I know you all hate everything airsoft.  Humor me

We've all read where the ATF views airsoft or paintballs suppressors as real suppressors subject to NFA regs, so that lead to this. I got to talking with a local guy about various suppressor related topics.  I passed on the laws about paintball and airsoft cans possibly being regulated depending on design, etc.  So eventually we got to the question in....question:

If you have an airsoft can marked Surefire Model xxx serial #55678 Whatever town CA or Knights Armament NT4 7656 Titusville FL that replicates a real or almost real design, and you wanted to file a form 1 on it, would/could you make everything already engraved on the can the model and then add your own serial number and name and town?   Is there any legal precedent for or against using all of the already engraved info as a model, or maybe a restriction on the length/nature of the model name?  I'm not wanting to write a letter but I would like a correct, legally based answer before I pass on good/bad info.  I've read some years back where someone took a well built aluminum airsoft can and filed a form 1 to use on an M&P 15/22 or simiar. Looking at the single .22 rimfire can I have, I can tell you I've ran across airsoft cans that are built a lot heavier.  


Example pic.  Could the top dummy can be form 1'd legally and use what info is there as your 'model' and above or below you would have your own info engraved?
Attached File

Heavy doesn't mean stronger.

I'd take a thin-walled 7075 tube body over a gummy chinese pot-metal knockoff anyday...  Sure it may hold up for a while, but you could probably build something better from scratch.

I'm sure that's true in the mechanical sense.  I was curious as to the legal aspects of the marking issue.

What makes you think that an airsoft can can be convert to an actual suppressor?  That it is a 'hollow tube' which can be disassembled and baffles installed and not a solid tube with just  a 6mm barrel for the pellets?

The ATF has considered 'suppressor parts' to be controlled for years and the recent 'solvent trap' nonsense makes it unlikely.

Technically yes, however there are two problems with this. The first problem is the serial number is the same on all replicas, when the replicate the suppressor they use the same serial number on all of them unless its a limited run. I don't know if that is really an issue because your going to have your own details on it. Correct me if I'm wrong but I remember hearing you can have the same serial number as someone else because its registered to a different person, for some reason I see the ATF having issue with this however but they'd have to catch it first. Second problem is most airsoft knock offs the engravings are too shallow or just printed on and don't meet the .003 depth usually. So you would have to have it engraved over and at that point would make no sense.

The only reason for doing this would be for some qd type designs for cheap. There are a few I've seen that are pretty well made out of 6061 and would serve pretty well when made into a 22lr suppressor. I would not bother with much above 22. That said I have seen some pot metal ones and cheaper aluminum made ones that someone smacked on a door frame and it snapped in half and it looked pretty well made.

Since you (or your trust) is the 'maker', you can not use the fake manufacturer info in place of engraving your own 'maker' info on the suppressor.  You could use the serial number, if the engraving met regulatory requirements.  The serial number only has to be unique to that maker, there can be thousands of suppressors in existence with the same serial number, if they are from different makers.

Ethical, trademark and materials issues aside, of course.

People have registered SBRs with clone markings built on 80% receivers, having only their trust name and city, state not look original. I've seen conflicting reports of ATF acceptance of this, however.

On a slightly related note, I SBR'd a Zenith Z43P using a Silencer Shop Single Shot trust (or whatever they call it).   With those, they make the serial number the name of the trust.  

My question was, since my trust name is already engraved on the side of the gun, do I have to engrave it again?

You'd still have to spell out "Revocable Living Trust".

Right. Were I to actually do this,  I had no intention of using the fake manufacturer name and serial number as 'the' maker and serial number.  To preserve the 'look' what I thought 'might' be acceptable is to have the 'fake' manufacturer's info as the Model, a separate serial number and then say, BLCOUCH(my full name instead of initials of course) Hometown MS 39000.  Since the maker of the suppressor and his info and registered serial number would be on the can as it would be on the form, would the 'replica' markings actually mean anything to the ATF?   I'm guessing since they're the ones classifying airgun and paintball silencers as 'real' and subject to registration they may(should) have thought of and run into this already?   Who the hell knows?   They did say a shoestring was a machine gun after all.

You can use any of the existing markings for items you make up: serial number or model name

You would have to add markings for info that can't be made up: maker name, city, state, and caliber

Not if 'Revocable Living Trust' isn't in the name of my trust.

Exactly why mines is called J Trust