Just wondering. I'm going to get one more build (well try to) before the wall goes up. .308. Although I hate the noise, the short weapons have got me hooked. (Yes I have cans on some of my earlier builds). Are they going to clamp down on the stabilizers or the whole ball of wax. This is a "just because" firearm and a "just because" thread... What say you?
I think some braces (the best ones) are going to get targeted. I've thought about the SBR route a lot, because even though some braces are almost as good as a stock, nothing beats a real stock. The downside to an SBR, aside from the tax stamp and other regulations, is having to engrave the manufacturer's name on the receiver. That would be YOUR NAME unless you have already set up a NFA trust, in which case the trust name can be used.
I was thinking more about the part where my name would be engraved on it. Something about that irks me. I wish you were able to engrave something like "SBR 1234567" where the number identified it, so if it were resold my name wouldn't be floating around.
Build it as a pistol and sbr it. The whole form 4 thing and waiting a year is bullshit. The only reasonable way to do the SBR thing is you take the gun to a local class 7, do the paper work and if get prints, background check, the 07 cuts you a tax stamp and the whole process takes 3 days max. Ideally 45 minutes for AOW, SBS, SBR, DD
I'm of the opinion that with things going sideways in a big damn hurry, it's going to go one of two ways, ether the braces go away, and now your stuck having to go through the NFA anyway! OR, the rule of law goes out the window, and you can run what ever you want! The real trick is what you do between now and then! I got in ahead of all this years ago with the SBR/SBS deal, and don't have to worry about it until they come after the NFA held stuff, which by the time that happens, we will be using them on THEM! With the E-FIling, it's a quick 30 day turn around now instead of a year+!
I'm going the SBR route, and the NFA Trust route. Due to money issues, I got the stripped receiver, and the plan is to get it approved for SBR status ASAP, then worry about buying all the stuff to finish it into a working firearm. Thinking about getting a couple more and getting them their own tax stamps to be finished whenever I can afford. FWIW and YMMV JW
I like having my name on a Form 1 build since none of them are worth too much money (Anderson receivers or similar) for resale. My niece will inherit my collection and most likely keep the NFA items with my name in the family especially since she already has an SBR with her name on it already. I've taken the idea from others in the NFA community by having the engraving in an out of the way spot. The latest one is the M79 project that I had the engraving done on the receiver where the stock hides it.
If you haven't already done so consider a NFA trust. The name of the Trust is what gets engraved. It will make it much easier for inherit if she is a trust member. It takes about $150 to set up the trust, and when you add her to it she gets on NFA background check. The Trust pays the $200 stamp for each new item that gets added, each trust member gets an additional background check. I am in the process of selling a machine gun to a fellow and he and a friend have set up a trust. When his son turns 21 in a few years they will add him. I've decided I'm going to set up a similar trust for anything I SBR (the machine gun is my only NFA item at the moment).
FWIW here is what OFF has to say about the withdrawal: "In a notice dated today, Dec 23, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms announced the “withdrawal of a notice and request for comments entitled “Objective Factors for Classifying Weapons with ‘Stabilizing Braces’,” that was published on December 18, 2020.” We told you about this proposal to regulate pistol braces here. As you know, pistol braces have become a very popular accessory for some larger pistols and the ATF was proposing the requirement that “some” pistols with “some” pistol braces be considered short barrel rifles subject to NFA regulations. This would have meant that literally millions of people could be turned into felons if they failed to register, as short barrel rifles, firearms that are perfectly legal today. According to today’s notice “Upon further consultation with the Department of Justice and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, ATF is withdrawing, pending further Department of Justice review, the notice and request for comments entitled “Objective Factors for Classifying Weapons with ‘Stabilizing Braces’,” that was published on December 18, 2020. 85 FR 82516.” This does not mean ATF will stop attempting to create new, confusing, and arbitrary rules that could entrap well meaning gun owners. But it appears the immediate threat has passed. For all those who took time to share your comments with ATF about the proposed rule changes, we thank you for your activism and wish you a Merry Christmas."
Nowadays a Trust just isn't really worth it, unless you want to be able to let other Trust members take custody of the NFA item for limited time without you having to be present. For inheritance purposes, a Form 5 lets your inheritors transfer the items tax free without even having to go through an SOT or gun dealer. I already have a Trust set up for my earlier NFA items (Mac-10 and a couple of suppressors), but since the changes to Trust and Individual transfer (everyone gets fingerprinted, photos, and now no CLEO sign off) the Individual transfer wins out every time now.
The people who make the rules clearly don't have any clue what the rules are. This is the head of the ATF looking like a dum ass. Doesn't know if a buffer tube is a stock.... Dback had a bit of an oh shit smirk when asked if "some one removes the brace and shoulders the tube, is that going be reclassified as a short barrel rifle". I believe the end goal is to eliminate as many short barrel AR pistols as possible.
Why does a government agency get to establish law, a right reserved for congress? How can they arbitrarily make a rule, establish a punishment, and enforce the made up law outside of established law making guidelines established by the Constitution? I submit here that all of their rulings and subsequent punishments where no law has officially been created by the Congress of the United States of America is void and thus not enforced, and those who have been subject to the "decisions" and the punishments be reimbursed from the operating budget of the BATFE.
If it goes against their budget, they just get more funding the next year. I say anyone who signs off on abridging another's rights should be subject PERSONALLY to jail time. Police get thrown in jail for their actions, so I see no reason that government bureaucrats be protected. They would think twice if it had a chance of them seeing jail time.
They are just fighting us with our own money. It's a lose / lose / lose situation for us. If they lose, no one loses their job, they paid the legal fees with tax payer money. and they get to do it again tomorrow. No cajónes in DC to put an end to it. Hell, it's part of the reason them congress critters can stay in 'Power'. Lots of lip service going on in that cesspool.
I've never shot with a brace, instead just pulling against a strap and not liking it a bit. Accuracy achieved, yes. Confidence built, no. These were AR style in 5.56, a Krinkov, a Draco, and an old school Scorpion. Not sure if Ingram counts so I left them out. Plenty of trigger time on each but never felt like more than a gangster drive-by or hip-spray gun. The braces may fix it all, I can see that. I just don't know it yet. I'd go up to carbine or PCC or down to pistol size, myself. You can certainly kill everyone else in an elevator with untold efficiency. Edit: I suppose the slide outs on a MAC 10 or Scorpion were braces, huh? Slide out was better than in, certainly.
Pistol with say a 32 round mag = legal* Rifle with a 30 round mag = legal* Rifle with a barrel longer than a pistol but shorter than a rifle with say a 10 round mag = bad and super deadly. Crock of shit. * depending on how communist your jurisdiction is.