• We are now running on a new, and hopefully much-improved, server. In addition we are also on new forum software. Any move entails a lot of technical details and I suspect we will encounter a few issues as the new server goes live. Please be patient with us. It will be worth it! :) Please help by posting all issues here.
  • The forum will be down for about an hour this weekend for maintenance. I apologize for the inconvenience.
  • If you are having trouble seeing the forum then you may need to clear your browser's DNS cache. Click here for instructions on how to do that
  • Please review the Forum Rules frequently as we are constantly trying to improve the forum for our members and visitors.

NFA Warning - Need Info/

neuroblades

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2009
Messages
1,240
Location
, Kentucky, USA
I'm looking into possibly order a piece of add-on equipment for one of my sidearms but I need some NFA info from those here that might be a bit more savvy in this area than I. Here's the warning related to the item:

"NFA Warning


This product is regulated by NFA rules. Transfer of this product is regulated by NFA rules.

This product converts a pistol into a short barreled rifle (SBR). SBR are regulated under the laws of the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA). It is illegal to possess this product unless it is registered with Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives BATF&E (Form 1) or you are a Class 3 Dealer. It is illegal to transfer this product to anyone before they have registered this product with BATF&E".

OK, here's what I need to know, how long does this take and how much does this cost above and beyond the cost of the equipment?
 

neuroblades

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2009
Messages
1,240
Location
, Kentucky, USA
Tax Stamp.

Now my curiousity is peaked about something else. If I purchased a silencer and got the tax stamp for that item, would I have to get another tax stamp for another NFA item, like this? In short, do you have to purchase a tax stamp for each item you purchase or once you have purchase one, does it cover future purchases?
 

KYGlockster

Activist Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2010
Messages
1,842
Location
Ashland, KY
On the silencer standpoint only one tax stamp must be obtained and you can get as many silencers you want on just the one. I would assume it would be the same for all NFA regulated products. Have you checked on the batfe website?
 

neuroblades

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2009
Messages
1,240
Location
, Kentucky, USA
On the silencer standpoint only one tax stamp must be obtained and you can get as many silencers you want on just the one. I would assume it would be the same for all NFA regulated products. Have you checked on the batfe website?

No, i haven't but I guess that that would be a good idea. *LOL* I don't know why I hadn't thought about that beforehand. *LOL* Thanks. :)
 

flb_78

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Messages
544
Location
Gravel Switch, KY
Im almost 100% sure that gutshot is right about needing a tax stamp for each item. If you have 4 suppressors, you will need 4 tax stamps.

Im assuming that the OP is wanting to put a butt stock on a pistol.
 

KYGlockster

Activist Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2010
Messages
1,842
Location
Ashland, KY
ThAt is what o read in a gemtech catalog. And I figured federal govt would have a website so people could find information on such topics that is y I asked if he checked cause I wasn't certain, I assume they just put the one time purchase of the tax stamp to get people interested
 

neuroblades

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2009
Messages
1,240
Location
, Kentucky, USA
Be aware that if you buy one of these devices and register your handgun as a SBR then, later decide to remove the device and revert your handgun to it's original condition, that gun is still a registered NFA item and should you ever sell it, that sale could be considered the illegal transfer of a NFA firearm and the new owner might be charged with illegal possession of a SBR even though it does not have, at that time, any of the characteristics of a SBR. This is serious business and no one should get into NFA weapons without a lot of studying and reading. Good luck.

Gutshot, check your private messages please.
 

Liberty4Ever

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2006
Messages
351
Location
Lexington, Kentucky, USA
I don't have any NFA items because I refuse to play the registration game, although there is a fair amount of relief for that if you create a trust (a legal entity) and the trust owns the NFA items. Everything in this post is the product of my reading and indirect experience with friends engaged in NFA purchases and ownership, and is not the result of direct experience, and certainly is not a legal opinion.

Every SBR you create from a pistol has its own unique serial number. You essentially become the manufacturer if you add the parts to convert the pistol into an SBR. It can be as simple as one of those Glock conversion kits that snaps together and can be readily switched back and forth, or as complicated as altering a pistol receiver to add a butt stock. Folding butt stocks are popular, as they retain most of the pistol's compactness while doubling the accuracy with a butt stock.

