Collection of ATF letters concerning NFA/non-NFA items

Im looking to start collecting up copies of all ATF letters that have been responded to and keep them all in a nice tidy list and for archival purposes in regards to NFA/non-NFA items. Im also now including definitions and court cases that help clarify things.

 

List of ATF Letters & Rulings

• Converting a Pistol to a Rifle and back

• Owning an AR rifle and pistol in the same home, AR pistols have no barrel length requirements, individuals can create a pistol out of a receiver that has never been barreled as a rifle, Magpul AFG

• VFG on a pistol - $200 Form 1 AOW Making tax vs $5 transfer from a FFL07/02SOT (with your own weapon)

• Vertical Fore Grip vs Angled Fore Grip

• "Firearm" - Pistol with 26"+ OAL can have a VFG (including OAL measurement & pinning a muzzel device) - page1, page2, page3

Note: While measuring the OAL wont take into account a non-pinned muzzel device, it does take into account a stock fully extended (whether collapsible or folding)

• Readily concealable not defined, rubber ends on buffer tubes, VFG not defined, and Franklin Armory XO-26 is a "firearm" - page1, page2, page3

• Firearm Brace - page1, page2, page3

• Firearm Brace/Blade - page1, page2

• Shockwave Blade 2.0 brace approval (is adjustable, fits on a rifle buffer tube)

• Shouldering a Firearm Brace - Initial Letter, first you could shoulder it | (this has been superceded) You cant shoulder it - Open Letter | & Updated Ruling, finally you can shoulder it again

Note: if an unmolested SB Tactical stabilizing brace is attached to the buffer tube of an AR-15 pistol, the resulting firearm can be legally shouldered and fired without “making” it a short-barreled rifle under the National Firearm Act. However as soon as you do anything to change the brace (even just removing the strap) you have now “made” an SBR.

• [Rifle Buffer Tube on an Pistol] (https://i2.wp.com/johnpierceesq.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/ATF_Buffer_Tube_Letter.jpg?resize=743%2C1024&ssl=1)

• [Only a Type 07/10 FFL may convert a rifle to a pistol, otherwise if its sold as a rifle it stays a rifle] (https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/if-i-purchase-firearm-and-manufactureremanufacture-it-different-firearm-do-i-need-report)

• [Shoestring Machine Guns] (https://www.everydaynodaysoff.com/2010/01/25/shoestring-machine-gun/)

• Destructive Device safe storage required

• 39 Q&As answered - including mounting an AOW/Pistol under a rifle/shotgun, pistol on pistol, bipod on a pistol, Magpul AFG at a 45 degree offset

• 34 Q&As answered (same person wrote the 39 Questions above) - including m16 parts in an AR without an auto-sear, having a 07 FFL manufacture your AoW, 3rd pin hole in the receiver = MG independent of gas function, converting a flare gun to a pistol, 3 triggers w/ 1 barrel (or 3 barrels with 1 trigger) on one gun is possible, Fly-by-wire triggers, caliber changes (.50 cal and under) on NFA items, handgun ammo clarified, DD ammo cant be "remade" by non DD SOT FFL, DD notification of changes/destruction

• Mounting a Serbu Shorty, Wit Pro 870, or 870 MCS AOW to another firearm - [page1] (https://www.ingunowners.com/rimg.php?referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ingunowners.com%2Fforums%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D131233&src=http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s104/vupdblue/Masterkeyletter1.jpg), page 2, page 3

Note: This letter is dated earlier than the 39Q&A above which declared this same scenario changing the AoW to a SBS when attached to a rifle or shotgun. Though this letter asked about attaching it to a firearm, which is slightly different.

