Gun modifications

[Wonderclam]

Are people who own guns allowed to modify them as long as they don't turn into full automatics? I want to work on my S&W Sigma and smooth out the trigger some more. What are the limits to what you can do with your gun?

 

[WardenWolf]

You cannot turn a rifle into a pistol, rifle barrels must be 16" or longer, and shotguns 18" or longer. And rifles need to have a stock attached or they are considered an AOW. Other than that, the sky's the limit as long as you don't make it fully automatic or break any other obvious Federal NFA laws. Note that this is at the Federal level. Local laws may vary. There is, however, no law that says you cannot perform your own gunsmithing.

 

[Sam1911]

And rifles need to have a stock attached or they are considered an AOW.

What? No, that's not correct.

To the OP: Any sort of work is completely legal for you to perform on your own gun as long as you do not create one of the specific types of regulated firearm defined by Title II the National Firearms Act of 1934.

In other words, rifle barrels must remain over 16", shotgun barrels must remain over 18", no rifle or shotgun can be less than 26" overall (with any collapsible or folding stock fully extended), the firearm must not fire more than once with each pull of the trigger. You may not add a forward hand-grip to a handgun, make a smooth-bore pistol, or make a firearm that is disguised to look like something else (pen gun, cane gun, briefcase gun, etc.).

WW is right as well that due to the specific language of the NFA, if you make a pistol into a rifle (which IS legal) you cannot make it back into a pistol again without registering it as a Short Barreled Rifle (more specifically, a "firearm made from a rifle").


Long story short... pretty much any normal trigger work, fluff-n-buff, parts replacement, accurizing, replacing barrels, etc. is all legal to do on your own

 

[Wonderclam]

Fantastic. 5lb. trigger pull on a .40 Sigma, here I come.

 

[nalioth]

And rifles need to have a stock attached or they are considered an AOW.

I'm sorry, this is incorrect.

Rifles or shotguns do not require a butt stock so long as they're 26" OAL with a 16" bbl (rifles) or 18" bbl (shotguns).

If the rifle or shotgun falls below any of those measurements, then it is required to have a tax stamp for legality.

WW is right as well that due to the specific language of the NFA, if you make a pistol into a rifle (which IS legal) you cannot make it back into a pistol again without registering it as a Short Barreled Rifle (more specifically, a "firearm made from a rifle").

Please note that this is the ATF's current interpretation of the subject. For decades prior to the zero ascending, the revenuer's position was different.

Hire a lawyer if you really want to know (the revenuers reverse themselves more often than a sailboat).

 

[NavyLCDR]

Wonderclam,

You do need to be careful with trigger jobs, though... If the gun fires more than one round with one pull of the trigger, you can be in big trouble.

 

[Shadow 7D]

The only thing official is the letter from the BAFTE technology branch, you write them and say what you want to do, they like drawing too from what I hear, they write back to you and say yeah, nay, or pay us for AOW then do it (tax stamp)...

Even the BAFTE recognizes that there is a difference between a malfunction and a conversion.
you do a trigger job and screw it up so the gun is now an full automatic, you need to get the parts and fix it, not go out with your buddies and youtube it, that falls under a "hold my beer and warch dis..." kinds of stupidity. You deactivate the fire arm, destroy the malfunctioning part and fix the gun.

 

[Wonderclam]

Wonderclam,

You do need to be careful with trigger jobs, though... If the gun fires more than one round with one pull of the trigger, you can be in big trouble.

I just followed an online tutorial on how to smooth and ligthen the trigger and now it's down from 10 lbs to I think 6 lbs. I wish I had a trigger pull measuring tool.

 

[nalioth]

Even the BAFTE recognizes that there is a difference between a malfunction and a conversion.

They may recognize the difference, but that doesn't delay them in your prosecution.

They tried to charge a state trooper who called them and asked what to do with his doubling Colt AR15. A malfunction, sure, but they were gonna get him for "making an illegal machine gun" among other charges.

 

[NavyLCDR]

Even the BAFTE recognizes that there is a difference between a malfunction and a conversion.

