Daewoo Precision Industries Factory K1A 5.56mm NATO 4-Position Select Fire Transferable Machine Gun
Status: SOLD
This Chester County Armory listing is for a rare, factory original, all South Korean manufactured, Daewoo Precision Industries Ltd. Model K1A .223REM/5.56mm four-position select fire NFA transferable machine gun. This is an original, South Korean factory-built transferable machine gun and is not a conversion model.
Rarely seen in the US in any configuration, let alone as a factory NFA transferable model, this exceptional machinegun was originally manufactured by Daewoo Precision Industries of the Republic of Korea. It was then subsequently imported into the United States as a direct sale for a US Law Enforcement agency. Based on BATFE’s import rules and provisions in the Gun Control Act of 1968 (as well as designations made in the Firearm Owner’s Protection Act of 1986), this allows models meeting certain LE use and purchase requirements to be classified as transferable models upon release by the LE agency, even though it is a post-1968 foreign-made machine gun.
The K1 machine gun was originally developed in 1981 by the South Korean Agency for Defense Development to be a replacement for the M3 Grease Gun as an SMG for the ROK Armed Forces. While the model was deemed effective, it had several short comings (most notably a large flash signature and reliability and stability concerns due to the increased caliber change in a small weapon that was meant to be more like an SMG than a full-sized battle rifle. These shortcomings were addressed in an updated model, deemed the K1A, that was officially introduced and adopted in 1982. The most notable differences between the two were a change of flash hider for reduced signature and increased reliability, and the addition of a three round burst option to the existing fire controls, making the K1A one of the few factory .223/5.56mm machine guns to have all four fire positions (safe, semi-auto, full-auto, and burst) as a standard fire control system from the factory. The K1A is a direct impingement machine gun, with an operating system similar to an AR-15/M16. It was also designed to accept standard M16 NATO magazines. Even though this model fires a rifle cartridge and is more akin to a carbine, the ROK still considers it as a subgun in their arsenal.
This beautiful factory machine gun is in outstanding overall condition. It features its original factory 10.4″ barrel with bayonet lug, along with its factory four position fire controls and a three position collapsible wire stock. It has been test fired and operates flawlessly with standard .223REM/5.56mm ammunition in all fire positions. The metalwork notes no dings, dents, cracks, gouges, or malformations. The bolt and internals note very little wear markings. The bolt face remains crisp and clean. The barrel is bright and shiny with crisp, clean rifling, and the fire controls are clean and clear with only limited wear markings observed.
Cosmetically, the parkerized exterior finish remains in excellent overall condition, with only minor handling and surface marks observed in the original factory finish. The right side of the receiver has been engraved with with five cursive initials and “Atlanta, Ga” by a previous owner. The polymer components also appear in excellent condition, with only minor handling marks observed on the pistol grip and rear butt plate of the stock.
This fantastic, investment-grade, South Korean factory manufactured Daewoo Precision Industries Ltd. K1A in currently on an eForm-capable Form 3 for quick and easy transfer. The current NFA paperwork lists “Imported NFA Firearm” as the manufacturer and “K1A1” as the model.
