The MH and MV were only ever sold as completed and test rifles. Every one of which left here with minimally an 18.6" barrel. Any secondary uppers also were supplied with NR length barrels, so there is no room for anyone to claim that either platform has a restricted cousin of any sort. now with that being said we have no control over someone breaking the law and shortening the barrel effectively making the rifle a prohibited device, or changing the barrel to make it a restricted firearm. But as the manufacturer I am able to look any Judge in the eye and claim that we have never offered or made a restricted length barrel for either rifle, so if some idiot has installed 1 he had to modify the upper in the case of the MV or had a custom barrel made somewhere that employs the proprietary barrel extension. This was done to protect the legal status and the owners of our rifles.
We certainly are not suggesting to anyone however to purchase what we hope will be classified as a NR firearm and then play games with the government when you install an under 18.6" barrel. The law is pretty clear that you have 30 days to inform the CFC that you have completed assembly of a firearm and that the FRT# has to amended to reflect the change from "receiver only" to completed firearm once the firearm is complete and has a barrel installed. To counsel someone to pull the upper off every 29 days in the case of under 18.6" barrels in order to skirt having to register the gun as a restricted firearm in my opinion is simply trolling for a hassle, for ALL of us.
With Ars all being restricted this does not really matter, but purposefully trying to blur the lines between Non Restricted and Restricted with games could backfire badly.
Needless to say if we get the NR classification we are hoping for, we will not have any say in what folks do with their stripped upper/lowers. The onus then is on them to comply, or not to comply with the laws, it is out of our hands. IF short barrels are installed onto any of these platforms it will create some FRT#s that reflect restricted legal status.
We tried as much as possible to protect the legal classification of our MH and MV making it as hard as possible to simply swap out barrels to create a restricted firearms class.
We can only do so much however to try and protect the many from the few who just have to screw with things and create potential unintended consequences like the Swiss Arms debacle that effected many firearms owners.
My fear is that our development will be in vain in short order due to guys just having to push the envelope to the max. The current mag capacity and fitment issue is proof of what happens when guys just can't shut up or leave things alone.
Maccabee got a NR legal status on their project and good on them. But do you really think the SFSS/RCMP would have granted it if they had diclosed that you should install a short barrel and play games with the CFC every 29 days?
One thing to clarify regarding the 30 days to change the status is that during the 30 day grace period when changing from restricted to non restricted barrels or uppers it is illegal to actually fire the rifle away from a certified range until it has been classed back to non restricted.
I emailed back and forth with the lab guys when I bought my ACR and was told that if your rifle is restricted and you install a NR length barrel the rifle is still restricted until all the paperwork is completed and it's actually removed from the registry.
Similar going the other direction, if your rifle is NR and you install a short barrel you can not do anything with it other than take it to a shop, smith, or certified firearms verifier, until you have your new restricted registration you can not take it to the range. Fortunately they're more than happy to help you put your rifle in the registry and it should go much faster than going to NR.
So short version you can't just swap your NR upper back on every 29 days and do whatever you want in between. It is a pain in the ass changing from R to NR and last time I did it took them 3 months to complete after my verifier submitted the paperwork.
The 30 days is to give you time to do it legally not a free zone where you slip through a loophole.
I personally have zero interest in having restricted and non restricted uppers and lowers for mine, I don't want the government to know what I own and if you think they delete all the files once it's NR you're a little too trusting. Ever heard of High River AB? They knew exactly which houses to go to and what they were looking for.
I am in for exactly what Rick is hoping to produce,
7075
No forward assist
Any AR trigger
Any AR barrel
Any AR BCG
Any AR charging handle
Bolt on brass deflector
Under $1000 and I'll strip an AR and use my NR 300BLK barrel from my ACR.
Perfect!
^^ coming from someone that has never done a press check with a rifle after firing several thousand rounds.....
I do agree they are not necessary for most users... but the is a time and a place... And I want one too.
I'm sure there is a time and a place for a FA but I would guess that 75% of all the non restricted rifles owned by civilians in Canada don't see 2000 rounds in their entire life. Many will be owned by the internet commandos and mall ninjas who run around their house with their plate carrier and knee pads trying to look the part but rarely go out shooting. They will be run clean and well lubed their entire life and should chamber rounds smoothly.
These are not being manufactured to be the new NATO battle rifle, it's a civilian sporting rifle and as was mentioned earlier if your rifle is clean (as it most likely is if you're hunting with it) simply pressing forward on the cutout in the carrier with your finger should be enough to push it into battery.
Really? Several thousand rounds in a day with an AR? I'm sure glad I wasn't in that battle and am glad to hear you walked away from it.