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Kayback wrote:
... Or anything in 5.45x39mm because locally we have *zero* ammo available. I know a guy with a mint AK-74 but he can't fire it because of the lack of ammo.n

I can agree the 5.45 for the AK-74 is really hard to find; however, so much more accurate than the 47 w/ 7.62 rounds - it is a smaller round, like the .223

I have spent many of the last 15-18 years or so just picking up the odd box here and there when I found it, so have thousands of rounds for it now. I think I am ready for the apocolypse.

And, yes, .22 ammo is so cheap and plentiful, I loved shooting my old Ruger 10-22 - It wasn't until about 10 years ago when I retrofitted the innards into a Bullpup stock that it became a super fun thing to shoot. Here is the kit: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/100684253 - throw a flash supressor on the barrel end and an extended mag and it is a real hot shot looking piece.

My son has a Mosin Nagant from Bulgaria (I think) dated 1939 - very cool piece.

Oops early send

So no one here has any experience with the PTR 91 platform?

 DrGiggles wrote:
So no one here has any experience with the PTR 91 platform?

Not personally but I know a handful of peeps with them that like them enough that they dropped Spuhr kit on them to modernize them and that ain't cheap. The guy's using them recreationally are all fairly hard charging door kickers in their professional lives so know a fair bit about quality firearms.

 DrGiggles wrote:
So no one here has any experience with the PTR 91 platform?

Had a pre-ban HK-91. Loved it. PTR is the same, right?

 CptJake wrote:

 DrGiggles wrote:
So no one here has any experience with the PTR 91 platform?

Had a pre-ban HK-91. Loved it. PTR is the same, right?

If we're talking basic G3 style platform I used a G3 that had been neutered for competition shooting, major class for a brief while. Besides the slimline handguard getting hot AF it was a good platform. I preferred the shorty FAL but it's just me. I prefer the ergos of the FAL, my T-Rex arms can't reach the G3 charging handle, and some people claim it's got better recoil.Then others claim the PTR is the softest shooting gun they've shot in 7.62x51.

Some claim the FAL heats up faster than the G3. YMMV.

Without a DSA style top cover for the FAL mounting an optic is easier on the G3.

FAL make are expensive compared to G3 mags.

IMHO you won't go wrong with a PTR-91.

At least it isn't a Springfield M1A

 DrGiggles wrote:
So no one here has any experience with the PTR 91 platform?

Yeah, I've owned one for over a decade. My favorite rifle that I have. Accurate, reliable, mags are dirt cheap. Guns literally never jammed. Just don't expect to do any reloading with any ammunition you run through it. These things mangle brass.

I've got a PTR91-GIR as well as a PTR32 Gen 1.

The 32 I'm not so enthused about, it's stupid heavy for an x39 gun, PTR put an insanely thick barrel on it, and the gen 1 is picky on mags.

The 91 is as good as every legit HK I've ever shot, and mags were (until recently) $3 each. That said, they do feel like they were made for 8ft tall giants, not normal human beings, everything from the length of pull to the charging handle location and safety controls. I like my DSA FAL more in terms of ergonomics, but it was also half again as much in cost and isn't any more accurate or reliable, while the GIR model has a reasonable built-in optics solution where the FAL doesn't so much.

 Gadzilla666 wrote:

 DrGiggles wrote:
So no one here has any experience with the PTR 91 platform?

Yeah, I've owned one for over a decade. My favorite rifle that I have. Accurate, reliable, mags are dirt cheap. Guns literally never jammed. Just don't expect to do any reloading with any ammunition you run through it. These things mangle brass.

Thanks for the response. I don't have the space to reload right now so I'm not worried about it mangling brass. Have you tried shooting steel through it? I've heard some people say it causes more wear and tear and other people say there isn't any real difference.

Had a pre-ban HK-91. Loved it. PTR is the same, right?

Yeah they are a semi-auto clone of the HK-91.

 DrGiggles wrote:

 Gadzilla666 wrote:

 DrGiggles wrote:
So no one here has any experience with the PTR 91 platform?

Yeah, I've owned one for over a decade. My favorite rifle that I have. Accurate, reliable, mags are dirt cheap. Guns literally never jammed. Just don't expect to do any reloading with any ammunition you run through it. These things mangle brass.

Thanks for the response. I don't have the space to reload right now so I'm not worried about it mangling brass. Have you tried shooting steel through it? I've heard some people say it causes more wear and tear and other people say there isn't any real difference.

Had a pre-ban HK-91. Loved it. PTR is the same, right?

