RAFFICA

By Dan Shea

Q– I am a private contractor in Iraq and we have the Glock 19 9mm pistols. We have obtained the rear slide cover to convert them to full auto. Some of the guys say we can take them home and register them with ATF and I am in disagreement saying you can not do this because of the 1986, or whatever, gun bill; only what was there was legal and none thereafter. Am I correct on this?

A– You are basically correct. The short answer to your question is “no, they cannot bring them back into the US.” There are a number of the Glock full auto conversion designs out on the market. John Ramun was probably one of the first US designers on this with his design in the early 1990s. In the United States, these conversion parts require registration with ATF and this can only be done by a law enforcement agency or a Class 2 Special Occupational Taxpayer. In May of 1986, the laws changed in the US so that no more machine guns can be made for private ownership. SAR has covered this law change extensively in the past. In the case of these Glock conversion plates that you are using in Iraq, it would be a felony to bring them into the US unless properly imported on a Form 6 for law enforcement use, and it is a felony to make them in the US unless you are a Class 2 SOT or law enforcement agency. Note the “agency” part: individual officers cannot make machine guns for themselves. The agency may acquire or make machine guns and issue them to the officers.

Truthfully, fully automatic machine pistols are a very specialized item, and most officers do not receive the training necessary to field them. Not to be judgmental about a choice as personal as a sidearm, but unless you are on exec protect detail, I can’t see much use for them in Iraq. You might want to consider a Glock or SIG in .45 ACP for carry; just a thought. To address the eternal question of, “Are there any fully transferable Glock machine pistols in the US?” the answer is “no”, because there weren’t really any Glocks to use as host guns in the US at the time of the May 19, 1986 Ban. Glock serial number pre-fixes with “AF” were imported in January 1986. The second shipment with a pre-fix of “AS” was in June of 1986, after the May 19, 1986 machine gun registration cut-off.

Typical Glock rear slide cover machine gun conversion. This is an early one from approximately 1992 by LMO, using John Ramun’s design. Right: Original Glock 18 machine pistol showing selector on the left side of the slide.

Q– I have seen a number of ads lately for an M60 that is C&R registered, called a T161E1. I saw a picture and it looked like a standard M60. What’s the difference and are all M60s now on the C&R list?

A– No, all M60s are not on the ATF’s Curios & Relics list, although in my opinion they should be due to their increased value as transferable machine guns. It was the first production run of T161E1 machine guns, the very early M60s, which were added to the C&R list in 2002 due to their manufacturing date in 1951. That put them over 50 years old. Thus, the T161E1 original registration variations of the M60 are C&R guns now. The ones that I have seen were built up into modern style M60s. The receiver is completely original, and the parts are simple interchanges. Adding modern features to the original receiver would not affect C&R status in this case. The accompanying photos should provide a pretty good idea of what an original T161E1 would look like. Note the 1941 Johnson LMG style sights.

The original M60; the T161E1 .30 caliber Light Machine Gun. Note the sloping 1941 Johnson LMG style front sight and the similar Johnson style rear sight.

Q– I have an original Pederson Device. I have the scabbard. I have the right rifle. I have the magazine carrying pouch. I have literature. I have a little ammunition. However, I do NOT have a magazine. I have been searching for years. Can you help?

A– You are a lucky guy to have gotten as much of the Pederson paraphernalia that you have, and you are now on a Grail Quest; which is always excruciatingly painful and a load of fun. It is almost anti-climactic when the object of the quest is found.

This Ordnance Department photo from the Inland Division of General Motors (the manufacturer) shows the breakdown of the T161E1 top cover assembly, including the rear sight. Most of the parts will be familiar to the M60 gunners of today, but there are obvious differences in style and material of manufacture.

My understanding is that of the 65,000 Pederson Devices made by Remington, less than 100 were spared from post World War I destruction. The whereabouts of only a handful are known. Supposedly, there is a live fire test being done on a Pederson Device for another firearms magazine, so maybe this is a good time to do an SAR Magazine ID for these. For the uninitiated, the Pederson Device was a drop-in bolt replacement that made the 1903 Springfield Rifle, or the 1917 Enfield Rifle (depending on the kit as very few were made for the 1917) into a 40-round semi automatic rifle in a reduced caliber. This was at the end of World War I, and in the post-war era, the military decided the cartridge and concept wouldn’t meet up to the new armored threats and would be a step down on the battlefield. Thus, they destroyed all stocks resulting in the lack of magazines. Hopefully, in the back room of one of our readers lies an unidentified magazine, and a light will go on in that astute reader’s head as he ID’s this magazine and realizes that not only should he NOT convert it to feed in his Sten, but that he could sell it and make some money. Or, place it on his mantle and show it off to his friends, thereby causing another unknown number of years torment to our fortunate friend who has “almost” all of a Pederson Device.