U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- I’m hearing too many rumors over pistol brace criminalization to ignore this distinct and real possibility. I’ve lost my perspective somewhat on what ‘regulations’ some agencies are willing to enshrine. With each significant question I’ve faced in my life, I’ve pondered two things. First, whom do I seek to serve with my actions? Second, who ultimately, are the beneficiaries of the intended outcome? I seriously doubt these are the kinds of ethical quandaries ATF considers with their regulations. Simply translated, our pistol braced weapons might well be on the chopping block.
If perfectly legal pistol braces and being slated for criminalization, there are some obvious things to consider. First and foremost is pushback on our part. I’m a decent and moral American, as are you. At every turn when our ‘rulers’ seek to wave a magic wand and make our goods and actions illegal, we should voice our thoughts. Send letters, write emails, make calls to ATF, and flood your elected officials in the House and Senate with those same communications with your outrage. It is vital to offer them the expectation they’ll act on your behalf. Why? Because you vote and their action or inaction on this will influence your next ballot. There are no shortages of advocacy groups you can join to help in this fight. The fight comes first, always. Our plight is continual and if you’re not part of the solution, by definition you’re part of the problem. So, get on board.
However, there is always the possibility our efforts may not come to fruition. ATF may attempt making legal pistol brace owners criminals. Thus, we’re always wise to have a contingency at the ready. We may face a really tough choice on what to do with an AR or AK style “pistol” or anything utilizing a pistol brace. We should explore those options and consider them fully.
I own and operate Controlled Chaos Arms. While I have a manufacturing FFL, I’m considered a ‘dealer’ for the purposes of ATF business when it comes to a Form 4, which is a transfer of an NFA item. As a dealer, I can transfer from my inventory an NFA weapon to you an individual, trust, or corporation through this Form 4 submission. However, as the owner of your pistol, you can register this yourself through an ATF process called the Form 1.
I’ve been thinking about this long and hard. In the case that the pistol brace goes the way of the dodo bird, we have some choices to consider. As it appears you could dismantle the weapon and wait to see what happens. You could sell, destroy, or be done with that arm brace component. Another option would be to register it as an SBR (Short Barreled Rifle) with ATF through the Form 1 process and remit your $200 per weapon (serial number). Or… You could attach a vertical grip to your former pistol, rendering it an AOW (Any Other Weapon), and remit your $200 as well.
Why? Because ATF defines a pistol as ‘designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand’ and when you add a second vertical grip the ATF claims that the weapon is now designed to be used by two hands. Amazing huh? The addition of a piece of aluminum or plastic to an existing pistol makes it something completely different. We need more ATF regulations and definitions, don’t we? (#rollingeyes) There is a bright side to the AOW route though, as the TRANSFER of an AOW is $5, not $200. But to MAKE either the SBR or AOW it’ll cost your $200 smackers for the tax stamp.
How does one Form 1 a weapon?
You’ll need to mark the weapon permanently according to ATF specifications. Engraving, casting, stamping, or impressing of the information you’re required to mark the firearm comes with specifications. The depth of the engraving cannot be less than .003” deep. Additionally, the print size can’t be smaller than 1/16 inch. This means that if your cousin owns a laser in his print shop that is capable of making plaques for your golf outing winners, but can nearly be wiped off by a brush of your thumb from the side of your AK receiver, it won’t pass muster. I know lots of people who take their stuff into a laser engraver and it does not adhere to the strict guide put forth by ATF. Find some specifics on page 3 HERE.
