mike todd

after my last post here that could be seen as a short hit at the staff at ATF, that was not my sole intent. I feel the need to share how one person can "go the extra mile" with ones duty. I sold a MP-34 and the forms stated it was made by STYER / Germany. new forms with a C+R lic were filed and after app 16 months returned as "not C+R eligible". during a call I was told pictures and previous approvals would not be of any help, the actual weapon had to be sent for examination. the buyer wanted it to go as fast as possible so it was agreed to attempt a transfer to his dealer then proceed. without ANY SPECIAL REQUEST, the examiner responded and said she would hand carry the next 2 transfers through the system to help salvage the sale for me. IT WORKED! both the trans to the dealer and the trans to the buyer were approved in less then 90 days. HOORAH for her, she gained absolutely nothing ,but my gratitude and personal satisfaction by her actions. she may have risked possible retribution from her supervisors for stepping out of the normal line doing so. this clearly shows that any applied effort results in better service and there certainly is room for more

I have several "pending" form 4 transfers .many are past 12 months, while several have cleared that were submitted after those in less than 5 months. from my experience its the examiner that sets the pace, and the FBI backlog is just an easy pass of the buck. at one time all the activity of ALL the examiners was posted in one of the forums. "BRIAN" may have completed 70+ while "Chaneswa" managed 20 or so during the same time period. hey theys just folks and you have all been to the Vehicle registration office and watched who actually did all the work while others clicked their nails and rolled their eyes at each other. its sad but a true fact that with all the hiring guidelines as the are, once that 3 axe handle cheek gets a chair and keyboard , producing is no longer of any importance and they don't answer to anybody that's watching. I do know that they started tracing every registration back to its original first form to confirm info and status before approval and that cant be helping things move at any decent rate. I know of several guns that transferred more than once on form 4's that ended up being "pre may" and denied. try that one on for size. I had just missed a "transferable" FND, by a few minutes at the SAR show. the dealer had an approved form 4 to him on display with the gun, it showed "NO RESTRICTIONS" the "LUCKY GUY" in front of me forked over $18,500.00 , new forms were filed, the dealer ceased operations. 2 months later the "LUCKY GUY" got his application back with a big red denied stamped across it and an explanation it was "pre may" restricted. last I heard he was not able to retrieve his funds and the only option was get it to a dealer that "would try" to get some of the money back. 3 of my recent buys had transferred as C+R eligible at least twice BEFORE I bought them and were found to be form 2 guns "not eligible" which effects the end value by a LOT. so thing is, nothing is as it was in the past and its buyer beware through no fault of many dealers it just is what it is. mike

yup , hated "Barney" almost as much as I hated television. couldn't see it helping anything but waste time, just like talking about "those guys" and all the unfounded "what ifs" ones mind can create when allowed to roam unchecked. being a history buff ran into "the MAINE explosion thoughts also witnessed first hand the "grassy knoll". OK Lets Create a bunch of little think tanks that meet and spew forth the imagined drivel to each other and only make each other feel good. point is what ya going to do about it ? nothing nadda zip that's what. I prefer to let the media rant , take the direction they choose and THEN respond UNITED with an intelligent approach to their idiocracy

AHH that guy 'conspirator" raises his triangle shaped head in the mix. do you really think someone sat off in some hidden location with a SAW and helped that jerk? methinks some simple pressure cookers loaded with remnants of "legal" fireworks, nails and other detritus would have been much more efficient and provided more reasons to attack otherwise gentle folks trying to survive as we all are and provided a much more valid conspiracy opportunity to roar over the webb. WHY CANT CRAZIES JUST BE CRAZIES? that's all they are ? all the resulting hoopla just plants the seed for another.

