[lilguy]

I have been told and seen discussed the fact that one can build their own tile one firearm sans serial number as long as it remains the property of the builder.Would anyone care to comment on the validity of this action. Thanks

[Sam1911]

Yes. Unless your specific state laws prohibit it, you may build your own non-NFA-regulated firearm for your own uses. No law requires that you put a serial number on it.

The BATFE "suggests" that if you choose to sell that gun at some point, you mark it the same way you MUST mark a Title II NFA-regulated firearm, but the law doesn't actually require that either.

[HankB]

As I understand it, assuming you're not a prohibited person, you can build non-NFA firearms for personal use in any quantity you want per Federal law - there may be local restrictions.

You can sell a personally built firearm if you eventually decide to.

You cannot build firearms for the purpose of selling them without a manufacturer's license, and all the paperwork that comes with it.

What may become touchy is if some Fed claims that you were building firearms for the purpose of selling them. I don't know what the case law is, but I suspect that in the case of a single sale or rare sales separated by a long stretch of time it would be difficult to prove you were operating as an unlicensed manufacturer.

If, on the other hand, you're frequently selling homebuilt guns - or even giving them away - you may get in hot water, since the feds may decide you're not really building them for personal use after all.

[Trent]

Be careful about the configuration you build it in to. "Readily restored" to NFA status is a tricky bit, if it's a new or unusual design (not "just another" AR or AK) you need to get it approved by the FTB, which can take quite a long time and requires the prototype weapon be submitted for review.

Also, you need to conform with 922(r) regarding the configuration if it's an "Assault Weapon" - which sets limits on the maximum number of foreign parts you can use.

(If you're rebuilding a parts kit AK, or something, this typically includes swapping a number of the items for US produced items to stay under the part count limit).