Yeah they are a semi-auto clone of the HK-91.

I have an HK91 clone that I got for dirt cheap. I love it for what it is. It doesn't shoot with bolt-action precision, but still darn accurate for a semiauto. I've never had it jam. You can buy mags for it in bulk. Heck, I bought 10 for it for less money than I paid for ONE mag for another weapon. It fits my frame well, but I'm 6'5" tall, so I can see how it might be a reach for other people. The one thing I really don't like about it is the sights. Some people love them, and swear by them, but I really don't (that's just a me thing). My clone came with an integral picatinny rail, so I mounted an optic on it and called it a day.

 DrGiggles wrote:

 Gadzilla666 wrote:

 DrGiggles wrote:
So no one here has any experience with the PTR 91 platform?

Yeah, I've owned one for over a decade. My favorite rifle that I have. Accurate, reliable, mags are dirt cheap. Guns literally never jammed. Just don't expect to do any reloading with any ammunition you run through it. These things mangle brass.

Thanks for the response. I don't have the space to reload right now so I'm not worried about it mangling brass. Have you tried shooting steel through it? I've heard some people say it causes more wear and tear and other people say there isn't any real difference.

Had a pre-ban HK-91. Loved it. PTR is the same, right?

Yeah they are a semi-auto clone of the HK-91.

Yes, I've shot steel case through it, and yes, steel case ammunition will cause more wear and tear on any firearm than brass.

As Cuda 1179 says, some don't like the sights, but I do. I don't find anything for the gun to be "a reach" either, and am 6', but very long-limbed.

 DrGiggles wrote:
So no one here has any experience with the PTR 91 platform?

H&K's roller-delayed rifles are a lot like AKs in terms of design concept. You don't have to worry about gas pressure and they're pretty tolerant on headspacing, so they eat good ammo, bad ammo, don't care. They're under-sprung, so function fine even with underpowered ammo, but you will definitely feel that bolt carrier slamming into the receiver on each shot. No bolt hold open. The manual of arms is weird, but you can get used to it, and the HK slap is fun. They will mangle your cases on ejection so reloading is right out.

Something like an FAL or AR10 will be more ergonomic and softer shooting. But they may also be more picky about ammo (steel-cased ammo is straight-up unsafe in an FAL), harder to find cheap mags for, and don't have that stamped-steel charm.

PTRs are good implementations of the H&K design. The ones I've handled have all been substantially better than their Century counterparts. But I'd only buy one if I were looking specifically for a G3/CETME clone, as there are better .308s for the money out there. Same with the FAL, really, but that didn't stop me from buying one.

Re: steel-cased ammo, it's a bit harder on your extractor on a gun not designed for steel (Eastern Bloc guns don't care), and bimetal-jacketed bullets are a bit harder on your rifling, but that's it. For modern-production guns where I can replace a shot-out barrel or broken extractor, I shoot mostly steel, as the amount I save on ammo more than pays for the additional wear-and-tear. For guns where replacements are unlikely, or where steel-cased ammo is unsafe (again, FAL- lack of ductility on steel means case head ruptures) I stick with brass.

 catbarf wrote:
[... (steel-cased ammo is straight-up unsafe in an FAL),

(again, FAL- lack of ductility on steel means case head ruptures) I stick with brass.

That's the first I've heard of that. We've got loads of guys running NORINCO steel case bi-metal ammo through all types of guns here, it's almost the only bulk we get. I shot a shorty FAL for a season of competition here so not super tons of experience and the steel case I used was super happy. I had bigger issues with old SANDF 7.62. Not nice old Battle packs but just loose ammo from here and there. I

The internet seems torn on it too?

Kayback wrote:

 catbarf wrote:
[... (steel-cased ammo is straight-up unsafe in an FAL),

(again, FAL- lack of ductility on steel means case head ruptures) I stick with brass.

That's the first I've heard of that. We've got loads of guys running NORINCO steel case bi-metal ammo through all types of guns here, it's almost the only bulk we get. I shot a shorty FAL for a season of competition here so not super tons of experience and the steel case I used was super happy. I had bigger issues with old SANDF 7.62. Not nice old Battle packs but just loose ammo from here and there. I

The internet seems torn on it too?

DSA outright will not honor their warranty on their guns if you shoot steel-case. In my case, I had a case head rupture about 60 rounds in. The gun did what it was supposed to and diverted the gas through the magwell, blasting the floorplate into the floor hard enough to ricochet 30 feet, and blowing out the magazine into an oval. Headspace and locking were checked after the fact, both were within spec.

