If I make my own AOW, do I need the $5 stamp?

[TruthTellers]

If I made myself a 2 shot smoothbore .410 derringer from raw stock, no chopping it down like Serbu does with their Shorty shotgun, would that have to be registered with the ATF and require a $5 stamp?

I would making it for my own personal use, not to be sold, and not to be transferred to anyone as a gift, so would the gun still be regulated under the NFA rules?

 

[JohnKSa]

As far as I know, the NFA does not contain any exceptions for firearms/items made for personal use.

If you want to own an item that fits one of the NFA categories then you will have to jump through the appropriate NFA hoops regardless of how you plan to come into possession of the item.

 

[TruthTellers]

bummer

 

[Midwest]

If you buy an AOW the stamp is $5.

If you MAKE an AOW the cost is $200.

http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=6&f=50&t=430161

"Yes, you can make an AOW, and it's on a Form 1 just like any other NFA item. Problem is that it's a $200 tax to make an AOW, while it's only a $5 tax to transfer it. Thus it's better to have an appropriate SOT make the AOW, and transfer it to you on a Form 4."


Trivia: The AOW used to be a $1.00 at one time.



.

 

[Sam1911]

Midwest got it. There are two primary forms gun owners deal with when getting into the NFA firearms game.

Form 4 (5320.4) is to "Transfer and Register" a machine gun, sbr, sbs, silencer, destructive device, or AOW. You're buying one from someone else, like a dealer or private seller.

Form 1 (5320.1) is to "Make and Register" either of those. This is for making one yourself.

If you're planning to make one, you first need to file, AND RECEIVE APPROVAL of, a Form 1, or you've got an unregistered NFA Firearm and that's a serious federal felony.

 

[Ryanxia]

Like Midwest said, $200 to make, $5 to transfer. Here's the thing though, if you have a $300 gun, pay the $200 tax AOW tax stamp, you now have $500 into it. You aren't going to sell it for $305. So even though the transfer is only $5, most people that sell you an AOW have their initial $200 built into the price if that makes any sense.

 

[MasterSergeantA]

I have a couple of commercially produced single and double-barreled "pistols" that I bought years ago. They were made to fire .410 or .45 Colt (much like the Judge and Governor pistols) with just enough rifling to make them NOT-shotguns. No paperwork outside the normal 4473. They were also available in kit form, complete except for the side plates (which are available), so you could build your own.

 

[MasterSergeantA]

So...if you were to build a pistol, using some sort of .45 rifled blank or making the barrels from stock (so long as you rifled them), you would simply be building a pistol for your own use with no paperwrok involved again. That might still be a problem, based on where you live, but it is good here in AZ.

 

[pjeski]

Like Midwest said, $200 to make, $5 to transfer. Here's the thing though, if you have a $300 gun, pay the $200 tax AOW tax stamp, you now have $500 into it. You aren't going to sell it for $305. So even though the transfer is only $5, most people that sell you an AOW have their initial $200 built into the price if that makes any sense.

I would think most people that would sell you an AOW built it under their SOT, and never had to pay the $200.

You can also have a SOT build your AOW and transfer it to you for $5 plus his labor and profit. Probably less than $200.

 

[TruthTellers]

I guess if I wanted to avoid the NFA altogether, all I would have to do is put two grooves down the bore about .0005" deep and VIOLA! The barrel is rifled and it's a pistol.

 

[JohnKSa]

That's correct. If you rifle the barrel then it's not an NFA item. The rifling needs to be distinct enough to be easily detectable and I believe there's a ruling that says it must have a detectable twist. Straight grooves don't qualify as rifling.

 

[jmorris]

Would be silly to mess with the forms and such when you can just go buy one off the shelf.

http://bondarms.com/bond-arms-45-colt-410-shotshell-snake-slayer-the-derringer-perfected/

There isn't enough rifling after the shotshell to make enough difference to worry about.

 

[judgedelta]

With a Taurus Judge, there is enough rifling to make a difference, hence the "bagel-shape" pattern. Still pretty good for shooting snakes...

 

[TruthTellers]

That's correct. If you rifle the barrel then it's not an NFA item. The rifling needs to be distinct enough to be easily detectable and I believe there's a ruling that says it must have a detectable twist. Straight grooves don't qualify as rifling.

Oh, there would be a twist, but there would barely be any grooves so as to add as little rotation to decrease the spreading of the shot as much as possible.

 

[TruthTellers]

Would be silly to mess with the forms and such when you can just go buy one off the shelf.

http://bondarms.com/bond-arms-45-colt-410-shotshell-snake-slayer-the-derringer-perfected/

There isn't enough rifling after the shotshell to make enough difference to worry about.

My idea for the derringer has a barrel much longer than Bond's longest. Besides, a $400 derringer makes me feel uneasy when in comparison I could make one, customized for myself no less, for less than half that price.

 

[jmorris]

My idea for the derringer has a barrel much longer than Bond's longest. Besides, a $400 derringer makes me feel uneasy when in comparison I could make one, customized for myself no less, for less than half that price.

I say go for it then, be sure to post pics once you get the form 1 back and start the build.

You could always just have the regular rifling and use the chokes designed for the Contender 45lc/.410 barrels that are just straight "rifling" at the muzzle to stop the spin.

 

[Swing]

post pics once you get the form 1 back and start the build.

^. Sounds neat.

 

[TRX]

Green Mountain has rifled "black powder" barrels that would work with a .410. The twists run something like 1:48 or 1:52; for all practical purposes, just straight lines for a derringer-length barrel.

If you're going to build the barrel in one piece with two holes, Track of the Wolf has "barrel liners" in slow twists. They sell the liners by the inch. You can press, solder, or Loctite them in place.

While it's extra work and expense, the rifling would avoid legal troubles.