[RTFM]

With everything gun regulated to death, for those of you that have received your OK for a suppressor, what is the correct procedure to acquire the correct paperwork, stamps etc etc for a Bushmaster M16A3.

Is their an order for this, need paper work before hardware, or vice versa....


Thanks.

[RTFM]

Issac, I live in Idaho, so no problems with the local police/Sheriffs.
I have gathered as much information as you have presented my self.

I specifically want those who have walked that path to assist me in the correct procedure of acquiring one.

IE, get paper work (with supplied BATF form number) first. or you need local paper work first, or you need the suppressor first for sn identification.....

I have a bunch of snippets of information, but do not think I have it all nor do I have it layered out correctly.

Thank you for your quick reply though.

NEXT>

[Cortland]

Find an FFL/SOT in your area. He'll walk you through everything.

Basically it goes like this. Find a suppressor that you want. If your dealer doesn't have it, it will have to be transferred to him from the manufacturer on a Form 3 (this is free for the dealer, and takes between 2 weeks and 5 months). Once your dealer has it, he will help you fill out an ATF Form 4 in duplicate. Your dealer should provide you with the Form 4s, ATF-marked FBI fingerprint cards, and a citizenship form. If you're not buying the suppressor directly from your dealer, he'll probably charge $50 - $100 for the transfer.

You'll have to get your Sheriff to sign the Form 4s indicating that he has no information which would disqualify you from the owning the suppressor. While you're there you can get your fingerprints taken. Along with your Form 4, you'll need to mail in the fingerprint cards, two passport photos, $200, and the citizenship certification form. The paperwork is really simple, just follow the instructions. As I said, your dealer should walk you through everything. Between 2 and 1000 months later, your dealer will receive a copy of the approved Form 4 which you can then take home with your suppressor

The wait is really the only problem with Title II stuff. The paperwork's not that bad, the $200 isn't all that bad, the fingerprinting isn't all that bad, and if you're lucky getting the CLEO signature isn't all that bad. It's the WAIT!!!

[Zak Smith]

Buying a suppressor from a manufacturer out of state:

1. Find a local Class 3 FFL to buy it through, or do the transfer if you paid the mfgr directly
2. Manufacturer files paperwork with ATF to transfer to your local dealer.
3. Wait for #2's paper to clear (1-6 months), after which your dealer takes possession.
4. You file a Form 4 with the ATF.
5. Wait for the Form 4 to clear, after which you take possession.

Filling out the Form 4 (step 4) requires you to EITHER get a CLEO signature and do a personal transfer OR to go the corporate route of no CLEO will sign.

-z

[444]

Gemtech is located in Boise. If you chose to buy a Gemtech, the process would be easier and take far less time. I have no idea if they have a retail outlet in Boise, but I bet they are easy to come by in Boise gunshops.
http://www.gem-tech.com/
Gettech is generally considered to be one of the top suppressor manufacturers.

[RTFM]

Thanks guys THAT'S the info I needed.
Is it like a ccl in that it needs to be renewed (for a fee of coarse) every so often?

Or is it $200 one time and your the proud owner for ever more?

[RRTX]

One time $200, you are paying a "tax" on it not paying for a license.

[Cortland]

What RRTX said. The $200 is a transfer tax, and the NFRTR exists (nominally) to record those tax receipts. In fact information regarding NFA transfers and ownerships is protected to a surprising extent based on tax privacy laws.

And for goodness sake don't listen to anyone who tells you Title II ownership makes your subject to warrantless searches.

Another interesting thing about suppressors is that you do NOT need to notify the ATF when you take them across state lines (notification IS required for machine guns, SBRs, and SBSs). You can submit a 5230.20 (Application to Transport Interstate or Temporarily Export Certain NFA Firearms) for a suppressor and the ATF will approve it -- in some cases having the approved 5230.20 might be a good idea just in case you run into law enforcement in an NFA unfriendly state while traveling through with the suppressor.

$200 one time and your the proud owner for ever more
Or until the Feds decide they don't want you to have it anymore :p

[dolanp]

You can submit a 5230.20 (Application to Transport Interstate or Temporarily Export Certain NFA Firearms) for a suppressor and the ATF will approve it -- in some cases having the approved 5230.20 might be a good idea just in case you run into law enforcement in an NFA unfriendly state while traveling through with the suppressor.

That's an interesting scenario. I wonder if you could get prosecuted for that. FOPA only covers 'firearms' right? If you were in possession of a suppressor in a state that specifically banned them you might find yourself in trouble with or without the Federal approval form. Or am I missing something?

[Cortland]

FOPA only covers 'firearms' right?
That's an interesting point. The NFA defines a suppressor AS a firearm. I'm not entirely sure about the FOPA or the GCA. Something to check in to!

UPDATE: I checked Bardwell and he says silencers are also Title I firearms (Title II firearms are generally covered by Title I, as well). The "Safe Passage" provision of the FOPA is 18 USC 926A, and it mentions "firearms." Silencers are included within that definition of "firearms." So yes, the FOPA does protect you.

[Jim K]

Maybe needless to say, but a suppressor is not C&R elegible, regardless of age, so it can't be transferred across state lines to a C&R licensee like a C&R machinegun can. It has to go through a Class 3 dealer in the buyer's state.

Jim

[Chipperman]

FOPA may "officially" protect you, but I'll wager that if you were stopped while transporting a suppressor through a state that forbids them, you would be sent to jail with the quickness.

Maybe you'd get it back after a long and costly court case, maybe not.

[Cortland]

FOPA may "officially" protect you, but I'll wager that if you were stopped while transporting a suppressor through a state that forbids them, you would be sent to jail with the quickness. Maybe you'd get it back after a long and costly court case, maybe not.
You could say the same thing about a machine gun. The fact is that the law DOES protect you, and it does so unambiguously.

[Crosshair]

There is a group supressor buy that is going on on THR soon. I can't find the thread that it was in though.

[Chipperman]

"The fact is that the law DOES protect you, and it does so unambiguously."

That does not stop them from arresting you and confiscating your hardware. :uhoh:

It happens in states like NJ and MA all the time, and that's with non-NFA weapons.

[beerslurpy]

I would be interested in that Crosshair. I want to suppress my 7.62x39 Arsenal.

[Grayrock]

Filling out the Form 4 (step 4) requires you to EITHER get a CLEO signature and do a personal transfer OR to go the corporate route of no CLEO will sign.

What is the corporate route?

[Cortland]

Corporation are allowed to own machine guns. When a corporation buys a machine gun, the CLEO sign-off, passport photos, and fingerprints are not required. Possession of the machine gun is restricted to members of the corporation so authorized to possess machineguns (i.e., no felons, etc.).

It's more complicated than just transfering them to yourself as an individual (you've got to deal with filing for incorporation, tax returns, etc.) but is generally the only option if you have an uncooperative CLEO. Remember that if you can't get a CLEO sign-off, the incorporating is really just a few hundred extra dollars and a few weeks of waiting, and in the grand scheme of MG ownership that's nothing.

Some people also put their MGs in corps on the off chance that MG transfers are banned, they can still sell recoup their investment by selling the corp (of which the MGs are assets). Tinfoilhattery IMHO but to each his own.

[Beren]

Family trusts are allegedly also accepted by the ATF as 'corporations' for the purpose of NFA transfers. I haven't explored this route yet but may soon.