Letters from BATFE RE Building AKs... Very intersting read!

[Quarterbore]

Check this letter out from the BATFE:

http://www.gunsnet.net/forums/showthread.php?p=1936784

My feeling is that this letter contains several important points:

1) The forward PG on an AMD is definitely part of the handguard.

2) It spells out the "magic formula" for making a semi-auto AK clone. (This may have been widely known, but I could never find a reference to it.)

3) Home-made receivers can be transfered, you just have to mark them. (In an email from the FAET tax folks, they confirmed that once you use a home-made firearm for personal use, no tax is due.)

4) A 03 FFL doesn't give up his right to make a home-made firearm.

Larry


Quote:
Originally Posted by LESchwartz


To whom it may concern:

I am writing to request clarification regarding the ATF’s current legal stance regarding Hungarian AMD-63 and AMD-65 rifles. “Parts kits” from these rifles have recently begun appearing in the marketplace in large numbers. I have two specific questions regarding these rifles, and two more general questions regarding the “making” of firearms by a nonlicensee as mentioned in “Questions and Answers” section (A7) of the Federal Firearms Regulations Reference Guide (2000 edition). If any of these questions are inappropriate for your office, please simply refer me to the appropriate organization.

1) With reference to the parts listed in Title 27, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 478 (formerly Part 178), section 478.39(c): You will note that the AMD-63 and AMD-65 both have a forward pistol grip attached to the lower handguard. Is this forward grip counted as part of the handguard, as part of the “pistol grip”, as an additional pistol grip, or is it uncounted?

Note that my question is narrowly focused on correctly “counting” this forward pistol grip.

2) With reference to assembling a working semiautomatic rifle from AMD-63 or AMD-65 parts, which is compliant with Title 18 USC § 922(r) and Title 18 USC § 922(v): Would such a rifle be considered a “machinegun” if the rifle were assembled using a commercially available semiautomatic trigger group as well as a receiver without mounting holes for an auto?sear?

3) With reference to a nonlicensee who assembles an otherwise legal semiautomatic rifle for their own personal use (non-NFA, and compliant with Title 18 USC § 922(r) and Title 18 USC § 922(v)), but who fabricates their own receiver: Are there any additional restrictions or prohibitions against the eventual sale or transfer of such a rifle to family members, heirs, or third parties?

Note: One of the many things I have been told is that a nonlicensee who fabricates a receiver may never transfer the resulting firearm, and that it must be destroyed in the event of the maker’s death. Thus, I am specifically interested in any record keeping, marking or labeling requirements, excise taxes, etc. necessary to have the ability to transfer or sell such a firearm.

4) Is a licensed collector who is not a licensed manufacturer considered a “nonlicensee” for the purposes of “making” a firearm?

While it is not my desire to cause your office any unnecessary workload, given the potentially serious consequences of even inadvertent violations of Federal Firearms law, I am left with little alternative. I have been unable to locate clear answers to these questions despite extensive research. And thus, I sincerely appreciate your efforts in responding to this letter.

Sincerely,

LESchwartz





Quote:
Originally Posted by ATF

Dear Mr. LESchwartz:

This refers to your letter of July 27, 2004, to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Firearms Technology Branch (FTB), in which you posed several questions. In general, you requested clarification regarding the classification of Hungarian AMD-63 and AMD-65 selective-fire rifle parts sets, as well as information regarding the manufacture of semiautomatic copies of these firearms.

As you know, the National Firearms Act (NFA), 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b), defines the term “machinegun” as follows:

…any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. This term shall also include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun, and any combination of parts from which a machinegun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person.

Further, with respect to your inquiry regarding the classification of the forward grip of the AMD-63 or AMD-65 based on 27 CFR § 478.39 (formerly 178.39), you should be aware that this is an integral part of the forearm, and, consequently would serve as the “forearm” as listed in 478.39(c)(1 7).

Concerning the manufacture of a semiautomatic copy of the AMD-63 or AMD-65 selective-fire rifle, this is possible only if the receiver is redesigned and incapable of accommodating the original fire control components. Further, the firearm must be designed to operate from the closed-bolt position. The redesigned receiver may be manufactured from new material or from the remnants of properly destroyed receivers. Proper destruction entails the diagonal torch cutting of the receiver in three critical locations. Each cut must displace at least ¼ inch of material.

We should add that prior to utilizing sections of a destroyed receiver, the features that make it capable of firing automatically—the machinegun sear pin hole and the slotted right receiver rail must be removed.

Also, for your information, a nonlicensee may manufacture a semiautomatic rifle for his or her own personal use. As long as the firearm remains in the custody of the person who manufactured it, the firearm need not be marked with a serial number or name and location of the manufacturer. However, if the firearm is transferred to another party at some point in the future, the firearm must be marked in accordance with the provisions set forth in 27 CFR § 478.92 (formerly 178.92).

Finally, a licensed collector may acquire, hold, or dispose of firearms classified as “curios or relics” as that term is defined in 27 CFR 478.11 (formerly 178.11). The collector’s license does not authorize the holder to manufacture a firearm for commercial resale.

For further details on issues related to your inquiry, please refer to the enclosed ATF publication, Federal Firearms Regulations Reference Guide 2000 (ATF P 5300.4). The text of 27 CFR 478.41(d) (formerly 178.41) appears on page 53; that of 27 CFR 478.93 (formerly 178.93), on page 58.

We thank you for your inquiry and trust that the foregoing has been responsive.

Sincerely yours,

Sterling Nixon

[Quarterbore]

This topic came up again so I decided to add the letters here in case the thread on AK47.net gets dropped from their servers:

Following are scans of the BATFE response:

PAGE 1

PAGE 2