www.MG42.us

I'm confused as to how one gets a tax stamp for a full auto weapon. Not on the process, but on how it pertains to a build. Would you be able to build a full auto MG42 legally?

Since 1986, the new production of machineguns which can be owned by private individuals has been banned. The guns existing at that time are the only guns which can be owned by private individuals.

With a manufacturer's license and the proper paperwork, an automatic weapon can be built for "research" purposes. In reality, that means that people who can afford the manufacturer's license can build machineguns to play with. The down side to that is that they can only be sold to others who have a manufacturer's license, or they must be destroyed when the owner no longer has his license.

You, as a private individual, can not register a newly made machinegun. You can only buy one which existed and was registered as transferrable to a private individual before the ban started.

A secondary limitation on this is from state laws, which may prohibit or restrict or ability to own a machinegun in your state. In that case, it doesn't make any difference what federal laws there are, the state can also ban an MG.

That answers your specific question, but there are a lot more legal details that you didn't ask about.

One additional detail here to add to Johns post:
You don't buy a tax stamp for anything. People think they can buy a stamp to make something legal and its not how it works. You pay for the transfer tax or the making tax on an NFA (national firearms act) firearm and the stamp is affixed to the paperwork as proof that the tax was paid. Its just like cigarettes and liquor where the maker pays a tax and a stamp is placed as proof of tax paid. In reality postage stamps are the same thing...you pay a tax for the delivery of mail and the stamp is proof of tax paid. The difference is that you can buy postage stamps and you can't buy the others. So as John noted you can't legally make a new machinegun so even if you could buy a stamp it wouldnt help you. It won't make it legal because they refuse to accept payment of the tax for making on machineguns.


Just a little add - on.


Frank

Thanks, that clears things up.