THE M-1 M-2 started it all for me for just plain ol go out and shoot as much as you can. its not a bad choice as parts are still plentiful and easy to find. In my opinion a "shooter" is best accomplished with a registered M-2 kit. one can gather a couple dif hosts and not beat just one to death, which will require a good smith to rebuild. plenty of reasonably priced "host's" are available. lately there has been some kits offered at unrealistic prices but a lower level can still be found if you keep after it. make sure you only use the later round bolts to avoid the inevitable flat bolt extractor crack. Both the reg'td receiver and conversion allow for support parts as backup for repairs and loose originals are again out there very reasonable. under no condition respond to any complete kits that are not papered for backup. its considered NFA when complete, make sure something is missing to avoid any problems. also remember any receiver stamped M-2 EVEN overstamps are machineguns by themselves many original guns were overstamped by govt armorers and then auto parts later removed. as far as ATF is concerned a reg'td kit in a M-2 marked gun is 2 machine guns if the kit is in another host so avoid that completely. that's my condensed 3 cents ! ENJOY MIKE

SHOP time is scarce , but I always go to "bubba" BOB at BLACK RIVER MILITARIA first. you might give him a try. mike

just my thoughts , but I cant see the need to convert a handy , light and nimble sub gun to a heavy awkward shark toothed beast that one cant pick up with out some sharp edged added rail eating your appendages. for me, GORDON INGRAM got it right the first time with the mac -10 series and while they don't go out all the time, I always enjoy the experience of that fast shooting hose. I was lucky and managed to get all 3 calibers before the madness set in and anything with a selector went crazy. recently at auction I won another pre auction gun with suppressor and several of the new "slow fire uppers". at first thought the SOUMI mag upper was exciting, but in use a major disappointment. mag changes were more difficult for these old hands and the excellent balance was gone. the slow fire was a big disappointment in itself. I guess if one did not have the option of another system it might have more use. I also see that it seems to help the guys doing the matches at some shoots, but its not for me. I do have a lot of choices in the rack but tend to shy away from the norm a lot. and while I don't own any AR-15 / M-16's that weigh over 7 lbs , many do so it must boil down to an opinion and what one likes . just a suggestion, but you might try to get to a shoot that offers rentals before you make that important purchase and try as many variations you can. Be aware that reliable magazines are a MAJOR ISSUE with most of the MAC series except the .45 cal which happens to be my favorite. do your research and avoid the disappointment , welcome to the fold! MIKE

UPDATE.after all the research to date, this is another example of ATF going all the way back to the first registration to confirm the description, mfgr , etc. before processing the new transfer. when the transfer to the auction house was completed the approved forms clearly show the Manufacturer to be "SPRINGFIELD ARMORY , MASS USA. THE Auction House also secured and provided original manufacturing records by serial number for this gun to be in 1949 which was part of the description at the sale. the forms completed and approved by "E- FILE" show the manufacturer to be ELMER BALANCE DBA, SPRINGFIELD ARMORY , which will obviously cancel any C+R eligibility . in this case a picture of the registration forms added to the description, only would have backed up the misinformation and no help at all. looks like we are both going to end up losing at this stage, but nothing has been finalized at this point (sigh) more later mike

ok, thank you for that information, I didn't know they would interchange I only have close to 200 original 20 rounders 11 guns. that's a very useful response. thank you again sir.

guy's thanx for all the help with this aug. I stumbled on to someone that had a ton of just what I needed. had his gun long enough and fired it enough to become proficient with the system. he had sold his gun and the buyer didn't want ANY of the parts. there is enough to wear out 4 or 5 hosts and that's exactly what I needed. on top of that , he is a SUPER GUY and wanted a bunch of MY STUFF. cant get any better than that, it was like rolling back the clock 20 years HOORAH!

for which gun? costa mesa , howa or sterling? mike

MD, if you will call the folks at Julia , they will give you the straight scoop on the 60 or anything else in the sale. ASK FOR JOHN KEENE. If I remember correctly, its a springfield/ rock island with the rails welded to the trunion which is not the best way to go, but if it runs you can have some fun and get it corrected down the road. I have owned 2 of those and one worked perfect until it hit close to 50k rnds then it was like the other one and ran about 85%. I had US ord cut out the rails and rivet them in the proper way and the new owner says its 100%. JUST CONFIRM ITS NOT ID'D as a BM 59 Italian M-60 on the paperwork STAY AWAY FROM THOSE! I believe one day all form 4's will require pictures and those will be scrap for sure. GOOD LUCK MIKE