If you have a weapon that someone else manufactured, you are simply the ‘maker’ of the NFA weapon. In which case you’ll need to label it accordingly along with your locale. Here’s an example:
Joe Blow
OR
Joe Blow Trust (when you’re using a trust instead of an individual filing)
AND
Town, State (state abbreviations are acceptable and common)
More information is required if you built up an 80% unit though or you have a weapon with no markings on it. You’re the manufacturer now in a sense, not the maker, so the engraving list gets longer. In addition to the markings above, you’ll need to add:
SN: 0001 (the “SN” serial number designation along with the number)
CAL: 9MM (the Caliber and number)
MODEL: AR-14 (There’s no reason this part can’t be fun)
Your information needs to be identical on the Form 1 and the weapon. I can’t stress this enough. I have a Type 07 Manufacturing FFL and I can assure you if you want problems with ATF a great way to achieve this silly goal is to have your form information vary from your markings. You need to mark the places where you’d find a standard marking on everything else. Don’t screw around and mark a pistol slide, or the top cover of an AK, or AR upper receiver. You want the frame, lower receiver, main receiver, etc. That’s the ‘gun’ as far as ATF is concerned and that’s the proper choice of items to mark. HERE is ATF info on marking.
One final note on markings… In Title I land, you’ll find no shortage of weapons marked “multi” these days. However, in NFA-ville, there is no such thing. NFA weapons are specifically marked, as this registration follows the weapon around forever. Any change from what the national registry reflection, will need to be communicated to ATF. So, you can’t put “multi” down for your caliber. If your caliber is 5.56mm, then mark your firearm as such, and your Form 1 should reflect that. If you change the weapon configuration from a 10.5” stick in 5.56 to a 10.5” in 300BO, you need to contact ATF and have the registry updated. They can advise at that time on marking, as I’ve had two customers tell me they were not advised to change their weapon markings and many others that did. The same goes for tech changes. If your weapon is a 5.56 with a 10.5” stick and you change to a 5.56 with a 12” stick, the barrel length and overall weapon length are now different from the specs in the national registry, thus an update from you is necessary. When you play in the NFA things are very specific and alterations are fine, but require communication from you.
Don’t shirk your responsibilities for this or you can be in real trouble.
Let’s go over how to submit your Form 1. You can download that document HERE if you like and fill it out in paper format. It looks like a pain in the rear end, but it really isn’t. After you do one or two, you’ll be an ace and won’t take issue with it. I’ve seen applications to become members of some churches that are more exhausting. Or, you can utilize the ATF eForms page and do the work through the internet. Always take a moment when using the internet to thank Al Gore for his invention. I know I do.
Once you arrive at the eForms page, you’ll need a User ID and password, so head to the bottom of the page and hit the green button where it says, “Register” to get started. Simply fill it out and begin. Here’s the skinny though… Unlike everyone else on the internet, ATF can’t make their portal work well and it is down weekly for maintenance. This is not me hacking on ATF for fun and profit. This is the truth. DO NOT ram and jam your way through screens. Once you have clicked a button, take a break as the system fires up the squirrels necessary to spin wheeled cages and make the magic happen. If you force your way through each field thinking repeated clicks on a button will help, you’re set up for disappointment. Also, do yourself a favor and don’t even bother to use the system on Wednesdays. Not a joke. Wednesday is quite literally scheduled weekly maintenance for that site and portal. You will accomplish little more than high blood pressure by an attempt at a Wednesday submittal. Granted, I haven’t actually attempted a Wednesday form submission for several months, but I’d be shocked to find it working since the framework and backend don’t appear to have been updated since Methuselah was knee-high to a grasshopper…
I’m told by customers the eForms fly through. My definition and theirs are quite different in terms of what “fly” means. I know with certainty there is no reason an eForm can’t take one business day to process. The rest of the world does it, so ATF can. But they don’t. So, my buddies are tickled when they see an eForm clear in a month or a little more. Paper Form 1 submissions are taking about 4 months as of the date of this article. When you compare this against Form 4 submissions from the 2016/2017 era, when I had some languish for a year and a half, this sounds pretty good. When I can import a belt-fed machine gun, have it chopped to satisfy DOJ, and get it transferred through customs and to me quicker than Joe Blow can register his new SBR or AOW, there’s a fundamental flaw in the system. But, that’s a squabble for a future article. Maybe sometime I should sit down with an ATF official and ascertain what the nature of the problems are on their end. Who knows, I might be able to help.
The instructions on the forms are pretty straight forward. You’re told how to fill out the documents with a long list of instructions and definitions. If you’re paper filing, the location to mail is at the top of the document under a thick black line. All you have to do is cough up the bucks, adhere to all your state and local laws, and remember I’m no lawyer – just a hell of a gun plumber, shower singer extraordinaire, and writer.