The FAL has a partly unsupported chamber and extracts early under pressure. With brass cases this isn't a problem, as the brass stretches a bit and holds. If you reload, you'll find the brass needs resizing more than from other battle rifles, but otherwise it's safe. If you shoot steel, though, it might work fine or, being unable to stretch, it might tear at the case head and allow the propellant gases to vent into the action. Best case it's slow enough to vent out the mag, worst case the pressure spike KBs the gun.

Not all steel-case ammo is made the same- in the FAL owner's group on Facebook, it seems to be Tula that does it more than other brands, so I have no idea how Norinco stacks up. And not all FALs are made the same. But it's enough of a problem to warrant caution. I normally have no qualms about shooting steel in my other guns and dismiss the unsubstantiated FUD about steel-cased ammo, but for FALs specifically this is a documented issue.

Now I find myself wishing I bought more of that Malaysian surplus 7.62x51 a few years ago...

Another idiot question.

Ammo, and the provision thereof.

Just over quarter of a century ago, I went on a school exchange trip to Maine (Noble High School, just on the off chance there are any alumni reading).

The family I stayed with had wee room with an ammo packing machine. I remember it being setup for rifle ammo, the calibre I couldn’t say.

I can say that, rather predictably, the sleeve and bullet itself were separate, with the machine being used to pack powder and bullet into the jacket, making the complete round (sorry if I’m mangling the terms).

So far as I’m aware that was entirely legal. Yet, from pop culture (specifically The Walking Dead) it either glossed over such resources entirely, or such devices are relatively uncommon?

Is this a common thing? Does it vary state to state?

And if you’ve got one, what would happen if you put in too much powder? The obvious thought is it would make the round too long, but one assumes you could alter the bullet itself?

Again, apologies for my absolute ignorance.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Another idiot question.

Ammo, and the provision thereof.

Just over quarter of a century ago, I went on a school exchange trip to Maine (Noble High School, just on the off chance there are any alumni reading).

The family I stayed with had wee room with an ammo packing machine. I remember it being setup for rifle ammo, the calibre I couldn’t say.

I can say that, rather predictably, the sleeve and bullet itself were separate, with the machine being used to pack powder and bullet into the jacket, making the complete round (sorry if I’m mangling the terms).

So far as I’m aware that was entirely legal. Yet, from pop culture (specifically The Walking Dead) it either glossed over such resources entirely, or such devices are relatively uncommon?

Is this a common thing? Does it vary state to state?

And if you’ve got one, what would happen if you put in too much powder? The obvious thought is it would make the round too long, but one assumes you could alter the bullet itself?

Again, apologies for my absolute ignorance.

Loading/reloading is legal pretty much everywhere without much legal restriction. Most of what you'll find is restriction on quantity of powder or storage requirements, but that's about it.

It's not super common, but it's not uncommon. It's not so much a state to state thing but more a rural/urban thing. People in cities have access to modern supply chains and often don't have room for the loading setup, and many times ranges don't allow reloaded ammo or it's awkward to try and collect ones brass afterward. In more rural areas, supply chains aren't as regular so people recycle ammo and keep stuff on hand, and people have access to longer ranges and have more access to facilities to both reload and shoot, so you see a whole lot more people loading to match their specific guns for accuracy.

If you put in too much powder, or the wrong powder, bad stuff can happen. Everything from "click" to "boom". More than one person has ended up crippled, maimed, or killed that way, and many gats have spread themselves into many irretrievable pieces by the same method. In general, if you've loaded so much powder that the bullet has trouble seating, you'll notice that, but it probably won't actually fire at that point even if loaded and chambered as there may not be enough oxygen inside to properly ignite. That said, I've only done reloading a couple times, so I'm sure others will have more detailed answers.

 Vaktathi wrote:

If you put in too much powder, or the wrong powder, bad stuff can happen. Everything from "click" to "boom". More than one person has ended up crippled, maimed, or killed that way, and many gats have spread themselves into many irretrievable pieces by the same method. In general, if you've loaded so much powder that the bullet has trouble seating, you'll notice that, but it probably won't actually fire at that point even if loaded and chambered as there may not be enough oxygen inside to properly ignite. That said, I've only done reloading a couple times, so I'm sure others will have more detailed answers.

