How do I check to see if its legal to put a bayonet on my SKS

[jsalcedo]

I recently got an SKS without a bayonet.
It has all the attachments to add one.

The gun appears new, unfired and covered in cosmoline.

Is there any way to check to see if its pre-ban?

A gunsmith said that all SKS are pre-ban and even new looking ones were 40 years old at least.

I would like to get some other advice.


Thanks

 

[Hkmp5sd]

If the gun is a C&R, you can add a bayonet. These are the Russian, Yugo, Romanian, etc SKSs that are the actual military firearms being sold from the country's arsenal.

If the gun is a new manufacture Chinese, like the Norinco versions, and it does not now have a bayonet attached, you cannot legally attach a bayonet. This is because this would result in a firearm that is not legal for importation under ATF guidelines. There are some new manufacture Chinese SKSs that were imported with the bayonet prior to this ruling and they may retain their bayonets. If yours is a new manufacture and doesn't already have a bayonet attached, it cannot have the bayonet, no matter when it was imported.

So the deciding factor is who manufactured your SKS. Who made it?

 

[jsalcedo]

Its a norinco.

It was bought about 1995 w/o bayonet

 

[Hkmp5sd]

If it is Norinco, in my untrained, unlicensed and totally bogus legal opinion, you may not attach a bayonet to your SKS.

However, this is a very complex topic. Read the information here for an example. That said, who would know that if your SKS suddenly did have a bayonet, that you didn't buy it that way? Think anyone in law enforcement is going to dig through all of this stuff just to prove whether or not the bayonet on your SKS was installed prior to 1989?

 

[Steve in PA]

I always thought it depended on when the rifle was bought.....after a certain date.

Last year my brother gave me a basically brand new Norinco SKS with a bayonet. He had bought the rifle several years ago....only shot a handfull of rounds threw it.

I have the bayonet mounted on mine.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

Steve,

Back in 1989, ATF decided that a new manufacture SKS with a bayonet attached was not a sporting firearm and could not be imported. All SKSs in the country and with a bayonet were grandfathered in, but all new imports could not have one.

All this really accomplished is to open a can of worms. The manufactures removed the bayonets and started shipping rifles. Dealers and customers started buying bayonets and reattching them, even though ATF says that is illegal. Then came the C&R SKSs that could be imported with an attached bayonet because of their collector status.

The whole thing is stupid, but it's the rules we presently have.

 

[Tropical Z]

And the very fact that this question even needs to be asked is ABSURD!!!!!!!!
Its OK on this and this and this SKS but put one on THIS SKS and youre going to prison!:banghead:

 

[GD]

From a gun standpoint, yes it is absurd. From a legal standpoint - we gave our government the right to regulate interstate and international commerce, therefore, they can regulate what can be imported into this country. They can also tell you what you can sell interstate. The only way to change this is to change the laws, amend the Constitution and to elect gun-friendly politicians.

 

[Shooter973]

SKS Bayonet?

Has any body ever been arrested or convicted of "Adding" a bayonet to a post ban weapon? Not that I've ever heard of, not saying it hasn't happened but how would they know if it was a pre-ban or a post ban? Does the local law have access to the manufacturing records of all the SKS's ever built? And don't they(law enforcement) have to have reasonable cause to even ask about this? Never happened and never will. Unless you use the stupid bayonet to rob a gas station or some place else. Why would you even want a bayonet on a civilian rifle anyway? :banghead:

 

[jsalcedo]

thanks for all the good responses.

I'll probably leave it off.

The only reason I would put a bayonet on a rifle is because it was designed for it and there is a naked looking bayonet attachment on the rifle.

 

[DMK]

Technicalities. The IRS and ATF are made of 'em.