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Geissele Hammer


etale

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I just installed the Geissele US-made hammer (acquired through Carriercomp) on my m4, and it functions flawlessly so far.

 

Upon close inspection, the Geissele unit I received differs slightly from the Benelli OEM in several respects. One such difference is that the surface finish on the Geissele does not coat the entire hammer: there is a small patch directly behind the rear sear (the one that engages the disconnector) which seems to be bare tool steel. It may be that the corresponding region by the front sear (trigger engagement) is similarly un-coated, though I did not note this. Did anyone else observe this on their Geissele hammer? Is this a design feature, or is the surface coating on my hammer defective? Does anyone know how the Geissele is coated (Benelli coats theirs with a phosphate, I think)?

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Have to admit you took a closer look at yours than I did. No harm in calling them, but I HIGHLY doubt you got anything less than exactly what they wanted to ship and it's probably a higher quality part than the Benelli hammer if their expertise on other hammers and FCGs is any indication. They make top shelf stuff.

 

I suspect you will find that all the engagement surfaces are finely honed and tempered after casting/forging the hammer. As you should keep them lubed with grease anyway, corrosion isn't an issue.

Edited by BigHat
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Thanks BigHat for the thoughts and sonny27 for the suggestion to call Geissele.

I spoke with an engineer at Geissele who confirmed that the lack of uniformity in the

oxide coating is a byproduct of the manufacturing process, and not a defect. Specifically,

the sear lips as well as the hammer pivot hole are wire EDM cut, which leaves a different

surface texture than the rest of the manufacturing process. After hardening, this

texture takes the black oxide (blueing) differently from the rest of the hammer, resulting

in a reddish-brown hue, rather than the slick jet-black on the rest of the hammer.

 

As suspected, I did indeed find the sear lips to be crisper and sharper on the Geissele than

the OEM, and noted that black-oxide has superior wear and abrasion resistance to Benelli's phosphate

coating. Now if only Geissele would make a drop-in trigger unit for the m4....

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T

 

As suspected, I did indeed find the sear lips to be crisper and sharper on the Geissele than

the OEM, and noted that black-oxide has superior wear and abrasion resistance to Benelli's phosphate

coating. Now if only Geissele would make a drop-in trigger unit for the m4....

 

Thank you for sharing what you learned. Very good info.

 

I'd like a trigger unit too, but not holding my breath that Bill will make one. Shotguns don't need the crisp light break of a rifle quite as much. Additionally, I think 99% of these were/are purchased to relieve gun owner's worries about the 922R stuff ONLY. Law abiding folks are the only ones that sweat these issues.

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Since a super quality trigger isn't essential for a shotgun, and Benelli's trigger on the M4 is pretty good, I'm thinking about just paying the $200 tax stamp and registering it for the ability to use a short barreled shotgun. I don't have a short barrel for the M4, and I don't plan to get one, but that $200 tax stamp would exempt me from the 922r nonsense. It would be like "just in case" insurance if you wanted to upgrade a few pieces of the gun and not have to buy a handguard, trigger group, or hammer that I don't want/need.

 

And if I ever got the hankering for a shorty M4, I just have it shipped to me and slap it on.

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that $200 tax stamp would exempt me from the 922r nonsense.

 

You might want to double-check that. While a lot of people think that making the firearm an NFA device will exempt them from import restriction laws, nobody has provided proof of this. As far as I can tell, 922® doesn't have any provision that exempts registered NFA items. The text of 922® only provides exemption if:

 

(1) the assembly of any such rifle or shotgun for sale or

distribution by a licensed manufacturer to the United States or

any department or agency thereof or to any State or any

department, agency, or political subdivision thereof; or

(2) the assembly of any such rifle or shotgun for the purposes

of testing or experimentation authorized by the Attorney General.

 

Granted, 922® is, as you so eliquently put it, "nonsense"; so I might not have a good grasp on its provisions.

