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Posted: 11/27/2007 10:59:12 AM EDT
| I just spoke with the ATF checking on the status of my Form 1 and in the course of the conversation, the subject of engraving location came up. The agent informed me that, as an alternative to engraving the lower receiver, it was permissible to engrave the short barrel itself with the name, city and state of the maker as well as the serial number of the lower. He said that was an accommodation to allow someone to change the rifle back to long-barrel status and sell it that way without their name being permanently on the weapon. That was all news to me. |
That has been the requirement since 1968. |
Which That? engraving the lower receiver permissible to engrave the short barrel itself |
Requirement or option? |
Option. This is a Title I firearm, however, as an example it works well enough. Back in the '90s, Remington made a bargain basement .22LR semi-auto, that was marketed (primarily) by Wal-Mart, but every other gunshop too. This was the Model 522 Viper- the stock was made of eco-friendly recycled soda bottles, as I recall. The reciever itself was plastic (it may have been metal encased by plastic). One of the magazines described it as having a "para military" appearance  I am not looking at a Viper right now, but as I recall, the reciever was PLAIN- though there may have been trademark tag on the left hand side. The SERIAL NUMBER, and Manufacturer address info was all on the barrel. Generally speaking, it is more advisable to engrave the reciever, if the design is one which barrels may be swtiched out easily on- simply because it saves money- engrave once rather than n many times. |
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The Gun Control Act of 1968 required that manufacturers engrave a serial number on the frame of the firearm and also required that they engrave their name and city/state of manufacture on either the frame, receiver or barrel. When you file a Form 1 to make an SBR, you must meet the same requirements. You can use the existing serial number, but (like any manufacturer) you have a choice of engraving locations for your name/city/state: The frame, the receiver or the barrel. Thus, the requirement since 1968 has been that either the frame, receiver or barrel be engraved with the maker's marks.  Manufacturers can apply, on a case-by-case-basis, for an engraving variance from BATFE. In my experience, about 75% of such requests are rejected. As noted above, once you have registered and made an NFA item, it must remain marked with that info until it is destroyed or until it is permanently restored to non-NFA status and BATFE has acknowledged the change in status. Thus, if you choose to engrave the barrel, every barrel you subsequently use on that registered lower must also be engraved, even if the barrel length is over 16". Since part of the fun of the AR platform is swapping uppers, most SBR makers choose to engrave the lower receiver. That way, they only have to engrave the info once. |
It makes sense that the SN on the reciever is required, considering it is the controlled part. I wonder if Remington had a variance? I remember very clearly those rifles being SN'd only on the barrel- I'll have to check one over more closely to double check that. |
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Slightly off topic, but not entirely..... Does the Serial, MFG name, and MFG location all have to be in the same spot? I'm awaiting a form 1 for a 10/22 SBR. Since the markings have to be visible, I either have to mark the ejection port side (difficult), rear top of receiver (curved), or on the top of the receiver (easiest). I was going to put my name on one side of the scope mount, and the city/state on the other. Kosher? or Federal Pound-me-in-the-ass? |
That's a good question. The regs do not specify that the maker's name and address must be next to each other. So in your case, I would go for it: As long as they are both visible, and in the same type face, it should pass muster. If you want to CYA you can always write Tech Branch for an opinion. As has been said here many times, there are no known cases of anyone being prosecuted for incorrectly marking an SBR. The regs do require that the markings be placed on the firearm, it sets size and depth minimums for those marks, and they must be on the frame, receiver or barrel. But beyond that, there are no rules, and going in search of more/new/specific rules can be counterproductive. |
It sounds to me like you are considering marking the upper receiver. I interpret the NFA to mean the lower receiver, but I am not an expert. Popular marking locations are the front of the mag well, inside the trigger guard where the trigger pokes out, on either side of the mag well, or the side of the receiver where the trigger pins poke through. |
He is talking about a 10/22. |
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At the risk of prolonging this discussion ... BATFE considers an AR's upper receiver as part of the frame, even though the lower receiver is the registered part. Many integrally suppressed AR15 and M16 uppers are marked there by the 07/02 manufacturers. If you decide to mark the upper instead of the lower or the barrel, you run into the same issues as only marking the barrel: Every upper receiver used on an SBR must be marked with the maker's info. |
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