Fact check: Permanant flash supressors

[bigjim]

I want to check my understanding of the following facts:

1. Start with a 14.5 inch barrel and have a PERMANANTLY attached flash supressor making the over all length over 16 inchs you have a legal barrel as far as LENGTH GOES. Correct?

2. What constitutes a Permanantly attached flashsuppressor/muzzel break?
Who can do the work? Is a permanant adhesive like JB weld enough?

I am having a arather heated arguement with a co-work on this very issue and I want to site laws or rules if possible.

THANKS

 

[JesseL]

1. Correct.
2. I believe it has to be more permanent than JB Weld. Welding, high temp silver solder, or blind pins are the recommendations I've heard. Any competent gunsmith should be able to do it.

 

[average_shooter]

No personal experience, but I've looked at them some. It seems the majority of "fixed" flash suppressors are "pinned." Like the six-position collapsible stocks during the AWB, they had to be pinned at the maximum length so there was no way to collapse them; I believe flash-suppressors on sub-16" barrels are supposed to be pinned so there is no way to remove them.

 

[K-Romulus]

The barrel would need a blind pin and weld (so it would not be obvious how to undo it). That entails drilling a 1/8" hole through the flash hider and slightly through the threads into the barrel, dropping in a pin to fit, welding the pin into the hider, and then sanding down the welded pin flush with the hider.

www.adcofirearms.com does pin and weld jobs for $25 + shipping (look under "shop services"). Good guys, just did the identical job for my 9mm AR upper.

 

[JesseL]

From here:

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
Washington, D.C. 20226

JUN 18 1998 F:FPD:FTB:RAT
3311


Dear Mr. :

This refers to your letter of March 31, 1998, in which you ask
about permanently attaching a muzzle device to various firearms.

A muzzle device, such as a muzzle brake or barrel extension, which
is attached to a barrel by means of welding or high temperature
silver solder having a melting point of at least 1,100 degrees
Fahrenheit, is considered to be part of the barrel for purposes of
measurement. A seam weld extending at least one-half the
circumference of the barrel or four equidistant tack welds around
the circumference of the barrel are adequate for this purpose.

A firearm having a muzzle brake, cap, or barrel extension
permanently attached by those same methods to cover the threads on
a barrel, would not be considered to have a threaded muzzle.
Please note, however, that any muzzle device or barrel extension
which functions as a flash suppressor or grenade launcher would
still constitute one of the qualifying features of a semiautomatic
assault weapon as that term is defined in 18 U.S.C. section
921(a)(30(B). Industrial adhesive products are not an acceptable
method for permanently attaching a muzzle device.

 

[kludge]

So between the time that you cut the barrel and weld the brake, are you in possession of a SBR?

 

[bigjim]

Not me! Getting sent right to a Gunsmith. I will never even lay hands on it.
Not even my project!! Not taking any chances with federal pound me in the A** prison. Thank you very much.

 

[Guitargod1985]

Not taking any chances with federal pound me in the A** prison.

I thought Federal was better than county or city or state.

Didn't Martha Stewart "get" to go to Federal?

Makes you wonder if she got P'd in the A.

 

[jerkface11]

www.ar15.com has a tutorial on how to permanently attach a muzzle device. It's a sticky thread at the top of the build it yourself forum in the ar15 section.

 

[jrfoxx]

So between the time that you cut the barrel and weld the brake, are you in possession of a SBR?

That IS an interesting comment, even though you ment it humorously, it IS actually likely to be true technically.I'm guessing unless the ATF happens to kick in your door during that 2 minute period, it's a moot point, but still.....
Yet more evidence of how entirely pointless and stupid all these gun laws are, and how any 1 of us can be an inadvertant felon in 3 seconds, with no idea we did anything wrong.

 

[cbsbyte]

I thought Federal was better than county or city or state.

It depends, there are two types of Federal Pens, the "white collar" crime prison, and the maximum security for harden criminals. Guess which one a person who violates a federal firearm law goes too. It ain't nice.

Didn't Martha Stewart "get" to go to Federal?

Martha went to an all female Federal prison which are always nicer than compared to an all male prison. Either way she went away for "White collar" crime which means she is not mixed in with the general population but given special privileges.

 

[CypherNinja]

So between the time that you cut the barrel and weld the brake, are you in possession of a SBR?

Only if it is still attached to a lower.

 

[jerkface11]

If it isn't attached to the lower but you have the lower around it's constructive intent. Still a felony. So leave the lower with a buddy while you're doing this. Or put a different upper on it during the project.

 

[kludge]

Only if it is still attached to a lower.

If you have a lower in your possession, is that considered "constructive possession"?

Yes my comment was in jest... I assume they have to prove that you had "intent" to assemble a SBR?

 

[jerkface11]

No they don't have to prove it. It's a thought crime. If you have the parts then you have constructive intent.

 

[Nikdfish]

Either way she went away for "White collar" crime which means she is not mixed in with the general population but given special privileges.

Just for clarification ... with each incoming inmate the federal intake process looks at various security risk issues to come up with a numerical score. Generally the BOP places inmates in the lowest security setting consistant with the security score. Mainly because per inmate costs go up as facility security increases. Camp space is a lot cheaper than penitentiary space. Time to serve, as well as a history of violence are a couple of biggies in the score equation. An individual doing a short bit with no history of violence is almost certainly going to get a low security assignment.

Martha got same treatment at Alderson as other inmates with the same security score and she was in genereal population there ...


Nick