WASSAMATAYU??? pay tax on a private transaction ? from your name, I would gather you do some type of tax business or ?? you certainly live in the right state , as I do , if there is some insane law hiding somewhere my self and 99% of everyone else in this state are tax criminals ! I DONT KNOW ANYBODY, NEVER HEARD OF ANYBODY THAT WOULD TRY TO PAY A TAX ON A PRIVATE TRANSACTION IN THIS STATE. please try to keep it to yourself and your customers if that's the case. now that that's out of the way (sigh) the amount paid up front is flexable and decided by the bargaining parties. in most cases its all up front. I often take everything but the registered part when I pay unless I know the party very well. I learned the hard way with a 60 purchase about using a gun after its sold. it also prevents multiple sales which has happened also. heavy sigh MIKE

if you want to do it the easy way, just get one of the pistols, slot a bolt and add a new lower it might take 40 min to get running and no welding etc. did several and all ran perfect from the start.

In the 70's I rebuilt several MP43/44 dewatts and had new brls built for the project . I don't recall the company but it was one of Brownell's vendors. we did 27 guns if I remember right and I have 3 barrels left. profile and finish is done, no threads at the muzzle. I will sell all 3 only for $275. landed if interested pm me direct please so I'm sure to see it. cheers mike

NICK, thank you for the contact info, the sale was in IL. destination texas. it has gotten really strange now. I was advised this am that the transfers to the auction house show the individual in texas, DBA, SPRINGFIELD ARMORY as the mfg'r, no mention of GENERAL MOTORS and the forms "e-filed" said nothing about "GENERAL MOTORS" . however the approved form received by my dealer state the individuals name with no mention of "DBA SPRINGFIELD. and has GENERAL MOTORS in the additional information on firearm section. it might be possible that the "E-FILE" allowed some type of typo? its strange that the form received by my dealer is completely different than the one claimed as "E- FILED" I know the individual named on the form owned the name springfield armory in the early 70's. he sold it to the REESE FAMILY in IL that makes all the M1A's now. how convenient to have a gun actually made by the WWII U.S. armory registered as manufactured by the "aftermarket" manufacturer. at best that will effect its C+R status. even if all the forms get corrected , it would be close to 6 months before I find out if the C+R transfer is valid. as it sits I have informed all party's of my concerns. I cant take action until they make a final response , but I felt it best to have my belts loaded and be cocked and locked to proceed. thank you again MIKE

Aaron, THANK YOU FOR THE INFO ! that's the second rec for Joshua , so it sounds like good info. GADS why is honest effort rewarded with things like this these days? thank god Hitler came when he did because we certainly don't have the social resources to beat him now. cheers mike

GOT , myself in ANOTHER mess through zero fault of my own, and it looks like its going to take a civil suit to make any attempt to correct it. IN dec 2017, I registered for a live telephone bid and bought several examples , both NFA and modern. this was with a major auction house that holds 4/5 large auctions per year and most are 3 day or more. one of the items I won was listed as a C+R made by the WWII Springfield Armory. After I paid for all my items, I called them to add payment for the packing/ shipping and confirm they had both my C+R and the FFL that receives my modern items. I felt something was weird because they stated they had shipped the NFA- C+R to my dealer because it was faster using the "E-transfer" and it had been approved and was gone. nothing I could do at that stage so I left it alone . MY dealer called when it arrived and said the only thing that matched on paper work was the serial number. it showed an individuals name as the MFGR and the additional markings section states " GENERAL MOTORS" . I need to know where we stand, due to the actual paper work and he MFGR etc. The value in the market place and too me is substantially less than represented not to mention the legal issues and registration status . the lot number pics , confirmed the gun was indeed Springfield armory and WWII era and the serial number is the same as on the paperwork. they even provided a copy of the production papers at Springfield confirming that actual serial number and production date. now we posses it, marked exactly as represented, but not even close on the registration forms. I need some recommendations for someone to represent me that can handle this situation. (SIGH) mike todd

as you know, the links are going to be tough to find, they were tough even in the 50's and 60's. I had a live twin and you can imagine what I went trough trying to use it at almost 3k rnds per min. in desperation, I started altering 06 links by bending with 2 needle nose pliers, graduated to a pair custom 8" wide pair of alum jaws pinned to a medium vise grip clamp. I used cut wood dowels and stacked them with 7 links for speed. slide them in the jaws and opened them up. later I bought a small pencil torch and applied min heat and they went pretty fast then. a few would be annealed and NG, but if dropped in water fast they were few. just something you might try mike

