Posted: 2/16/2008 1:49:20 PM EDT
| Can the average joe, like myself, purchase/possess a 14.5" barrel as long as its not assembled to a receiver? My intentions are permanantly attaching the brake myself for a future build. |
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As far as I know, as long as it's not yet a part of a weapon, you would be fine. Which is why some places sell silencer "kits." It's just a bag of parts until you put it together. You're on the hook, not them. Or, in my case, I could own a barrel and flash suppressor combo as long as I didn't assemble it to a post-ban lower. |
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barrel by itself you'll *probably* be OK. an assembled upper with 14.5" barrel and you could find yourself in trouble. if you "need" it now, and are worried, just have it shipped and stored at a buddies house who doesn't have a weapon he/she can use it on until you get a chance to fix a permanent device to it. |
| no but when was the last time an atf agent stopped by to chat. |
that is wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. any part that is used to make a silencer, is a silencer according to the ATF. baffles, tubes, endcaps, etc. |
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No you cannot have an upper without a tax stamp and be legal. You cannot have a 3rd fcg hole drilled into your upper. You cannot possess enough parts to make a gun full auto. You cannot own supressor parts (even a baffle, end cap, or tube in peices). Unless you have a tax stamp you are comitting a felony. It doesnt matter if those parts are put together or not as "intent" is just as good as actual possession. ETA: What I recommend you do if you want a 14.5" upper is A. to have it shipped directly to a place that can pin/weld a FH long enough to make it 16.0+ inches, and then have them ship it to you. Or if you have a friend or relative nearby that doesnt own an AR15 ship the upper to them, and then immediately have the FH put on. Just never have a lower and that upper in the same place, and you should be ok. Even if you have an SBR'd lower you cant have an extra SBR upper for it unless you have another stamp for another lower. That is direct off a letter from the ATF. Just because you have a stamp doesnt mean you can have as many SBR uppers as you want for that one lower if you own other non sbr lowers. |
Better tell that to the guys that advertise in The Shotgun News then. |
You can tell all you want but it is still your ass on the line with the shit. Having the parts asembled or unassembled is against the law, period. |
? Silencer replacement parts have not been advertised in SN since they became illegal in 1986. What page/issue are you looking at that you see one? As for the OP, as long as your parts can be assembled into a legal config, you are OK. |
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OK let me clarify. I'm buying a part here and there until I get all parts needed to assemble. hence $150+ for a barrel only rather than $300+ for a complete upper. Now, something else, I 'm pondering what Mech2007 said about assembling to a post ban lower, I cant legally assemble a pre-ban barrel to a post-ban lower? |
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Just to bolster what others have said: You cannot possess a complete AR rifle and a separate NFA-length barrel unless you have a legal path for the use of that barrel, i.e. a pistol or a registered SBR. Clear cut, text book case of "Constructive Possession." Silencers/suppressors: Per the federal Title II definition of "Silencer," each and every part of a silencer is a "silencer" itself. The definition includes parts, so there is no such thing as "Constructive Possession" of a silencer. Having a simple baffle that is for use on a firearm and is not registered is a "Possession" violation. An approved Form 1 allows the applicant to either make a complete suppressor or to make an individual replacement part. You cannot do both. I doubt there are suppressor kits available in Shotgun News, at least as described, since this is legally impossible. You could buy/sell an SBR kit or an SBS kit or an AOW kit as long as you are not in violation of "Constructive Possession", but due to the definition of "Silencer" a silencer kit would not be possible. As far a getting caught, yes, the chances of ATF coming to your house out of the blue and catching you are virtually nil, however 99% of violations like this are discovered due to incidental events: You or someone at your home calls 911 because of a house fire or medical emergency, the police also show up with emergency personnel as a matter of course and the discovery is made. |
Never heard that one... do you have a source for that? Not some funky global letter, but an actual request for an opinion? |
Not even interested in the letter as it's completely incorrect either way. |