Permanent but reversible way to convert an AR to "bolt-action"

TRaTSeRiF

TRaTSeRiF

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Trying to help a fellow gunnut, living in a country that doesn't allow semi-auto centerfire rifles, get his grubby hands on an AR, mostly to be used as a wallhanger (which means no British market pre-built fuuuuuuuuuuugly bolt AR's). Since he will occasionally take it outta the country and shoot some rifle/3gun matches, it should be reasonably reversible, but still it needs to be deemed "permanent" by the army/police staff who will inspect it before he can officially register it to his name. I've only held an AR once (gotta admit that I enjoyed shooting it) and it was in one piece, so I'm not familiar with the mechanicals of the platform. Any suggestions to do this without making a gunsmith flip out? Thanks in advance for any suggestions ladies and gents :)
 
Make it straight pull ( not bolt action). Remove gas system, or might need barrel without gas port drilled, depends what they consider permanent
 
First of all, what country? Is our advice going to get some guy dragged off and executed by whatever regime is in power?

The specific country will determine the exact criteria necessary to meet approval.
 
Stevebot-7 said:
First of all, what country? Is our advice going to get some guy dragged off and executed by whatever regime is in power?

The specific country will determine the exact criteria necessary to meet approval.
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dragged off and executed by whatever regime is in power? Sounds just about right for gun control in Canada.
 
tiriaq said:
Permanent but reversible? That is a contradiction in terms, isn't it?
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Not really... Just look at our pinned mags... When our shooters go south of the border, they drill out the rivet, shoot standard capacity and re-pin before crossing back. Now, a barrel without a gas port would do the trick. Yes, I meant straight pull. Would it be possible to just weld the gas port on the existing barrel shut or would it be a better idea to just buy a separate barrel?

The country is Chile. If his firearm is found to be non-compliant, it would get confiscated and melted, legal consequences not expected, just the loss of $2000 that went into the rifle. Even for a violation of their version of the firearms act, chances are he'd face less of a legal ringer than one of us would here.

Edit: Would another point along the gas system be easier? Any other suggestions? For example, on the SKS I'd just weld the port on the gas tube shut.. On the T97, the 2 gas ports on the regulator and that would satisfy that country's legal requirements.
 
Hmm, I would suspect that finding/making a solid gas block with no port might work. That way when he's crossing the border he could install a normal gas block, no drilling required. Whether or not that meets Chilean standards I am not sure.
 
Stevebot-7 said:
Hmm, I would suspect that finding/making a solid gas block with no port might work. That way when he's crossing the border he could install a normal gas block, no drilling required. Whether or not that meets Chilean standards I am not sure.
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Thanks for the heads up. I'll have to ask someone at the club to take apart their AR so I can see how they tick

andrew3081: Oh it would DEFINITELY be done by a gunsmith. I wanna have paper records including a proper receipt. This is a completely white deal. Has been done in the past but not very frequently as not too few people wanna blow 2g's on a gun they're not really gonna be shooting the way it's meant to be shot unless they're out of the country.

Edit: It looks like welding the port on the gas block might do the trick and it can be drilled out by a gunsmith when he's out shooting abroad. Even if he has to buy the occasional extra block, that seems to be the least damaging alternative. Any thoughts?
 
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This shows how the gas system works. If you have a solid gas block, or it is just not aligned properly with the gas port in the barrel, the gasses will not be able to enter the gas tube and flow into the receiver to push the gas key and bolt carrier group backwards.
If that happens, you pull the trigger, cartridge discharges, and then you have to pull the charging handle to eject the cartridge and chamber a new one.
 
Looks good thanks.. Better to mess up a $30-50 part than a $200 part. With the port welded shut he will need to pull the charging handle every time to cycle the action and so will the guy doing the inspection (yes it involves test-firing). He can even pick up a gas block every time he's abroad for competition and throw the unneutered gas block out (or give it away) before going home... Would burn more than $30-50 on ammo alone lol
 
fenceline said:
Deja vu? I thought this was already a thread haha.

Just removing the gas tube has one problem. The gas port on the gas block points straight back at the shooter. It would need to be plugged or blocked too.
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Probably came across my thread in legalese about the export requirements (basically permanent export permit) for a restricted - for that gentleman.. So no issues with just plugging the gas block and not removing the gas tube? Yes, they require it to be permanent, so I assume that the gas system won't operate with the gas block being plugged. Bonus points for easier cleaning lol
 
andrew3081 said:
Doing modification for the firearm by yourself is a very bad idea unless your a gunsmith or have lots of knowledge about gunsmithing
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not really, its an AR not rocket science, uber easy to build one, no gunsmith required

TRaTSeRiF said:
It looks like welding the port on the gas block might do the trick and it can be drilled out by a gunsmith when he's out shooting abroad. Even if he has to buy the occasional extra block, that seems to be the least damaging alternative. Any thoughts?
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removing a gas block can take a few minutes to swap for a new one, would they consider that permanent?
 
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