Verifying 922(r) Compliance on an SKS

The United States has a lovely bit of import law, which prevents most of the more interesting rifle designs from being directly imported into the US. It also prohibits some of the more entertaining modifications that SKS owners may like to perform on their weapons.

The sum of all the check boxes in the form below will automatically add themselves up as you click and unclick them. This allows you to easily consider how you can ensure that your rifle is as 922(r) compliant as it needs to be.

This compliance worksheet is derived from the SKS FAQ here. Bear in mind that this chart applies to Non-C&R SKS rifles, so if it's in its original military configuration, then you don't need to bother with this chart. This addition, which I had previously assumed folks would already have in mind if they're looking up a 922(r) chart, was added due to some points that RandyCOG3 brought up on militaryfirearm.com.

Checklist for 922(r) compliance on Non-C&R SKS Rifles

Please note that the as-imported configurations are compliant. This checklist becomes important whenever you wish to replace original parts on an imported rifle, or if you are building one from the ground up. The list of parts which 922(r) counts is:

	Part	Available
	Receiver	No
	Barrel	No
	Barrel extensions	N/A
	Mounting block	N/A
	Muzzle attachment	Yugoslavian only
	Bolt	No
	Bolt carrier	No
	Gas piston	Yes, Tapco
	Trigger housing	No
	Operating Rod	Yes, Tapco
	Trigger	Yes
	Hammer	Yes
	Sear	Yes
	Disconnector	No, see below
	Stock	Yes
	Pistol grip	N/A
	Handguard / Forearm	Yes
	Magazine body / Floorplate (one part)	Yes
	Magazine Follower	Yes
	Magazine Floorplate	N/A

TOTAL IMPORTED PARTS COUNT:

Compliance count script by tearsinraine

Parts Vendors

MurraysGuns.com has US-made hammers, triggers, and sears available.
ATI Gunstocks sells a variety of stocks. Other stock vendors include Choate.
TAPCO sells SKS gas pistons, handguards, magazines, and stocks for the SKS. I have reports that they do bolt assemblies as well, but I don't see any listed in their compliance parts category.

Addendums

As per an ATF letter located here, magazine parts are not subject to constructive possession. If you need US-made magazine parts in order to reach 10 or fewer imported parts, then you don't have to replace parts on all of your magazines - only the ones which you intend to use with this rifle. The easiest solution is to only own US-made magazines, of course, but this is not always feasible, particularly if no US-made magazines are available for the weapon in question or, for legal reasons, you can't buy domestic full-capacity magazines to replace your old imported magazines.
There is some controversy over what constitutes the disconnector on an SKS. ATF states that "the part that aligns the trigger bar with the sear, is considered to be the disconnector". There's some difficulty in deciding whether the “rebound disconnector” or the “bolt follower disconnector” should be considered the disconnector. It may be safest to replace both.

Disclaimer: There are no lawyers on this site. At least, none who are writing authoritatively as such. Section 922(r) is clear enough for anyone to read, but if you can't be bothered to read it for yourself, neither of us will take responsibility for your not doing so. This page is presented as a helpful refresher / worksheet, not as a replacement for your personal reading of the law.

-- SeanNewton - 17 Jun 2007

Topic revision: r9 - 03 Jul 2012 - SeanNewton

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