Yeah, my brother found that out the hard way when he tried making his own shotgun shells when we were kids. seems you don't fill the entire three inch magnum with powder. To be fair, his H&R only exploded on the second shot. He was fine, just some minor shrapnel in his arm. Unfortunately, this was before cell phones, so my father came home while we were at the ER and panicked when he found the blown up gun and no one around.

Mind you, this is the same man who used his children to test guns he really didn't trust rather than use a string and a tire. So...

It depends on the round and powder. Some combinations allow dangerous pressures to explode your firearm. Others will only wear out components quicker. The most common I've seen examples of are pistol rounds with a fast burning powder that only requires a few grains. Usually it's a double charge of powder from not paying attention. For rifle rounds, a double charge is likely to make a mess of powder, so it's someone not remembering to reset the powder measure or forgetting what they're using.

I think the reloading breakdown is less about supply chain and more about time vs cost. It's usually cheaper to reload yoir own. However, the equipment outlay, time to research loads, and time testing loads all are factors. It's also a process that seems more difficult than it is.

My friend has an "awesome" story about his brothers and reloading. His dad was a trucker and gone a lot, and also had a reloading station. As it turns out, a paintball fit very nicely inside a shell. His little brothers decided to reload the shell, guestimating the amount of powder needed to actually shoot a paintball without it being dangerous to someone shot with it. They were smart enough to test it on a tree, as they vastly overestimate the amount of powder. At that point they thankfully decided that this was a bad idea.

The big sporting stores all carry reloading supplies, and many small ones too. It's been exploding in popularity recently too with the recent ammo shortages, enough that its tough to find reloading supplies too.

I think the reason its absent from pop culture is that most of the producers of pop culture media have exactly zero actual knowledge about anything to do with real firearms. But realistically any type of apocalypse scenario is going to involve people reloading their own stuff.


Loading too much powder could result in anything up to the firearm exploding, which is why you need to be extra careful when doing it. Funny thing though is that more powder doesn't necessarily equal a more powerful shot. It's all a combination of powder charge, type of powder(there are hundreds), bullet weight, bullet shape, bullet density, etc...

One thing that might surprise you is that if you make a bullet heavier, you usually have to reduce the amount of powder because the heavier bullet will exit the gun slower. Which means there is a greater amount of time for pressure in the chamber to build as the powder slowly burns off, to potentially unsafe levels. Smokeless powder doesn't actually explode like black powder does, it burns relatively slowly which means its a reaction that occurs over time. Black powder instantly, relatively speaking, raises pressure to a certain amount. Smokeless powder continued to build pressure till the bullet leaves the barrel and pressure drops. This is why smokeless powder is significantly more powerful than black powder.

One thing you can count on is that you'd never ever fill the casing completely with powder. First off, the bullet takes up space inside the casing too. Usually half to 1/3 of the actual bullet is sunk inside the shell depending on the specifics. Powder could be touching the bullet, or it could be barely 1/3 of the inner space. Too much powder could result in unsafe pressure, and at the least its going to result in a huge fireball out the end of the gun, which represents wasted energy since none of that is going into the bullet.

For example, the load I usually load for 7.62x39 the IMR4198 powder comes up to several centimeters below the bullet. But if I am loading 7.62x54 even though its a much bigger casing and bigger bullet weight the powder doesn't even up to halfway up the cartridge even though there is more powder.

 catbarf wrote:

Not all steel-case ammo is made the same- in the FAL owner's group on Facebook, it seems to be Tula that does it more than other brands, so I have no idea how Norinco stacks up. And not all FALs are made the same. But it's enough of a problem to warrant caution. I normally have no qualms about shooting steel in my other guns and dismiss the unsubstantiated FUD about steel-cased ammo, but for FALs specifically this is a documented issue.

Now I find myself wishing I bought more of that Malaysian surplus 7.62x51 a few years ago...

Huh something new every day. I don't think I'd stop using NORINCO ammo. Maybe Tula is thin walled or incorrectly heat treated? I've had head separations from old .mil ammo but never the steel.

Mad Doc Grotsnik

As for the reloading issue, in some places it's much more common than others. In Fallout 3 you can reload your own ammo in the post apocalypse. The thing is some parts (specifically primers) are not easy to make yourself and supplies will run out.

Its a fairly simple process that actually gets more complicated the more you get into it. Basically you just need powder, primer, case and bullet. And a way of putting it all together.

Basic machines do one step at a time, more advanced machines do multiple actions with each movement.

In long you take an empty or new case, tumble it in a way to clean it, this can include chemical cleaning, mechanical cleaning, wet or dry tumbling. Once the case is clean you can start with the reloading. A rifle case needs to be resized because they stretch on use. You can then anneal the cases to make it correctly heat treated again to reduce wear.

