A Mint FN M240B Machine Gun Was Just Auctioned…Guess How Much It Sold For

1. Awesome firearm.

   • Which appears to have never seen a round through it since leaving FN.

     Prized safe queen only acquired as an “investment” is no kind of life to live. Something that only deserves disparaging no matter the topic, not praise. I have four numbers matching semi-to-rare examples, and I shoot the ever living shit out of them. As it should be.

     • I rode motorcycles – both off and on road – for more than two decades. Owned several makes and models. Latest addition to the family is a Harley.

       I’ve always said there are two kinds of Harley owners…those who spend a lot of money on their bikes and trailer them in to events to keep them looking nice and shiny, and those who realize they only live once and actually ride them the entire distance to experience the joy.

       I imagine owners of high end items such as this gun might lean more toward the former. As for me, if I could ever own an Eleanor (nod to Gone In Sixty Seconds), I’d drive that beast and not relegate it to some dark garage. Life is short. Shoot ’em if ya got ’em.

       Then again, I wouldn’t be spending $480K on a gun, so there’s that…

       • 😀 I’d not only driver her… I’d drop big twin turbo’s in her for about 50 psi of boost with anti-lag and a huge wet shot of N2O for mad fun. A full tube frame for safety, & proper race seats equipped with 6 pt. harnesses. Along with wide body her to handle 305’s up front, and 355’s out back. Revamp the suspension to modern race standards making her AWD along the way with a sequential tranny. Then drive the wheels off her. :p

         Pretty much describes my current big girl, except she’s not a GT-500, but a GTR.

         Used to ride myself, up until I lost my best friend who was a semi-pro and shooting for the moon on super bikes. To a rando paying no attention drunk who ran him over at a red light doing 70, a bit over 10 years ago. Far too many friends I had to say goodbye to the hard way or are crippled for life. Which finally convinced me to give it up. Didn’t escape without scars, pin’s and plates of my own either. Being a cager is much safer.

       • WilliamWallaceTheThird:
         I’ve never ridden a motorcycle in my life. But every guy I have ever known who did got banged up at least once. Motorcycles always looked like fun to me, but my attitude always was that I didn’t have the right to be riding a motorcycle as a family man with family-man responsibilities.
         What reinforced my attitude was the time I saw some poor slob hit a parked car in the dark. He flew through the air and landed in a heap some 20 or 30 feet away from the bike. And… as he lay incapacitated there on the pavement his only worry was for the condition of his motorcycle!

       • Well, last year was my last year of riding. Started riding when I was 14. It was on a minibike, but not Just your normal type with a briggs and stration engine on it. No my Dad bought a Super Bananza which came stock with a Hodaka 100cc motorcycle engine on it. It would wheeie in three out of four gears and get to fifty in about six seconds. After that got a Honda SL100. Rode that for about a year or so. My Dad had a friend whos son raced short track and TT. Dad asked if I’d like to try that. Started in the 100cc class on a 90cc Yamaha. After that went on to the 250 class on a Kawasaki which much faster an powerful then the 90. Wound up crashing and braking my leg. Took time off and after heal got a 650 Yamaha street bike and rode that for about a year. After that got a Honda 350 SL and modified it into a race bike. I think a had the most fun racing on that one. After that rode a very modified Honda 250 XL professionally for a couple of years. Meet a lady and got married. So that was the end of that, but still rode street bikes. After the passing of my Dad my Mom gave me his bike. A Honda 750. Rode that for a couple of years then got a Suzuki 750. After that I wound up a Yamaha 500 single. A few years went buy bought a new house. Daughters were grown up. The wife and I divorced. Went and got a new motorcycle. It was the fastest one I had rode and it went around corners really well. KTM SMR 950 Had it for a few years. Stopped for a while again because of shoulder problems. Never had a 1999 Harley so went and got Sportster Sport 1200, but couldn’t leave it alone make it into something that looks similar to cross between a flat tracker and a scrambler, but I think it time to let go. It was fun while it lasted, but because of age and all the crazy drivers on the road now a days it time to let go.

       • @Shadow

         Just call me WWIII or William for short. Easier to type quick. 🙂

         Almost that exact scenario is what happened to me. Only difference was that I was doing 60, and the moron claiming they didn’t see me even with high beam on, pulled right out in front of me less than 20′ distant. I have no doubt it was intentional, although they refused to prosecute as such.

         Flew about 38 ft. taking out a road sign along the way (not veri kushy) to nearly splattering on a large wooden power pole. 7 months in a wheelchair was the ultimate outcome. Shattered my CF helmet, and tore up my race cert leathers. Even busted the carbon/kevlar armor on my gloves and tore one open pretty good.

         Consequently I developed the same boundaries. Later on, when I married a girl with a Folgers Instant family, I put away the bike and didn’t ride again, except dirt. That until after the divorce for the same reasons.

