Question on Full-Auto

[clayart]

Last year I built my stepfather an AR15 for Christmas. I posted pictures of it on here.....anyway, it shoots great and he loves it. He is a Constable in a small east Texas town called Spurger. He came to me with a question the other day regarding making his weapon full auto. I was under the impression that since he was law enforcement that he would not have a problem doing that and would not have to jump through the same hoops as a civilian. So, my question...what would the process be for him to go full auto...not so much how but the paper work process? Thanks everybody.

[Paulo_Santos]

Each state is different, so I'd have him or you can contact the state police or a firearms guy where he works or in the county for help. In some places, like here in NJ, it isn't worth it.

[Stickman]

He is a Constable in a small east Texas town called Spurger. He came to me with a question the other day regarding making his weapon full auto.

The department can purchase a full auto lower for him, but he can't do it himself without getting into a mass amount of paperwork, and a large amount of money buying registered parts that were made before the 1986 ban.

[clayart]

thanks guys for the quick feed back. That helpul....Ya'll have a great day.

[Army Chief]

Just to make sure we've provided perfect clarity, there is a world of difference between a department-owned/issued weapon, and a privately-owned weapon in the hands of a law-enforcement officer or military member. Department/agency-owned weapons can obviously be capable of fully-automatic fire, but at no point along the way does the weapon become the personal property of the officer to which it is assigned. The OP is clearly talking about modifying a privately-owned rifle, and there is absolutely NO provision under the law for modifying that particular weapon to permanent full-auto operation. The FOPA/McClure-Volkmer Act shut that door forever on 19 May, 1986.

The next best thing, alluded to by Stick, would be to spend a considerable amount of money on a Lightning Link or registered sear, in which case, the added part is the machinegun, and the AR-15 in question would simply be the host. These drop-ins are prohibitively expensive, relatively fragile, and not replaceable under the law, should they ever be damaged beyond repair. That's why registered machineguns/registered MG lowers are even more expensive (often $15,000-20,000 or more these days), but a much better long-term investment. Either way, the cost is high, and the benefit (over semi-automatic operation) is relatively low.

Again, being a police officer or soldier does not put your individually-owned firearms into any different category than any other shooter. 99.99 times out of 100, if you see an officer of the law with a full-auto AR, he is carrying an issued weapon that is not his personal property. .01 percent of the time, he will either be a SOT Dealer (with a Dealer Sample of some kind) or a Class III owner (with a machinegun registered prior to the 1986 cutoff).

AC

[Eric]

..and there is absolutely NO provision under the law for modifying that particular weapon to permanent full-auto operation.

This is worth repeating and strictly adhering to, unless a prolonged involuntary stay at Club Fed sounds like fun. Unfortunately, there are a few LEOs who incorrectly assume they are exempt from such regulations.