Then you put in a primer. That's the bit on the back that ignites the powder. You get normal and magnum primers. The magnum primers are for larger powder loads or slower igniting powder. This can be done with a separate machine, the same machine or part of the steps of a multi machine.

Then you need powder. Modern propellants are not "gunpowder". "gunpowder", also known as black powder hasn't been used in serious guns in over a century. Nitro cellulose based propellants replaced "gun powder" a while ago. Even "cordite" isn't used anymore. Propellants produce a lot of volume when burnt and don't "explode" as much as conflagrate. This is where "blow your gun up" will come into play. One aspect of burn rate is pressure. The higher the pressure the faster most powders will burn, which will increase the pressure which increases the burn.... Putting too much powder, or the wrong powder or putting the bullet in too deep or too tight into the case will set up a problem. (there is a tiny problem coming from too little powder, that can detonate as opposed to burn, but it isn't a frequently encountered problem). You get different powder types, spherical or ball powder pours better, flakes burn faster, extruded powder is cheaper to make

Pistols and shotguns use faster burning powders than rifle rounds. Putting a pistol powder in a rifle round will create issues (mostly, there are some exceptions) because the faster burning powders will spike the pressure, which will increase burn rate... Then you need the correct weight of powder. Too much and increased burn rate, too little and possibility of detonation and not enough velocity of the bullet, too too little and the bullet may not exit the barrel or on a semi it may exit the barrel but not provide enough energy to work the action. Then you get accuracy nodes. The bullet must exit the rifle barrel when the barrel is aligned, the barrel flexes when the bullet is fired so won't be pointing "true" some of the time, affecting accuracy. So you can load by "volume" but modern propellants are loaded to a tight range of specific weight, except some machines load with volume still.

Then you need to choose a bullet. Different materials have different effects on the target. Frangibles disintegrate on impact, polymer tip expand, monolithics penetrate, hollow points expand, armour piercing penetrate, bare lead is cheaper but can make your barrel dangerously dirty (increasing pressure), copper jacket are cleaner but more expensive, powder coated are cleaner and cheaper, do you make your own or buy? Then different weights do different things. Barrels are designed with a spin rate which will stabilize a certain range of bullets. For example an M16 had a 1:7" twist rate which stabilized the light 55grain bullet well, but wont work so well on the longer, heavier 75gr bullets, an M4 has a 1:9 twist which will work well with anything from 68-95gr but won't work super well on an older 55gr, but what are you doing? Close range room to room fighting, 500m? Where do you need your performance? Volume over accuracy? I can buy 500 light bullets that'll be "ok" vs 100 bullets that'll be super accurate at 500m. As others have said, heavier bullets need different charges, but lead requires a different charge to copper which requires a different charge to powder coat.

Then you put it all together. And the final product must be within spec, too long or too short won't work.

But in all honesty it is both a hobby in itself (there are plenty of variables I haven't gone into) and easy as pie. I reload 9mm, .45 and .454. My press is set up for 9mm permanently. I have my settings dialed in. Making ammo is literally checking my choice powder (each batch is ever so slightly different), filling the powder hopper, testing it throws correctly and then just pulling the handle over and over. Using my Dillon press I can make around 300 cartridges an hour. For the cost of about 15 rounds.

Fortunately there are plenty of books and internet sites that'll tell you your load data.

Telling you now, if there's ever an actual apocalypse, it's going to be the muzzle-loaders that come out on top for long-lasting. The flintlock crew are going to have the best time of it at first (I'm talking, like, 10 years post whateverhappens, once the chemical resources dry up), but once people figure out how to do fulminates without blowing themselves up, caps are going to be back in vogue.

Anvildude wrote:
Telling you now, if there's ever an actual apocalypse, it's going to be the muzzle-loaders that come out on top for long-lasting. The flintlock crew are going to have the best time of it at first (I'm talking, like, 10 years post whateverhappens, once the chemical resources dry up), but once people figure out how to do fulminates without blowing themselves up, caps are going to be back in vogue.

Mercury, nitric acid, and alcohol.

But I'm already on team flintlock, so....

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Yet, from pop culture (specifically The Walking Dead)

TWD also has full-auto rifles everywhere, Glocks with external safeties, no problems with finding ammunition in a wide variety of boutique calibers, and the usual Hollywood lack of tinnitus. Lots of funny stuff happens when the overlap between 'people writing pop culture' and 'people who know guns and gun culture' is basically nil- I wouldn't be surprised if the writers on TWD aren't even aware that reloading ammo at home is a thing people do.