   • When the gavel finally came down, the high bid for this beauty was…$480,000.

     Someone walked away with a wonderful piece of American history for not quite a half-million dollars.

     Thanks Ronald Reagan! This kind of legislation was in the thoughts of the founders when they codified the 2nd Amendment. In the back of all their minds, they were all hoping for a future where there was a standing army that got machine guns and the citizenry got 10rd magazine limited semi-auto handguns.

     • Thanks to the Dickey Amendment?

   • not that surprising considering the rarity…and that there probably was a little bit of a bidding war…this was an item that only high-rollers could compete for….

     • A great example of why the Hughes Amendment will never be repealed and why the registry won’t be reopened…

       Because so many of the deep-pocketed donors on the “pro-gun” side have large amounts invested in machine guns that are good investments only due to the Hughes Amendment ensuring a stable and highly limited supply against an ever-growing demand.

2. Communist Russian and east bloc warsaw pact weapons were at a premium before the Wall came down. After that they sold for scrap value. Broke the hearts of the collectors that had paid top dollar for their ‘rare’ commie guns.

   With Bruen I wonder how long before the nfa wall comes down? In 1985 at an lgs in WV I could have had a NIB Uzi for 350 plus fees.

   • I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting…

   • You are more likely to see a balanced budget come out of DC before the NFA goes away. One thing both parties agree on is the answer to bad government and laws is more bad government and laws.

   • pd about $185 for mine…[action arms…pre-conversion]….it was actually possible to acquire an automatic weapon back then for less than the transfer tax…[wholesale]…and I still have the brochure to prove it…

   • Best I think we can hope for is that the Hughes Amendment gets shot down and the registry is reopened. We’d then see plenty of select fire AR’s for under $1,500 (which is what they currently go for at cop shops) plus the stamp.

     But we’d also see a profusion of DIAS / Lightning Link / Glock switches / similar products being sold through Class III dealers (probably for much less than the price of the stamp), as well as people Form 1’ing them. I suspect we’d also see people develop Class III electronically controlled fire control groups that could be dropped into an AR or Ruger 10/22.

     • That would be a fun fix to my 10/22. I can afford full auto fire in a rimfire.

3. Worth remembering these deep pockets people heavily invested as collectors of Title 2, are also those who fight against getting rid of the NFA. They deeply resent the concept of their investments tanking in value.

   The very definition of ‘vested interests’.

   • I know lots of NFA collectors who see getting rid of the NFA as enabling the by a lot more fun toys rather than reducing the value of their current collection.

     • I do too, but the extremely well-heeled like this are the usual exception to that standard.

       No one’s going to risk a pristine example like this, with near a half million price tag. Me, I’d take it to the range immediately, lol.

       • If you had a half million dollars to spend on a gun, you would have.

       • Really? You presume to speak for me eh? Hell, after one was import banned by name in 2016, I then went on to irreversibly modify the crap out it.

         I’d show you a pic of my split window, sliding sunroof, chopped, dropped, channeled, and stretched rat rod turbo bug on an IRS pan only for the better handling and braking capability. Which could’ve been restored (worth about 80k in perfect condition these days). If you wouldn’t get tetanus from looking at the image. Joking, it’s far too uniquely identifiable to connect to this identity. Mentioned because one prime example of a high dollar item I prefer like it as is rather than as an return on investment.

         The rat’s surface rust is sealed by the way, to prevent degradation. No danger of tetanus.

     • I would imagine there would still be a collectable market for pre 86 historic firearms even if we had vending machine dispensed Glock 18s

   • and some of these collectors are actually politicians…

4. Of all the ways a thing may become rare or valuable legislation is perhaps the most absurd and artificial.

   The King rounds up all the pies and decrees henceforth only registered pies may be bought, sold or consumed. Suddenly all the Kings pies are of limitless worth.

   Such bullshit.

5. Local gun store sold M60 for 40k

   • not that surprising…had some crazy offers for mine…which I am seriously considering…getting too old to play Rambo….

6. That looks like about $1200 per troy ounce. Not quite worth it’s weight in gold… yet

   • Ha! Guess I should have bought my weight in gold and machine guns when I was 15. Of course, about all I had scratch for back then was a car I got for about $0.40 a pound

     • still drive a geo metro…carrying collision on that car is a joke…..

7. NAT0 Stock Number replaced National Stock Number a long time ago.

8. Should have just gotten into the gun business for that kinda cheese with an 02/07.

   • a lt of us did back then…then came Hillary and it all collapsed as ATF purged our ranks….

9. The second I saw that it was transferable and not a dealer post I knew this was a half a million dollar gun. Crazy rare.

   • Real shame too honestly. I’d love to have one, even the kits are pretty $$$ these days. Last batch I saw were $3500ish from what I remember.

   • What’s the difference?
     Transferable and dealer?

