colt ar15 sp1 preban
I am in desperate need of info on a preban colt ar15 sp1. Has anyone heard of special editions of these where they are full automatic, but you cannot tell it from the selector switch? I do not know much about guns, but a friend of mine purchased one from a ex-cop who said it was a semi-automatic and it didn't need any special paperwork cause it was legal. Then when my friend's son went to shoot the gun, the selector switch moved past "fire" where it shoots semi, and went to full automatic. She has had a class 3 dealer look at it and said that it looked original, that nothing had been modified on it, but now she is scared to death to have the weapon and wants to get rid of it legally, but wants to know if this special edition even exists and what the value might be.
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Back in the days of the SP-1 gun, they had a lot of M16 kits you could buy. These were 5 parts that the Army's M16 had that made them a FULL AUTO weapon. I recall a number of people would buy and install them in SP-1 weapon on the mistaken belief that they still needed a "drop in auto sear" that would made the weapon "full auto". That's NOT the case, these modified weapon can go full auto without the drop in sear. The ATF doesn't care if it goes full auto all the time or just one "extra" round every once in awhile ...THEY GOT YOU! ...BUT, if your friend was interested in "dumping" the weapon, I'd jump on it! ...AND double check that it had the SP-1 parts and not the M16 parts. Basically you need to make sure you have a SP-1 bolt and selector switch. If you got those it can't go rock-n-roll! My 2 cents ...Mark
"FEAR the Goverment, that fears your ARMS"0 -
I agree with Mark.
There never was any "special edition", so modification by a previous owner is most likely. But, it's not that big a problem. This gun is probably worth in the area of $1,000. Restoring it to a safe & legal condition can easily be done by a competent gunsmith, and should cost $200-300 at the most.
Neal0 -
The M-16 parts would drop into the old AR's. The newer receivers are blocked to prevent easy installation of the M-16 components. ATF regulations prohibit having ANY M-16 part in an AR-15 so I'd recommend ordering a complete lower parts kit from Bushmaster (around $50) and get rid of any possible M-16 parts.
Love them Beavers
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Powderpuff
You did the right thing in having a Class3 person to check the SP1 out.
The SP1 is just another run of the mill model number for the preban
AR-15 in semi-automatic.
You want to be ABSOULTLY SURE there are NO M-16 parts in it!
Possesion of an AR-15 with M-16 parts in it, or M-16 parts in you possesion (installed or not) is considered a machine gun by the ATF, even if it fires on semi only.
The SP1 preban is bring $1200-$1500 on the current retail markets.
If you have lots of $ & don't care any jail time you might want to keep it & take your chances.
I would not sell it to anyone else, as if they run into the same problem of the gun wanting to go full auto, they may turn you in to the ATF.
No gun is worth 10 yrs in jail or the $10,000 fine and the legal expense.
IMHO, Get rid of it, Now!, to a Class 3 Dlr, or return it to the cop
& ask for a refund. Iam sure the cop does not want a hassle over
the gun & would be glad to give you a refund, verses you taking it to
the cop shop & telling them one of their's sold you a SP1 that acts like a unregisted machine gun.
Walte0 -
The Class 3 dealer looked at it and announcned that the AR-15 was unmodified and it still goes full automatic? It is an absolute mechanical impossibility for an unmodified AR-15 to function as a machinegun. Colt built a huge number of safegaurds into their semiauto design and although these can be overcome, they will not fail of their own accord- if they do then the rifle fails to fire and does not go full automatic. Your Colt has been modified and any competent dealer in NFA weapons could tell in about 10 seconds which parts were M16 and which were AR-15. I can spot these parts from across the room: the bolt carrier itself stands out like a sore thumb. The fact that the selector moved beyond its normal limits indicates that an M16 selector has been fitted and the differences in configuration of the two styles of selectors is easy to spot.
There was never a special run of Colt SP-1 AR-15 rifles manufactured as machineguns...although many were modified back when it was legal to do so. Even if such rifles did exist they would have had to have been registered prior to 1986- I believe the Sporter I was replace by the Sporter II in 1984- and this could not be done today. There are AR-15 rifles marked Armalite and these early rifles were selectfire and are now very valuable collectors items in private hands. I suggest that you either return the rifle or remove the incorrect parts and install all AR-15 fire control components. Every minute that you have that rifle brings you closer to very big trouble.
Mark T. Christian0 -
I agree with Mark. Get the full auto parts out asap. The SP1 is a great collector piece, and going up in value every day, but is's not worth jail. What ever youdo, don't replace the lower with a bushmaster. Change the parts, and keep it all colt. Give the parts to your class 3 friend or pitch them in the lake, but don't keep them around. 0 -
I agree with everyone thus far, but I am concerned that the Class 3 dealer may not be as skilled as one would assume he should be if he doesn't see anything out of the ordinary. As Mark mentioned, there are quite a few of us that can spot M-16 parts from across the room. If the selector goes all the way over, that right there should be obvious, not to mention the bolt carrier, and the hammer. All of those stand out like a sore thumb. The sear and the trigger are harder to tell, but still not that tough.
Depending where you are, there should be a qualified gunsmith who could help you here. I wouldn't recommend shipping it anywhere given its current state of function. I'd be happy to take a look at it, but unless you are near by, I wouldn't recommend any long distance travel with such a gun either. If there is anything I can do, let me know. LRARMSX@MCHSI.COM
If you could send some good digital photos of the lower internals and the bolt carrier, I could probably even tell you from that.0
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