where the attorney who practices GUN LAW becomes invaluable because that guy will tell you what your options are based on the interaction with the ATF. It could range anywhere from "put it in the will" or "file a Form 5 for a tax-free transfer after death" and get a $20k windfall to "your only options are to destroy it or keep it and hope Uncle Fed never gets wind of it". There are even options that can prevent the thing from being destroyed even if you can't keep it.

That's what you're gonna pay the attorney for, though. This is a lot of money and some serious legal issues in play here, so you want someone who knows their shite way better than we do and can give you solid advice that you can pair with your comfort levels and use to make a good decision on what's going to happen to that rifle.

In any case, if that thing is in any way transferrable, have that GUN LAW attorney create a revocable trust that is able to span generations to hold the weapon after transfer. That way, multiple people can legally possess the thing and take it out for fun day on the range and trustees can be added and removed at will, negating the issue of what happens after a death for as long as the trust remains intact. As long as one trustee remains alive, there is no transfer. You just add new trustees and revise the beneficiaries in perpetuity to keep the trust afloat. The next generation will not have to answer the same questions you currently are getting answered with that setup.

ETA: I would recommend Joseph Cataldie in the Baton Rouge area as well.

AS far as you know that gun is in the bottom of Lake Pontchartrain, you've only heard stories about its existence though as you've never actually seen it.

quote:

---

The best thing you could do in that situation is have it demilled (cut up the full auto receiver) and then have the parts rebuilt on a new semi auto receiver.

---

quote:

---

Are there any public ranges or gun clubs that allow full auto anyway?

---

Sure. Look for one that isn't just a firing range, but operates as an "07/02" meaning they have an 07 FFL that makes them a manufacturer of firearms and a class 2 SOT, which allows them to handle NFA items.

It's a good bet that a place like that will let you rent select fire weapons from them (generally because they make their own) and they'll let you run what you brung.