I mean, to be fair regarding full auto being everywhere, in the event of the apocalypse you'd definitely see a lot of semis get turned back to select fire.

I am in the middle of arranging a new "retro" AR15 build.

Trying to replicate the model 602 as used by the British and Gurkhas in the Indonesian Confrontation (Borneo).



Unfortunately it seems like US export rules have changed, and now no upper receiver with an auto-sear recess can be sent out, so at the moment I am not able to get the right upper, the best available is a C7, so with the fixed carry handle, but with a case deflector and forward-assist... Going to go with that for now, in the hope of swapping it out for a proper "slab-sided" upper later.

This will, of course, be a straight-pull, rather than semi, being in the UK...

Will put up pics when its all finally sorted.

Grey Templar wrote:I mean, to be fair regarding full auto being everywhere, in the event of the apocalypse you'd definitely see a lot of semis get turned back to select fire.

Ehhh... It's a lot harder than people think, though. With an AR or AK, most of the FCG parts change, and you need significant milling operations to the receiver to accept an auto sear. ATF is very touchy about semi-auto conversions that can 'easily' (for a machinist's definition of 'easily') be converted back to FA. Realistically unless you have a mill, the requisite knowledge, and a full-auto parts kit just sitting around when the bombs drop, it's not happening.

Something like a lightning link is more practical, but that still requires knowledge and a mill, and of course isn't select-fire. The shoelace-on-a-Mini-14 trick is kosher, though.

Just my pet peeve with post-apocalyptic media ignoring some of the limitations of the pre-apocalypse. Military deserters with ARs and Humvees, okay, that's cool, it makes sense. Roving gangs of bandits with full-auto AKs and miniguns mounted to armored cars? Where'd they get all this crap? I'd love to see the post-apocalyptic videogame where getting your hands on a select-fire M4 to replace the avalanche of hunting rifles, pump shotguns, and bargain basement semi ARs you've been encountering is an exciting moment.

Slinky wrote:I am in the middle of arranging a new "retro" AR15 build.

Trying to replicate the model 602 as used by the British and Gurkhas in the Indonesian Confrontation (Borneo).



Unfortunately it seems like US export rules have changed, and now no upper receiver with an auto-sear recess can be sent out, so at the moment I am not able to get the right upper, the best available is a C7, so with the fixed carry handle, but with a case deflector and forward-assist... Going to go with that for now, in the hope of swapping it out for a proper "slab-sided" upper later.

This will, of course, be a straight-pull, rather than semi, being in the UK...

Will put up pics when its all finally sorted.

Have you looked at the retro receiver Brownell's offers? Fixed carry handle, no case deflector or forward assist. That is their UK website so I'm assuming that means you can buy it.

Sadly, no, those ones aren't available to buy any more, even though they used to be - Some sort of new rule on the export, I believe. Brownells have gone as far as to have a new Aero Precision upper made without the auto-sear recess so it can be exported to Europe, but they haven't done so for the "retro" uppers as yet.

 Slinky wrote:


Unfortunately it seems like US export rules have changed, and now no upper receiver with an auto-sear recess can be sent out, so at the moment I am not able to get the right upper, the best available is a C7, so with the fixed carry handle, but with a case deflector and forward-assist... Going to go with that for now, in the hope of swapping it out for a proper "slab-sided" upper later.

While I'm not aware of all the intricacies of US export laws, AFAIK there's nothing in the upper receiver that handles Full/Semi or that would need clearance for the autosear, that's all in the lower. We have all sorts of ex-MIL upper receivers floating about here on the market, it's the lower receiver with the 3rd pinhole above the safety that's the no-no component. Unless they're talking about the bolt carrier, there are semi-auto specific bolt carriers that won't trip an autosear, but semi/FA bolt carriers are otherwise fully interchangeable (and aren't legally controlled items in the US, most domestic US guns will come with a FA BCG, but such often are legally controlled items elsewhere).

It's not something I had heard of, but apparently there is a relief cut in the upper to allow the auto sear to operate:




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Here's the Brownells upper with no relief, specially for export:

https://www.brownells.co.uk/AR-15-UPPER-RECEIVER-ASSEMBLED-NO-AUTO-SEAR-CUT-Upper-Receiver-Assembled-No-Auto-Sear-Cut-Black-AERO-PRECISION-556-mm-NATO-100026423