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FAQ On National Firearms Act Weapons
By James O. Bardwell
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Weignad Ruger Super Redhawk in 480 Ruger and 454 Casull Weaver Style Scope Mount
Repairing NFA weapons
As it is illegal for anyone to have possession of an NFA firearm that is not registered to them, getting the guns repaired, or worked on, can be a hassle. There are two choices: if the gunsmith is in the same state as the registered owner the owner can take the gun in, and wait while it is worked on. If the owner cannot wait, the gun must be transferred to the gunsmith, on a Form 5, and returned to the owner by filing a Form 5 to transfer possession back to the owner. If one wishes to have an out-of-state gunsmith work on the gun, even if the owner can wait with the gun, the owner must either transfer it to the gunsmith, or file the form 5320.20 to move it interstate to the gunsmith. One need not be an SOT to have NFA weapons transferred to him for repair. One does need to have a type 01 FFL to work as a gunsmith though. NY, in a fit of benevolence, allows licensed gunsmiths there to receive machine guns for repair, when machine gun possession there is otherwise limited to the police, and manufacturers with government contracts. When submitting a Form 5 for repair one checks the “Other” box in item 1, type of transfer, writes in “repair” next to the box, and submits a letter detailing (generally, e.g. “The purpose of this transfer is to have the [weapon] refinished.”) what is to be done. The back of the form, with the certifications and photograph need not be completed. The turnaround time on Form 5′s for this purpose seems to be at least a month, or a minimum wait of two months, to transfer it to the ‘smith and back. There is no transfer tax.
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The Magpul PRS (Precision Rifle/Sniper)
As to one who is neither a FFL nor SOT, but only owns weapons regulated under the National Firearms Act, the law seems clear, but practice is a little murky. ATF may only compel you to show an agent upon request the registration paperwork, that is the Form 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or whatever else might have been used to register the weapon. See 26 USC sec. 5841(e). They do not have any right to compel you to show them the weapon. However they apparently (I have no first hand knowledge) take the position that they can compel one to show ATF the weapon upon request, even if the owner has no FFL. As always the Fourth amendment applies, and ATF may not enter your home or other place of storage of the NFA weapon, nor seize the weapon, without a warrant, or without falling under an exception the Supreme Court has created to the operation of the Fourth amendment. They should also need a warrant to compel a non-FFL holder to show them the weapon, and I would insist upon that, myself.
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OTech Holographic Sights feature a heads up design that allows both eyes to be open in order to maintain peripheral vision and depth perception while shooting. The reticle is a 65 MOA open circle with a 1 MOA aiming dot in the center, providing fast target acquisition and precise aiming options. This model 552 AA is 5" in overall length and runs for 1100 hours on a set of AA batteries. It also features a toggle switch that immediately lowers the light intensity for use with night vision without any halo effect. Includes an integral Weaver-style mount and 2-year factory warranty. Technical Information Optics: Transmission holography ? 100% parallax free Magnification: 1x unlimited eye relief Length/Width/Height: 4" x 1.8" x 2.25" (102 x 49 x 60 mm), ‘AA’ model: 5" x 1.8" x 2.25" (131 x 49 x 60mm) Weight: 11.5oz Color/Finish: Non-reflective black with hard coat finish Adjustment: (per click): 0.5" at 100 yards Adjustment Range: +/- 40 MOA travel Mount: 1" Weaver dovetail/Picatinny rail (Mil spec 1913) Optical Surfaces: Anti-glare and scratch resistant coatings Window Dimensions: 1.20" x 0.85" (30 x 23 mm) Window Material: Shatterproof laminate (3/16" thick) Field of view (100 yards): 30 yards (28m) at a 4" eye relief Standard Reticle: 65MOA ring with quadrant ticks with a 1MOA Aiming dot ElectricalPower Source: Universally available AA batteries (supports lithium, alkaline or rechargeable) batteries are included Battery Life: AA batteries: 600 hours, AA Lithium: 1100 hours Brightness Settings: 20 settings with scrolling feature Notes: # Auto Battery Check Indicator: Flashing reticle upon startup if batteries are at 20% of battery life. # Auto Shutdown: At 8 hours ? programmable to 4 hours # Revision F Electronics # Rubberized Input Button
7606. Entry of premises for examination of taxable objects. (a) Entry during day. The Secretary may enter, in the daytime, any building or place where any articles or objects subject to tax are made, produced, or kept, so far as it may be necessary for the purpose of examining said articles or objects. (b) Entry at night. When such premises are open at night, the Secretary may enter them while so open, in the performance of his official duties. (c) Penalties For penalty for refusal to permit entry or examination, see section 7342.
