The big thing would be, when was the Form 2 entered into the NFA Registry? It is not about becoming a completed firearm. It would be when the receiver flat was formed into a machinegun receiver and registered into the NFA Registry. I understand that back in the day, many manufacturers were not so uptight about filing Form 2s. I would think that the owner of each receiver could file a FOIA inquiry to the ATF. They would receive records of all the transfers with the names and addresses redacted. All except the original Form 2 listing the date the receiver was registered. The ATF will go by their records, not by the markings on the receiver. At least that is my understanding of the process.
Scott
Well since this thread is no longer about the adjustable bolt, I’ll just go ahead and respond here, though this would make a good thread of its own, lots of interesting discussion to be had about transferable pre-86 MACs that were Assembled post 86… SWD did Texas guns, Jersey guns, and even some powder springs.
The guns in question would all be pre-86 transferable no matter when they were full assembled/completed. On paper the “machine gun” was completed whenever the receiver was completed, anything else is irrelevant.
So all those MAC frames that were papered in 1974 but assembled in 1987-88 are fully transferable, it’s like the stemple tubes… same deal. I personally think there are some powder springs M10s that I’ve seen being sold on the transferable market that appear to be very recently assembled, or at the very least completely refurbished from the ground up, rewelded and assembled with all brand new innards, though i find it odd than none of the original components besides the receivers are anywhere to be seen.
It makes me wonder if there could still be a box or 2 of those old MAC frames that may have turned up in the hands of a dealer/manufacturer who has completed a few and sold them. I believe those leftover frames were often not even finished frames, many were just numbered and papered “scoop” sections that still required the magwell and sight plate etc.
Wayne Daniel welded up some of the old frames RPB “cobray” style with the trigger guard tacked to the grip, and the easiest way to distinguish those late 80s SWD powder springs guns is that they’re BLACK phosphate, and have Cobray marks on the top of the upper…. Among a few other differences.
Late 80s transferable powder springs gun built by SWD