I bought the parts as a kit for $350 from a guy who brought it in from the US. I guess he gave up and just wanted his money back. It’s been a while since I've priced out a kit, but I bet they are still under $500. You will also need rivets and a sideplate. I purchased an 80% sideplate Ohio Rapid Fire for about another $120.00. I should have machined it myself caused it would have been cheaper and better quality. The ORF plate sucked! Rivets were something like another $30.00. In all cost was about $500, not including the accessories like tripod, belt loader etc.
One thing to be a where of, I gather the rules or a least the interpretation of the rules in the US have changed. You will now be unlikely to find 80% sideplates. Many vendors stopped selling them and the few available are now only 70% done, which require more machining.
In theory you could finish the sideplate with a drill press and a dermal tool, but I’d be willing to bet the quality would suck. The long and short of it is you or someone will need access and the skill to use a milling machine. Not all gun smiths can machine very well, a better bet would be to bring the parts one at a time to a machinist, and have him do it. Of course you will need a gun friendly machinist. I was fortunate, in that at the time I worked at a Hi-tech company who allowed me to use the machine shop. If they only knew what I had been making. Unfortunately I’ve moved onto another company and no longer have access to a mill.
You can check out
http://www.1919a4.com/ for current information. Warning, the site used to be a real good source of info of semi 1919A4, but has become more political.
Registering was not a big deal, it just took forever. I called the RCMP's CFC to register the sideplate once everything but the holes where drilled. In other words, the outline, the groves, the S/N and denial island were all machined, and easily visible in a photo. That way as the plate was not completed; they would not be able to charge me with having an unregistered firearm. I don’t think that step was really needed, but when dealing with the CFC, I wanted to be very cautious. Once I had it the registered, I drilled the holes and revited the sideplate to finished the 1919a4.
One last thing, when I called the CFC I was careful NOT to mention the word “machine gun”. I simply mention a “semi auto 1919A4 based on the same deigned as the CFC approved 1919a4 already for sale in Canada by Marstar and others”. That phase was design to put the clerks at ease and to have them pass me on to the technical branch of the CFC, which would know the difference between a real machine gun and a semi-auto that just looked like one. The last thing you need is for the clerk to get the idea that you’re trying to pull a fast one and are making a machine gun, cause sure as hell that would complicate thing.
Anyway I hope that helps, good luck
Mark
