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We've been going through a similar situation trying to build a .30 BMG for
the jeep. We called the BATF technical section in Washington D.C. to get it
straight from the source. We started with a parts kit and no right side plate
and were told to make the plate out of aluminum, double thick, leave out the
bolt etc. and weld the barrel to the trunion. This is so that you cannot
chamber a round or fire the round if you did. After looking at several
options (we had the blueprint of the plate) we gave the parts kit to a
gentleman from Oklahoma who made a dummy plate, riveted it correctly, made a
dummy bolt handle, machined and fitted the trigger to give correct apperance
and then reparkerized the whole thing before assembly. A very nice job that
fools everyone unless very close up and is correct and legal (no papers
required). I can look up the man's name for anyone interested and he does
advertise sometimes.
The point of the BATF rules is NON-FUNCTIONING. The conversion to propane
must be done right because if you do it wrong and someone looks you could be
doing a long stretch in Leavenworth. Case in point of a gentleman the BATF
made an example of which they use at their FFL seminars (very helpful and
instructional...seriously). This man took a parts kit like we did and made
the right side plate out of Lexan and assembled it with all the parts to
allow for you to see the gun function. The BATF took the gun (and the guy) to
a range, chambered a round and pulled the trigger. Naturally the gun exploded
but the round fell out of the other end of the barrel and he was charged with
illegal manufacture of a machine gun and possesion of an unregistered machine
gun and he's doing time (10 years I believe). If you contact the BATF they
are very nice (or were) and helpful but be sure to ask for it IN WRITING.
By the way, we are still in search of M31C Pedestal Mount parts for the
jeep (big pole between the seats to mount the .30 cal). European locations
are OK as Dad will be at Beltring this summer and can extend further if
needed.
Best Regards,
Dennis O'Connor
doconnor@sikorsky.com (W) or openwheels@juno.com (H)
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