According to the ATF it is exactly comparable. Or, rather, is not a case of the rifle "having been on" any list. It is a matter of it having been a firearm capable of full auto fire, and now you're attempting to either add it to the list for sale to civvies (which is not possible since the list is closed) or attempting to make it semi-auto and sell it to civvies (which is not possible because of the "once a machinegun, always a machinegun" rule). The only ways to do this are:Like I said, there was an article written by an Army officer who outlined how M14s could be sold through the CMP to civilians.
I understand that if a machine gun is registered with the ATF per the National Firearms Act that it can never be taken off the registry, but that's hardly comparable to taking a Military automatic rifle and permanently converting it to semi-automatic before any civilians ever own it. I don't have the article with me now and I cannot find it online.
1. Repeal the 1934 law regulating machine guns
2. Repeal the 1986 law closing the registry
3. Rescind the "once a machinegun..." rule.
Any tinkering the Army might do may well make it semi-auto only, but it still won't make it legal to sell.
Mike