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114-BW-14046-B-SI |
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114-BW-14046-B-RPD |
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114-BW-14046-0-SI |
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114-BW-14046-0-RPD |
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The definition of “machinegun” in the NFA (26 USC sec. 5845(b)) includes parts to convert a gun into a machine gun. Note that conversion parts are not included in the definition of “firearm” under the Gun Control Act, one of the few things I know of that is a firearm under the NFA, but not the GCA. Thus the purchaser of a conversion part from an FFL need not do a 4473 form, unlike other NFA weapons. Of course the host gun, if purchased from an FFL, will require the 4473. This reading of the law is based on numerous statements from ATF, and the definition of “firearm” under the GCA, which requires it be able to expel a shot. However, at least one very slow judge has decided that somehow the definition of “firearm” in the GCA “incorporates” the definition of “machine gun” under the GCA (even though the law doesn’t say that) and that a machine gun conversion part is a “firearm” under the GCA as well as the NFA. I think the judge is clearly wrong, even ATF reads the law better than that, but the point is to be careful. The case is U.S. v. Hunter, 843 F.Supp 235 (E.D. Mich. 1994), and see also the same judge’s second opinion in the same case, at 863 F.Supp. 462 (E.D. Mich. 1994). These parts are called registered sears, as well as other parts or sets of parts to convert a gun into a machine gun.
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DESTRUCTIVE DEVICES
This reporting requirement only applies to FFL holders, that is folks licensed by ATF to make, sell, import or collect guns. This does not include folks who just own an NFA weapon.
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114-BW-1282 |
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26 USC sec. 5845(g) “Antique firearm.-The term ‘antique firearm’ means any firearm not designed or redesigned for using rim fire or conventional center fire ignition with fixed ammunition and manufactured in or before 1898 (including any matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system or replicas thereof, whether actually manufactured before or after the year 1898) and also any firearm using fixed ammunition manufactured in or before 1898, for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.”
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AR15 training with Shooting Targets
However, as most NFA weapons are also regulated by the GCA, purchases from a dealer require the completion of the standard 4473 yellow form, as well as dealer bound book records …
M16, M1a SKS, & FN Fal Rifle Accessories
eotech magnifiers . One of the most popular automatic rifle designs to date, the M16 began life as the AR15 (Armalite Rifle) at the Armalite Division of the Fairchild Aircraft …
A DEWAT is an unserviceable gun that has an intact receiver, thus, as of the GCA of 1968, it is a machine gun. In 1955 the ATT decided that a gun that was a registered war souvenir (or for a time, a contraband unregistered gun) could be removed from the coverage of the NFA if it was rendered unserviceable by steel welding the breech closed, and steel welding the barrel to the frame. All this was to be done under the supervision of an ATT inspector. See Revenue Ruling 55-590. The gun became a wall hanger, ornament, like parts sets now. This was not the same as an unserviceable gun, which was still subject to the NFA, but exempt from the transfer tax. These steel welded guns were DEWAT’s. DEWAT stands for DEactivated WAr Trophy; it was regularly done for servicemen who wished to bring home NFA war souvenirs. It was also done to WWI and WWII era guns imported as surplus by companies like ARMEX International, and Interarmco, and then sold through the mail in ads in gun magazines. The glory days before 1968. A DEWAT must now be registered to be legal, there is no longer a legal difference between a DEWAT and an unserviceable weapon. A few states only allow individuals to own DEWAT machine guns, Iowa comes to mind.
