blank-firing MG's

[eastwood44mag]

Just out of curiosity (sp?), is it legal to build a MG that can only fire blanks (i.e. barrel plugged and welded to frame, so that no normal barrel can ever be attached)? If so, what paperwork (if any) is required?

Thanks.

 

[mp510]

You would probably be best served in getting your design approved as a non-gun by the Firearms Technology Branch before constructing it. That said, there are factory made full auto blank firers available. Maxsell sells a F/A blankfiring Beretta look-alike.

 

[Tommygunn]

These are already available. They are made in Japan or Korea, and the gun is usually made of a cheaper metal that can withstand blanks but won't load real ammo. Many use a propriatary type of 8mm. blank.
I've seen photos of them on the internet ... Thompsons, various different subguns, M1 Garands, carbines, M-16. They're expensive.
Just be careful because some places, they're illegal unless for theatrical use. IIRC, Connecticut (where I used to live) was one such place, but there are no doubt others.

 

[Crunker1337]

If you find one that's already on the legal market, it will be fine to buy. Even if the BATFE switches a decision, you can still hand it in or if you get persecuted you can always argue that you didn't know it was illegal (there was a ruling in which a guy bought a rifle that turned out to be an MG, but the guy got off as he had no idea the rifle in question had an illegal autosear in it).

If you want to build one, the only way to protect yourself from legal trouble is to get permission from the BATFE.

Of course, I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.