Full Auto Pricing

[disturbed]

Im finishing up an ar build this month(semi-auto) and ive been wanting a full auto rifle.I dont know ANYTHING about them.When i look at the ones that are for sale they a thousands of dollars.Why is this?wouldnt it just be cheaper to build one as the legal end was taken care of???Im building my AR now on a $2,000 budget.If i have a $2,000 budget for my next build will that be enough to build a full auto Ar15?Thanks in advance and sorry im still a newb to this part of the hobby.

[USMC3531]

There are plenty of people that know more about this than I do. My understending is tou would have to buy either buy a registered sear or full auto lower reciever to legaly assemble one, and the reason they are so expensive is 1986 was the last year for registering full autos. so whats out there is it basicaly.

[nfafan]

The long/short of it is that in May 1986, Congress snuck a law into place that banned any new full-auto NFA from being mfg for "civilian consumption". All new full-auto NFA was for official use only; sales samples, LEO, govt.

That ended the days of SWD making M11/9s, M&K 760s, A-O 1928As, Class 2 mfgs making auto-sears, drop-in auto sears, re-welds, trigger-packs, auto-bolts, tube recvrs, conversions of semi-autos, etc, et al. Obviously the same for private citizens doing Form 1 conversions of semi-autos.

The market was now reduced to just those quantities of full-auto-related NFA goodies already "out here" and available for re-sale transfers amongst us unwashed masses. The law of supply/demand at work.

So - since you can't make any more automatic ARs for us civvies, the existing ones out there continue to stay expensive.

[mongo]

to Disturbed: Save up, save up ,and save up some more. For about ten times your budget you should be able to get a nice M16. Or you can get started into the full auto addiction for about 3K for a Cobray m11/9. Look around. Advanced Arms in Pittiston is a good place to start. If you are not carefull the "bug" will bite you hard and there will be no looking back. There is no cure, just an occasional "flip of the switch to full" and that sweet buzz to feed the addiction.

[disturbed]

Ok thats makes a lot more sense of why they are so expensive.I still want one though but i think im going to have to do a lot more saving now.Thanks guys

[NathanB]

if someone is really selling them you arent going to scratch the surface for 2k. You dont see them very oftne.

[JayBell]

if someone is really selling them you arent going to scratch the surface for 2k. You dont see them very oftne.

correct, I sold my Colt Model 614(export model M16) factory MG back in May of this year for $12.5K.. and that was under market.

save up.

[Last Resort]

There is one simple reason why full autos are so expensive.....it is what the market will bear. As long as people are willing to pay these absurd prices for full autos, then they will continue to be absurdly expensive. When people decide to stop spending thousands and thousands of dollars for a full auto, then prices will fall (unfortunately this will probably never happen).

[ungawa]

There is one simple reason why full autos are so expensive.....it is what the market will bear. As long as people are willing to pay these absurd prices for full autos, then they will continue to be absurdly expensive. When people decide to stop spending thousands and thousands of dollars for a full auto, then prices will fall (unfortunately this will probably never happen).

Demand is only one equation, you are forgetting supply. Price is where the two curves meet. And, with transferrable machineguns, the supply "curve" is vertical line. It varies with nothing.

[nfafan]

There is one simple reason why full autos are so expensive.....it is what the market will bear. As long as people are willing to pay these absurd prices for full autos, then they will continue to be absurdly expensive. When people decide to stop spending thousands and thousands of dollars for a full auto, then prices will fall (unfortunately this will probably never happen).

Yes, but..

There are plenty reading this board, maybe even reading this thread, that can wipe their butts with more money in a couple days than I make in a month/quarter/year.
If they want to pay $4500.00 for a STEN that sold for a $100.00 in the mid-70's - they will. You'll never get "buy in" to stay away from these high prices in an effort to see them fall. See many gas-boycotts work??

Also, prices have only stabilized to a small degree mainly due to the overall uncertainty of the economy for John Q. Public moreso than folks staying away based on prices alone. Once the economy improves for the customer - they will buy again. The economy sucks for most of us, but not all, which is why NFA is still (slowly) selling.

And of course there is the artificial price pressures induced by bogus NFA gun laws of '34, '68, and '86 that limit the pool of transferables.

Whch I will ALWAYS say benefits the well-heeled folks that accumulated - and do not EVER, EVER, NEVER want to see their $18K West Hurley 1928TSMG fall to a $500.00 price, or $4500.00 STENS drop back to a couple hundred.
Turning back the NFA laws would be a fuck-job to NFA "investors" that would make the Wall Street theives envious.