• [ATF Examples of AOW] (https://www.atf.gov/firearms/firearms-guides-importation-verification-firearms-national-firearms-act-definitions-any)

Note: The stinger pen gun is not considered an AOW and is actually classified as a handgun - http://www.guns.com/2012/10/30/stinger-pen-gun/

• Form 1 Timelines to manufacture, Form 1 Engraving, A Gatling Shotgun is a DD - page 1 & page 2

• FFL 01's (dealers) that want to combine uppers and lowers together for sale should become FFL 07 (manufacturers), clarification around silencer manufacturing & silencer parts, ATF letters are only valid for the individual that submitted the question, Form 1 silencers cannot be repaired by a non FFL07/02, Having spare silencer parts and a form 1 silencer is a NFA violation - page 1 & page 2

• Firearm S/N Engraving and what happens if the S/N is missing - page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4, & [page 5] (http://photobucket.com/gallery/user/Gunny_2009_album/media/bWVkaWFJZDoyMTIzMzM2/?ref=1)

• [Transfering SBR across state lines, including temporarily making them a non-SBR] (https://princelaw.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/transport-a-title-ii-as-a-title-1-across-state-lines.pdf)

• Cheek rest on a buffer tube don't make it a stock

 

 

Court Cases

• Model Rocket Engines are not explosives/DDs (TRA/NAR v. BATFE)

• A SBS is not in use for the milita (US vs Miller)

• Once a Machine gun is not always a machine gun (Vollmer vs BATFE)

• [Selling silencer kits that take non firearm silencers and convert them to mount to firearms are silencers, a pistol being modified with an additional grip is not an AoW (Davis vs US)] (http://www.titleii.com/bardwell/us_v_davis2.txt)

• Selling parts kits that could have a firearm become a pistol or a rifle do not constitute selling a SBR (Thompson/Center Arms vs US)

• "Readily Convertible" Machine Gun could mean possessing something that would take over 8 hrs to convert into a machine gun (U.S. v. Smith, 477 F.2d 399 (8th Cir. 1973))

Note: ATF agent testimony from the court case: The most feasible method would be to cut the barrel off, drill a hole in the forward end of the receiver and then rethread the hole so that the same or another barrel could be inserted. To do so would take about an 8-hour working day in a properly equipped machine shop.

 

 

For the lulz

• [The Tac-Sac is not a VFG] (https://i.redditmedia.com/WaUAoy_1WJ4jJLIurQbe9q9Sz3qG7Ttct-jPR7PE0FE.jpg?w=587&s=0fa713bd41e3f861b611af0d0801f5f3)

• [Fleshlight - non response] (https://imgur.com/gallery/4d1JW)

 

 

Legal Definitions

• [Definition of Firearm, Pistol, Shotgun, AoW, DD, Antique, Make, Transfer, Dealer, Manufacture, Importer (US Code - 26 USC 5845(e))] (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/5845#e)

• [Definition of Firearm, Receiver, Silencer/Muffler, Handgun, Principal Objective of Profit and Livelihood, Revolver, Rifle, Pistol, Pawnbroker, Armor Piercing Ammo, Curios/Relics, Dealers (US Code - 26 USC 478.11)] (https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/27/478.11)

 

 

ATF Info

• An official ruling with agency holdings issued by the Director or revenue ruling by the Secretary is authoritative and legally binding, a tech branch letter is not. So take all of the above with a grain of salt and decide your own personal risk vs reward when working with NFA items.

• As noted in this response that ATF letters are only valid for the person(s) asking the question.

• ATF eRegulations website

• Gunsmiths may do repair work on NFA items, ATF recommends this be done with form 5 (not required)

• Gunsmith repairs lasting longer than one business day require disposition in their A&D records

• Muzzleloading cannons are not NFA items/DDs

• Interstate transport of NFA devices(AoW and Silencers are exempted) authorization - [ATF Form 5320.20] (https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/docs/atf-f-5320-20pdf-0/download) per [US Code - 18 U.S.C. 922(a)(4)] (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/922)

Note: Two copies of this form must be submitted and the signature box on each form has to be completed in ink. You can email: NFA@atf.gov or send a fax: 304-616-4501 but the preferred method is to be sent by mail to:

  Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

(Attention: NFA Branch)

244 Needy Road, Martinsburg, WV, 25405

 

 

 

If you have letters or know of other letters please respond and include the link. Im going to download and save copies as older letters stored on photobucket are starting to disappear. Also, im not a lawyer and this isnt legal advice.