You do not have to have a license for personal use. However, a MA manufactured after July '86 is still illegal. Check out P. A. Luty's book, " The expedient 9mm submachinegun." Amazon has it. Let us know how it goes, just create a different login before you do. You know big brother and all. P. A. Luty is a Brit, and the whole idea of his design is that it can be produced using basic raw material, and when it is disassembled, it looks like a bunch of shop junk. And that is where it safely stays until needed.

There was a machine shop in my town making AR lowers and various related parts. He made himself some home-made M16s and got ratted out by one of his own employees. He now resides in "the joint". Be careful with this, big brother is everywhere.

You can build a semi-auto gun for yourself without a license, so long it is not for resale.

I shoot at a range where the owner has manufactured BAR's and other FA machine guns. He has done so legally. He told me you have to have a manufacturers license to be able to do so. He rents the use of them out at the range. One point he stresses is that the law states the FA machine guns cannot ever be transferred to anyone. They cannot be sold. They cannot be given. When he dies they have to be destroyed.

If you want the name and number of his gun range let me know.

Which state is he in?

Originally Posted by jaybird

You can build a semi-auto gun for yourself without a license, so long it is not for resale.

Yes you can. I am currently building a 1919A4 Browning machine gun. The only catch is, it must be built semi auto.
The internals must be machined for semi auto and made so that there is no way to convert it back.
It's sad because this gun screams full auto. I'd pay the tax if I could make it Full auto.
The way I understand it is that as an individual, you can build one gun a year.
I have built several AK's, bought the reciever blanks and bent them.

Check out BATF's website FAQ on licensing requirements. I believe your allowed to build more than just one a year w/out a license, just can't do it for profit. Sad, really, that they feel they have to restrict it so. Did you know that there are only 10 rifle barrels makers in all of the EU! And only one is a small machine shop, the rest are big corps, with big gov't contracts. That's what happens when people are ignorant and afraid of firearms. Thank goodness we still have a few hundred. Talk about an endangered species, gunmakers. I think as a matter of national sercurity it should be taught as an elective in every community college.

so for $500 bucks & have the the permission of your local law enforcement, you too can manufacture any weapon as long as it's not a FA Machine gun? I wonder what the cost is for a FA? I know you can purchase them, see them for sale all the time, have even seen ones that are "transferable" in the ShotGun News. Too rich for my blood I'm sure. Heck, even if I could own one, with the price of ammo these days, I couldn't afford to shoot it, LOL.

Originally Posted by DOPELFREY

I am currently building a 1919A4 Browning machine gun.

That sounds like alot of fun. Hope you post a picture when it's done.

Originally Posted by GregM

Legal question......

I am a machinist and have a machine shop and I am cursed with an insatiable curiosity about mechanical things.

Is there a legal way to build your own MG?
Not for resale or anything like that just for your own private use. And I'm not talking about converting a semi auto, I mean scratch building something like a Sten etc

Of course I will have to wait until I move to NM

Why would you want to move to NM?????