You need a local law enforcement sign off, and the Fayette County sheriff, Kathy Witt, does not do that. Most Kentucky sheriffs have a "shall issue" attitude, a few have a "may issue" attitude for friends and people they know to be upstanding citizens, but Sheriff Witt has a "do not issue" policy. The previously mentioned trust can work around that problem.

Yes, it's $200 and a fairly short but confusing BATFE tax form. Unless you go the trust route, I think they get a copy of your fingerprints. Expect 3-6 months for the BATFE to do the background check and process the paperwork. Sure, they should be able to do it in a day, and a customer oriented private company would do it in a day or less, but the BATFE has no incentive to be efficient about it. I think they do this on purpose, much like a waiting period to buy a handgun in many states.

If you manufacture an SBR, you need to get permission from the federal government to transport it across state lines.

You need another $200, tax form, and lengthy wait for each suppressor or SBR. The suppressor may be used on any weapon. The suppressor is registered, not a combination of suppressor and a particular firearm.

Forming a trust is a good way to loan an NFA item to someone else. You simply add them to the trust. If you're found in possession of someone's NFA item and it's registered to them and not a trust with your name on it... bad juju. Probably one of those "ten years in prison" things. Putting someone else on the trust probably complicates individual ownership issues if the trust ever needs to be revoked.

In addition to suppressors and short barrel rifles (SBRs), there are also short barrel shotguns (SBS) and "any other weapons" (AOW). If the regulations allow a weapon to be registered as either an SBR or AOW, you're generally better making it an SBR. That way, there's less confusion about the legality of adding a vertical foregrip (VFG), which is OK on a rifle but not a pistol and maybe not with an AOW?

SBR = rifle with a barrel less than 16" or an overall length less than 26".

SBS = shotgun with a barrel less than 18" or an overall length less than 26". Often called a "sawed off shotgun".

All of this is from memory, and I AM NOT AN EXPERT, and do not even own any NFA weapons. Personally, I think the National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Gun Control Act of 1968 are BS.

It's difficult to get a straight answer out of the BATFE, and when you do, get it in writing, because you may need to prove that the BATFE said something later if they haul you into court. The laws are arbitrarily enforced, and that's even more true of the BATFE rules. The rules are bureaucratic decrees, created by people who were never elected to any legislative position, yet they're enforced as laws.

Someone needs to make an easily searched Frequently Asked Questions page or info web page that is essentially NFA For Dummies. I've never seen a link to such a page, and there is a lot of confusion and misinformation on the internet on this topic. The BATFE are the obvious choice, but I think they prefer all of the confusion. It helps prevent the widespread use of NFA items. Only the intrepid will fight their way through the fog of misinformation and register an NFA item when the penalty for getting it wrong is 10 years in jail. Others are probably afraid to make such an info page for fear of misinterpreting some vague BATFE rule or law, or drawing the attention of the BATFE for simplifying a process that they prefer to be complicated.

As gutshot mentioned, subguns.com is a good resource. It's not designed for newbies, but I've read many stories of people getting a good answer there that helped them stay out of legal trouble. Hey, I just looked on subguns.com, and found a good page with links to help navigate the mine field of gun laws and understand them.

http://www.subguns.com/laws/laws.htm

The subguns.com page linked to an NFA FAQ, so I guess it does exist!

http://www.titleii.com/bardwell/nfa_faqhtml.html

Obviously, anything you read there is way more trustworthy than anything I've written here.

In my world, there would be no NFA or GCA, and anybody could buy a good suppressor at WalMart for $50.
 

UnfetteredMight

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2010
Messages
222
Location
Kentucky
You need a local law enforcement sign off, and the Fayette County sheriff, Kathy Witt, does not do that. Most Kentucky sheriffs have a "shall issue" attitude, a few have a "may issue" attitude for friends and people they know to be upstanding citizens, but Sheriff Witt has a "do not issue" policy. The previously mentioned trust can work around that problem.

SBR = rifle with a barrel less than 16" or an overall length less than 26".

It should be noted that the local sheriff is not the only LE officer that can sign off on an NFA, I also believe a state AG can do so and I think there may be one or two other ones. I was looking into this once before when I was considering a suppressor for my AK, but it's been months ago and I don't remember the details anymore.

Also, the actual barrel can be shorter than 16" if it has a permanently attached muzzle brake. In other words a brake with a spot weld. This is also the case for my AK as it has a 14 1/2 inch barrel, but a 2 1/2 inch brake is spot welded on.
 
Top