Legality of putting an M16 bolt carrier in an AR15

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glock56534

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Some of you might be interested in this.

I recently had a problem with my local gunsmith. To make a long story short, I brought my AR to him to get worked on and he refused to give me back my bolt carrier because it was an M16 bolt carrier. After doing some legal research and asking a bunch of people on the web, I couldn't get a difinitve answer (MANY people think that its illegal). I wrote the BATFE a letter to see if it was legal or illegal. Below is a link to the letter stating the position of the BATFE on using M16 bolt carriers in AR-15s. Hope this helps some people.

http://www.mediafire.com/?dl11mxbij0b


I am posting this letter for informational purposes only. In no way is this letter binding to anyone but the person who it was written for (me). The purpose of this thread is to allow people to learn about the law. This is NOT for anyone to attempt to break the law. Attempting to modify a firearm to shoot full-auto or burst fire is a felony and is actively prosecuted.
 
MANY people think that its illegal
Click to expand...

Many people are goofy, including your ex-gunsmith (hope he's ex) :)

Thanks for posting this one, and there have been several other letters from tech branch saying the same over the last few years.

Colt puts M16 b/c's in all of their rifles, that alone should be enough reason not to worry about it.

There's an ATF letter to Colt stating it's OK. That letter is floating around lots of places if anyone wants to search for it.
 
I've had the same thing. Police Officer at the range saw the bolt when I opend my action to clean it. Warned me that it was illegal and that I needed to get a new one.
I didn't. I never got in trouble with it.

But here is the deal. Remember that dude that got busted and convicted for having an illegal machinegun because his AR malf'ed and fired 3 rounds? Yeah, I'm going to keep the M-16 parts out of my AR's... the Prosecution doesn't need any help.
 
I belive that there is no federal law, but state laws may not let you have m-16 parts in them. When I had a rifle serviced by olympic arms, They had to ask my gunsmith if it were legal to have m-16 parts in my state.
 
The M16 bolt carrier non-issue apparently eludes a lot of gunsmiths and gun store owners. I know of one place that recently removed the bolt carrier of an early 1960s SP1 they took in on trade and had it destroyed (!!!)
 
Silly. I suppose I can't have an M-14 operating rod in my M1a, either. Maybe my M-16A1 buttstock will get me landed in a cell on my Stag model 1.
Dumb. The damned M-16 bolt carrier is like the removal of the S&W lock, and the magazine disconnect on the HiPower, and the ILS in a Springfield. It's a better gun with the slight change, and meets no legal basis for arrest. None.
I had a guy two weeks ago tell me that I'm not allowed to own 15-round pistol magazines because they are banned in Virginia.
Where, oh where, do people get this stuff?
Steve
 
Why risk the harassment for no benefit?
Click to expand...

I gotta say, if you are getting harassed over having an M16 bolt carrier in your rifle then maybe you are doing something that is drawing too much attention to you in the first place.
 
I had always thought this was illegal based on the very strong statements in all Bushmaster catalogs (going back to at least 2002) saying so.

Good, simple letter from the ATF. If I were you I would keep copies of it in multiple places.
 
I gotta say, if you are getting harassed over having an M16 bolt carrier in your rifle then maybe you are doing something that is drawing too much attention to you in the first place.
Click to expand...

Good point.
 
i'm confused,

i have had my hands on countless m16/m4 bolt carriers in my career

they are not the same as the ones in the civilian ar's?
 
olivedrab, they're close, but not exact. if you put an "ar15" bolt carrier in an M16, it will not fire full-auto
 
So, you took a gun to a smith, and because in his "qualified" opinion you shouldn't do something, he refused to return your legal to own parts.

You did file a theft complaint didn't you?

As an aside, I stick to AR15 parts for my AR15 not because of legal worries, but for functional concerns. There are slight differences in the guns, and I don't want to have a rifle that doesn't operate because I monkeyed with something.
 
i would print out a statment or somthing that proves that u can own an m16 bolt carrier in your ar-15 and demand that the gunsmith replace your bolt carrier.
 
It certainly isn't the smith's part now. You may never put it back but it's your property. just having it should not be a problem. He had no authority to take keep or threaten you.

You might want to ask the question on Buddy Hinton's board. stw.com

http://www.sturmgewehr.com/webBBS/semiforum.cgi

Your state and local laws could be a problem. In your question on the board you should give a general location and time frame.


Good luck.

My .02
 
He isn't a dick for covering his own butt.
I would have returned the rifle and the bolt carrier, I am not law enforcement and don't have the right to seize someone elses property.
I would have also declined to perform any work on the firearm.

Some states don't make an issue over FA bolt carriers and some do.
It is best to know the exact laws in your own state of residence.
 
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