SBR Qs

[mikeAZ]

Sooooo.... WHY the stamp for SBR's in the 1st. place???... Anyone know what was the reasoning ilong ago??..NFA 1937 ?? (Noting all the paper work could be done is days not months or years, in some cases). Probably never see suppressors off the list either.... Guess it gives someone a nice cushy job, wonder how many "they" process in a day????.... Yawn, yawn...Time for coffee break, lunch, computer BS.

 

[Muzap]

Sooooo.... WHY the stamp for SBR's in the 1st. place???... Anyone know what was the reasoning ilong ago??..NFA 1937 ?? (Noting all the paper work could be done is days not months or years, in some cases). Probably never see suppressors off the list either.... Guess it gives someone a nice cushy job, wonder how many "they" process in a day????.... Yawn, yawn...Time for coffee break, lunch, computer BS.

SBRs and SBSs were regulated due to their perceived ease of concealment.
The original draft of the NFA included pistols as well, for the same reason. That part was dropped before it was passed.

 

[delta6]

......Noting all the paper work could be done is days not months or years, in some cases). Probably never see suppressors off the list either.... Guess it gives someone a nice cushy job, wonder how many "they" process in a day????.... Yawn, yawn...Time for coffee break, lunch, computer BS.

mikeAZ you pose an interesting question. Some insight...1st...in 2016 the BAT folks processed 2,530,209 NFA forms. There are about 16 examiners (some seasoned employees and some trainees). Doing the math that is about 76 forms per day. The greatest reason for the long wait times is the fingerprint check. Since the FBI boys hold the keys to the files, the ATF doesn't have access to the files 24-7. This has always been a problem going back as far as the 1970's.

2nd issue is that the BAT folks still work with paper. Old computer systems rule with the NFA. Processing NFA transfer paperwork is pretty low on budget assessments. Most of the dollars go to the LE side of the agency.

3rd issue is the revenue received from transfer fees (and it is a lot, in 2016 $68M, occupational licenses and tax stamps) as with most governmental agencies, the revenue goes to the general fund. Most of that income again goes straight to the LE side of the department.

4th issue is errors on forms submitted. If you talk to any examiner (some which are gun people), their number one issue is paperwork errors by the submittee.

5th and final issue is turn over. For most all, the NFA examiner position is an entry level position within the BATFE. Most examiners move on within a year or two, either within the BATFE or on to another government agency. Years ago, I had a great examiner Daniel P. Gun guy, returned calls and knew his stuff. Actually met him in person at the SAR show here in Phoenix. He became an examiner, put in his time, solely so he could transfer to the BATFE gun vault and work as tester-examiner and play with interesting guns everyday.

I can understand the "bitch" or concern about the wait times, 6-8 months on a form 4 and 2-3 months for some dealer transfers, but in that there is a silver lining. The transfer tax is still only $200. Not that $200 is chump change, but to equate that in 1934 dollars in 2018, that would make transfers around $3761.28.

The wait times suck, we can all agree, but the longer we keep this part of the industry below the radar of BATFE higher ups and Congress the better we will all be in the long run.

 

[Ranger1]

The engraving goes onto what ever part that has the serial number on it. Back when I was going to SBR my Sig swat pistol the upper had the serial number on it, not the lower. I thought that was weird but that's what SGC told me. I backed off and just put a brace on it.

 

[Tim McBride]

The engraving goes onto what ever part that has the serial number on it. Back when I was going to SBR my Sig swat pistol the upper had the serial number on it, not the lower. I thought that was weird but that's what SGC told me. I backed off and just put a brace on it.

It is not required to be put with the same part as the serial number.
On an AR it can be put on the upper, barrel, etc. It just has to meet the depth and size requirement, and be in a visible spot(Although previously allowed ATF no longer allows you to engrave the lower were the pistol grip would cover the markings).

 

[Ranger1]

The way it was explained to me by Scottsdale gun club and I will check with one of my manufacturers but the engraving had to be with the part that was serialized. Because that's the part that was documented as a SBR. I'll check again.

 

[Ranger1]

Just got off the phone with one of my manufacturers. He said you can use the serial number of the gun as the SBR number on the paper work and or get another number but that number has to be engraved on the serialized part of the gun. So I don't know how sig got away with serializing there uppers on the 556 swat pistol and not the lower with trigger group in it but they did.

 

[Tim McBride]

The way it was explained to me by Scottsdale gun club and I will check with one of my manufacturers but the engraving had to be with the part that was serialized. Because that's the part that was documented as a SBR. I'll check again.

The gun is an SBR, not the receiver.

 

[Tim McBride]

Just got off the phone with one of my manufacturers. He said you can use the serial number of the gun as the SBR number on the paper work and or get another number but that number has to be engraved on the serialized part of the gun. So I don't know how sig got away with serializing there uppers on the 556 swat pistol and not the lower with trigger group in it but they did.

I was an 07/02 for a long time.
The serial number you use is the one on the lower. The portion where you engrave your info (name, City/State) does not have to go on the receiver. ATF has a section of the NFA handbook devoted to engraving.

 

[Ranger1]

Yes u r right. But if you ever needed to change out your upper reciever or rebarrel, you will have to go get the new parts re engraved. That's why all my friends were telling me to engrave the lower. If I had to change out a broken part I wouldn't need to re engrave said part.

 

[delta6]

Just got off the phone with one of my manufacturers. He said you can use the serial number of the gun as the SBR number on the paper work and or get another number but that number has to be engraved on the serialized part of the gun. So I don't know how sig got away with serializing there uppers on the 556 swat pistol and not the lower with trigger group in it but they did.

The 556 SWAT pistol was SIG's attempt to recreate the 550 series of firearms, 550, 551 and 552. Since the original SIG 550 series of guns were manufactured in Switzerland, where they traditionally serialized the part that was the firing mechanism (ie: part attached to the barrel that makes a cartridge go bang, think bolt action rifles). So when they introduced the SWAT 556, even though manufactured in the US, they continued with that tradition. They realized their error in selling to the American market and came out with the 556xi that had changeable barrels but they discontinued the 556xi series in 2017 due to lack of sales.