Not always:
http://totalrecoil.wordpress.com/2008/08/08/malfunctioning-ar15-becomes-a-machine-gun/

In July 2006 a Wisconsin gun owner lent an AR15 to a friend who took it to a local range to shoot. At one point the gun briefly went full auto and then jammed. Police officers who were on the range at the time observed this and decided that it was in effect a machine gun and the owner of the gun was charged for illegally transferring a machine gun. The case came to trial in January 2008 and the individual has now been convicted and sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Dobbs made the case seem pretty cut and dried that the gun owner, David Olofson, was badly served by the justice system and the early commentary from gun bloggers raised the fear that any shooter having a gun go full auto-due to a malfunction could be open to prosecution, some suggesting the extreme position that something as simple as a side-by-side shotgun doubling on you could be so interpreted by overzealous ATF agents and federal prosecutors. From the testimony of ATF agents at the trial there was reason to be nervous.

It does seem that the government came down extraordinarily hard on Olofson and I have to wonder why. Whether the problem was a malfunction or not there did not appear to be any attempt by Olofson to attempt a full-auto conversion on the rifle. With that in mind, 30 months prison time seems excessive. Actually after reading the transcripts, any prison time seems over the top.

 

[WardenWolf]

I have heard that removing the stock from a rifle places it in a different category, and ATF has occasionally prosecuted on it when they decide to go after soemone.

 

[DenaliPark]

Olofson had multiple minor run-ins with LE, and civil authorities, some gun related...Nonetheless, he didn't do anything even remotely worthy of a felony, let alone a thirty-month prison stint, not to forget that he has also lost his rights, essentially forever.........

 

[Mr K]

I read two of the same articles regarding the trigger mod on the sigma 40. I just bought that same firearm, and did NOT like the pull tension. Have never having worked on a trigger before, I followed the guide, and the pics, took my time,( 1 hr ), cause Ive never done this before, and MAN! what a difference. the strike and coil still there, but MUCH easier to pull, and control. According to the article, Glock made them put in the two springs that you take out.. Much better. It still has kick, but easier to use.
I took her to the range, shot 50 rounds with out a hitch..

 

[Shadow 7D]

yes, and then there is 922 compliance, and the ins and outs of C&R class rifles

So like I said, until you have the ATF letter, nothing is official, and the rest is a nightmare you just try to never get involved in.

 

[nalioth]

So like I said, until you have the ATF letter, nothing is official, and the rest is a nightmare you just try to never get involved in.

Which isn't "official"ly anything.

The "US Code" is official. An ATF letter is their opinion of the US Code, and it's been proven to be more wavery than a drunk duck.

 

[NavyLCDR]

I have heard that removing the stock from a rifle places it in a different category, and ATF has occasionally prosecuted on it when they decide to go after soemone.

Nope. For instance Mossberg 500 shotgun - interchangeable between pistol grip and shoulder stock. Perfectly legal and sold in both configurations by Mossberg to average Joe Scmoes. What you are thinking of is "other weapon" classification on the form 4473. Such as a stripped lower receiver that can be made into a rifle or pistol or a shotgun with a pistol grip installed. The gun doesn't meet the definition of a handgun or a long gun. All that means, though, is that handgun laws apply when sold by an FFL - age limit and state of residence.

 

[Wonderclam]

I read two of the same articles regarding the trigger mod on the sigma 40. I just bought that same firearm, and did NOT like the pull tension. Have never having worked on a trigger before, I followed the guide, and the pics, took my time,( 1 hr ), cause Ive never done this before, and MAN! what a difference. the strike and coil still there, but MUCH easier to pull, and control. According to the article, Glock made them put in the two springs that you take out.. Much better. It still has kick, but easier to use.
I took her to the range, shot 50 rounds with out a hitch..

is this the tutorial you followed? Yeah, I took out the pigtail spring and the bigger outer spring. I smoothed out metal piece with a fine nail file and the gun feels so much better.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=400180&highlight=sigma

 

[Art Eatman]

Wonderclam's happy so we're all happy.