JUST A TIDBIT of additional info for anyone that may have had interest in this thread. the Remington kiln gun that was on the ROCK ISLAND auction today , sorry I missed recording the lot # it was in the 6500 lot area, hammered at an astounding $10,000.00 plus prem! kiln guns are not that rare and many are still in use today, I would imagine. every company that makes china products from clay would need something. they use trains to move carts in the kiln and if the operator isn't smooth they will fall off and block the carts. no way can they shut down the heat, it takes too long to get back, so the just shoot the item to pieces and move the carts forward. several company's did change to 30/30 lever guns due to the cost of 8 gauge industrial ammo . I watched a gent shoot several KOHLER toilets that fell of the cart in the early 80's with a pre 64 win 30/30 but don't know if the insurance giants still put up with that? SO it looks like KIRKS find is much more special than first thought? ITS GOVT ARSENAL MARKED, WWII DATED, what else is needed? now I want one! (sigh) cheers mike

kirk, please let me know if you find anything else out about your artifact. I try to stay up with info on anything that comes my way so I can pass it on to the new folks. have data an some pretty strange stuff and there is always someone that needs to know. by the way, I have a very compact breech ass for a 8 gauge. it has a fire pin and spring but there is an electric solenoid on the side, very robust ! a bolt lifts up and at the end of travel the breech pivots to the left. while the breech enters the start of the chamber area, the only lock is when the bolt sets in a recess at the bottom. I imagined a sleeve and maybe a 45/70 chamber?? thanx for sharing this with us! mike

dan thanx for the input, I have a lot of augs and have since day one. missed the boat on the full auto , I just spent too much time with the 16 to care. stumbled on this one well under market so I bought it. I have an early full auto 9mm kit with the threaded brl and 20 mags. 2of the heavy brls/w bipod, 5 pre ban guns and 3 new U.S. made guns. I have one spl receiver but never did anything with it and I don't think I will use it for the sear. the 9mm kit is the only thing I have for full auto , so it looks like I will be spending a bunch for parts. the sear came with a new host ready to go and I didn't care about the 3 shot burst, but is there. never liked them in my 16 either. if anybody out there has any extra stuff I might need , drop me a note. cheers mike

offered for sale , a complete DSHK parts kit with all the cut receiver pieces and the drilled barrel. I sold several of these at SAR in dec 2017 for a bunch more and they were all gone by end of set up day. found this one while digging for mounts. as last sold by center fire systems in 2015. HEAVY AND HARD TO PACK ! offered at $2250.00 plus flat rate. $275 shipping by FED-X ONLY! if your dest is less, balance refunded after it arrives . funds payable via multiple USPS money orders at $500. max or bank of America money orders pics can be provided by email only, but most those in the know wont need them NO PITTING / or RUST and solid STRONG BLUE. I HATE PIC's, so kit will go to first "I WILL TAKE IT if previous responder's are waiting for pics SO BEWARE! email direct as I sometimes miss posts CHEERS MIKE

GREAT, THATS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT ! just what I needed to go forward SUPER CHEERS TO BOTH YOUSE GUY'S mike

as you guy's must be aware from my posts, I don't know much about the modern converted SEMI AUTO / MACHINE GUNS. I JUST MANAGED TO BY AN AUG with a registered sear pack. it has semi , 3rd burst, and full. the gun is new and I have never seen it. I planned this for long term and have several pre ban Austrian guns for hosts and some of the new U.S. built guns. I want to set each gun up so all I need to do is move the PACK. What must be added to a AUSTRIAN "pre ban gun" so it will run? as I mentioned I have several of the new U.S. made AUGS also, and because of the lower value hope to "beat" them up a bit. so again the question is what must be done to that model so I can just add the pack and GO? lately my form 4 transfers have been averaging 5 months, at 69 time is precious and I would like to start gathering parts or getting work done NOW while I'm waiting. I have always done all my own work on the old stuff , but have no idea where to start and I don't know any of the people that work on these new models either. as these forums show, IN the past, most of my posts asking these things get ignored unless I make some stupid remark and I really need this info and am depending on you guy's so PLEASE LETS HEAR IT THANX MIKE TODD