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You might want to double-check that. While a lot of people think that making the firearm an NFA device will exempt them from import restriction laws, nobody has provided proof of this. As far as I can tell, 922® doesn't have any provision that exempts registered NFA items. The text of 922® only provides exemption if:

 

(1) the assembly of any such rifle or shotgun for sale or

distribution by a licensed manufacturer to the United States or

any department or agency thereof or to any State or any

department, agency, or political subdivision thereof; or

(2) the assembly of any such rifle or shotgun for the purposes

of testing or experimentation authorized by the Attorney General.

 

Granted, 922® is, as you so eliquently put it, "nonsense"; so I might not have a good grasp on its provisions.

 

922r does not provide the specific exemption, but it does focus its applicability so specifically as to imply an exemption for NFA.

 

18 USC 922®:

 

Section 922 Paragraph R states:

"It shall be unlawful for any person to assemble from imported parts any semiautomatic rifle or any shotgun which is identical to any rifle or shotgun prohibited from importation under section 925(d)(3) of this chapter as not being particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes except that this subsection shall not apply to--

(1) the assembly of any such rifle or shotgun for sale or distribution by a licensed manufacturer to the United States or any department or agency thereof or to any State or any department, agency, or political subdivision thereof; or

(2) the assembly of any such rifle or shotgun for the purposes of testing or experimentation authorized by the Attorney General. "

 

You'll notice the prohibition is on the assembly of a rifle or shotgun that is identical to one prohibited from importation as not being suitable or readily adaptable to sporting purpose. "Suitable or readily adaptable to sporting purpose" is actually one of three specific categories of imported firearms defined in GCA 1968. The other two defined categories are Mil-Surp firearms and NFA firearms. If 922r had any applicability to NFA firearms, congress would not have been so specific in the category of firearm you cannot create and would have added "NFA".

 

In simpler terms, the law defines imported firearms to be either and only Yellow, Blue or Red. 922r says you cannot build a rifle or shotgun that is identical to a Yellow firearm. Your Form 1 creates a Blue firearm, not yellow, so 922r does not apply. Legally speaking, it really is that simple.

 

"NFA" and "suitable or readily adaptable to sporting purpose" are two legislatively defined and mutually exclusive categories of imported firearms, so there really is no question as to 922r's focus.

 

While I'm aware of the contrary letters from NFA Branch, this issue in particular is so clear that I am wholly comfortable ignoring 922r in any NFA build.

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You make a good case for non-applicability to NFA items. I hope you're right. It all seems nonsensical to me ...

 

 

ETA: Just so our discussion is transparent, 925(d)(3) says:

 

(3) is of a type that does not fall within the definition of a

firearm as defined in section 5845(a) of the Internal Revenue

Code of 1986 and is generally recognized as particularly suitable

for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes, excluding surplus

military firearms, except in any case where the Attorney General

has not authorized the importation of the firearm pursuant to

this paragraph, it shall be unlawful to import any frame,

receiver, or barrel of such firearm which would be prohibited if

assembled

 

And section 5845 of the Internal Revenue Code says:

 

For the purpose of this chapter -

(a) Firearm

The term ''firearm'' means (1) a shotgun having a barrel or

barrels of less than 18 inches in length; (2) a weapon made from a

shotgun if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less

than 26 inches or a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches in

length; (3) a rifle having a barrel or barrels of less than 16

inches in length; (4) a weapon made from a rifle if such weapon as

modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel

or barrels of less than 16 inches in length; (5) any other weapon,

as defined in subsection (e); (6) a machinegun; (7) any silencer

(as defined in section 921 of title 18, United States Code); and

(8) a destructive device. The term ''firearm'' shall not include

an antique firearm or any device (other than a machinegun or

destructive device) which, although designed as a weapon, the

Secretary finds by reason of the date of its manufacture, value,

design, and other characteristics is primarily a collector's item

and is not likely to be used as a weapon.

Edited by LeoAtrox
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