     • Essentially, transferable means that anyone (with a half a mil to spare) who can pass the FBI background check and pay for the tax stamp can obtain it (roughly the same limitations as a suppressor). “Dealer” means a machine gun that can only be transferred to an appropriately licensed dealer, law enforcement or military buyer.

       • To buy a machine gun:

         Its a gun that is registered by ATF – both parties involved in the purchase (seller and buyer) of a machine gun must have a C&R license (seller must be a Class 3 FFL dealer) – need NFA tax stamp which takes a lonnnnngggg time to get up to three years in some cases – must buy a gun that is papered and made before 1986 (which means it is certified and registered with proof of paperwork) – must be in a state that allows possession of such – must be a gun on the ATF’s curio or relic (C&R) list – be at least 21 years of age and able to legally register and obtain a weapon – sale and purchase must be in a state that allows sales and purchase (note: not all states that allow possession also allow sales in the state any longer).

       • ““Dealer” means a machine gun that can only be transferred to an appropriately licensed dealer, law enforcement or military buyer.”
         Thank you I was wondering why would a dealer advertise if they couldn’t sell it. So LEO’s and Military get a carve out. Sounds so unconstitutionally unconstitutional.

         PS. Thank you MyName and .40 cal

   • Well, guns like this are only for the super rich and well connected. The legislation literally made it that way. Signed by Ronald Reagan himself. He could have crossed it out and vetoed it, but no. He was from the government, and he was here to help.

     • Sort of, and I don’t disagree, but the local firearm shop owner has stuff like this. He’s not “super rich” he just had good timing and invested his time/money into his passion.

     • republicans have always been gun control lite…they even talked seriously about placing AR-15’s under the NFA during his administration….[especially if they saw a black guy in possession of one!…]

     • Kind of. Go through the relatively small hassle and a total of about $1,500 a year in licenses and you can buy select fire M16s cheaper than you can buy a lot of semi-auto ARs. You just can’t sell them or transfer them but to other dealers or, again with appropriate paperwork, to law enforcement entities.

     • no line item veto powers and Reagan had no knowledge of the ban in the bill.
       back then nobody read the staple and tape add on.
       cry all you want but it was not his fault.

     • “Signed by Ronald Reagan himself. He could have crossed it out and vetoed it, but no“

       Would you stop with the pesky facts!

       You know the party line:

       “Those damn DemocRats are banning our guns!”

       No one forced Ronald Reagan to sign the bill, he could’ve vetoed the bill with a stroke if his pen.

       • Just like biden could have kept a lot of firepower out of the hands of the taliban.

         And how about those classified documents? Ain’t that the same thing you were howling for Trumps blood over?

     • I loved Ronald Reagan but yes, he didn’t do us any favors in that regard.

10. Problem is when stuff like this sells for ridiculous prices the price of other stuff has a tendency to jump. Why on earth should you in comparison be able to buy an Aero P AR-308 receiver for beans and an Aero P AR-308 stripped upper receiver today at Primary Arms for $99.00 when like the half mill FN it shoots .308/7.62×51 too?

    Probably what happened with the cost to build a M1A when the price of M14s went through the roof. I guess the moral of the story is…you snooze you lose.

    • Nothing to do with caliber IMO but functionality. Still, FN made a semi auto version of a belt fed like this available for about $15K. That should tell you what you need to know. They’re a different animal than an LR308/AR15 in some ways.

      • Andrew…My first point was where the firearms are alike specifically the ammo both fire and not features where they are not alike.. And now that the price of this FN hit the moon give it some time and check back on the price for that 15K belt fed. Price follows the leader was my other point.

11. That thing is fucken sexy. Worth every penny.

    • Sexy, yes. Worth every penny? You’d have to educate me on that one brother.

12. Pretty sure this is the same one Ian had a video on recently.

    https://youtu.be/LbbeCOFkFC8

    • most of you guys were born too late…that “golden age” came and went before many of you were even born…and it ain’t comin’ back….although I can see that tax going away….

    • @ Wedge259….It is the same in the Ian video, you can match all the markings on the wood stock on both sides and top from the article pictures and the video.

13. To get free machine gunms all you have to do is resist the US military for 20years. Then along will come a president that gives you everything you need to continue the War better equipped.

14. A poor man’s “machine gun” was the Slide Fire belt fed AR-15. The demonstration I saw was very convincing.
    Inexpensive full auto weapons, like a glock switch, are what terrifies the government. The government really hates low cost reliable full auto weapons for the average civilian.

15. So uh… I was way off😨

16. Did that 480K include taxes and auction fees? Those alone would total more than I’d ever spend on a gun like this, even if money was no concern. I don’t begrudge anybody the opportunity, but my interests don’t include something like this. Now, was this a crate of Pythons or Manurhins, and I had that kind of scratch, well…

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