About Michael Ware:
Michael is a Christian husband and father to two children. He owns and operates Controlled Chaos Arms, a premier custom weapons shop in the Midwest. He serves as Chairman of the board of Directors at the Iowa Firearms Coalition. The pursuit of truth drives him in research and his writing.
Michael enjoys shooting, hunting, and fishing throughout the Midwest and Rockies. An avid outdoorsman and tireless supporter of all Second Amendment virtues, he can be found in his gun shop, in a tree stand with his kids, or on Capitol Hill lobbying in support of Freedom and Liberty at any given time.
Michael Ware, I’m writing this to you as a rough around the edges Christian who thinks you need to hear the truth without a filter. Please be informed that registering said items as “Form 1” items is the exact same thing as Biden’s NFA registration. It is simply presenting it with a different wording for the same result, in this case bow down and kiss the boot. You can take that and shove it right up your backside. As others here have pointed out already, if not I sure would have, with a Form 1 you must notify and request… Read more »
Preach it, brother.
A lot of us here talking about how we wont register anything we already own and pay any tax or turn in any of the guns are doing a lot to fight the gun grabbers.Marching in rallies and paying for memberships to places like the NRA and NAGR and so on.Although the NRA is a worthless bag of CEO’s that are pocketing the dues rather then put the dues paid into the legal dept. and supporting Trump and other politicians that imposed gun restrictions even after promising NOT to touch our 2A and now Biden and his communists are going… Read more »
Amen and Thank you for your service. I’m 60, and in declining health with degenerative joint disease and heart problems too. It’s been a good run, and the quality of life lessons every day. I didn’t join the military, but I did work as a Federal Civilian Service employee for several years in the 80’s. Don’t know if it’s still required for Federal employment, but at that time, I was required to stand before our flag, and vow to support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies. A vow I made freely and willingly, and… Read more »
Mike, you arent saying anything I havent already stated before.. Meet enough of the guys on this board who have been here for years and they will be able to confirm that. Even an electoral flip wont save us. We are talking about a group of people who will lose their minds if that happens. Four more years and no civil war? I doubt that. The only hope this country has at this point is a peaceful separation. That is the only thing that would prevent a civil war. The problem is is that one side wants total domination, in… Read more »
Lemme get this straight. So, an illegally funded, unaccountable alphabet agency which has been robbing, kidnapping, even murdering citizens at will, with impunity under both Republican and Democrat administrations. An agency that routinely breaks it’s own “laws\regulations” with deadly, international results, decides one day that what is perfectly legal, according to their own decree, is no longer legal. And you think the answer just might be to pay a tax, and register your gun with them? Really? Really? IDK what the Hell is wrong with some people.
Everything about my AR pistol was perfectly legal when i bought the parts and put it together. I am not registering anything, turning anything in, or complying with any of their made up on the fly bullshit! Its time we use the second amendment for what it was put in the Constitution for! Go screw yourself ATF and Pedo Joe! Bring it!
Amen Brother i will not submit either!!!%
I believe it was the ATF plan to approve the braces even if shouldered, then after many have been sold declare it criminal. As a bureaucracy that can change the rules daily and you are responsible to comply (even if not yet published) as ignorance is no excuse.
You bent over to the wills of the BATFE like a wet noodle on this one…“just pay the $200 at stamp”
“ tireless supporter of all Second Amendment virtues…on Capitol Hill lobbying in support of Freedom and Liberty at any given time”
Insert Anchorman “I don’t believe you”. Another gun blogger gone limp and giving in to the demands and mandate of tyranny. Just like they want you to.
So, what you are saying is you want is to bend over and take it up the rear and register perfectly legal arms rather than ignore an unconstitutional edict? You are yellow.
What a pointless article. No one is going to register their brace or pistol. They are going to remove the brace, put on a bump stock, call it an undocumented SBR, and tell the ATF to lick sack.
Well, I never wanted a bump stock until Trump “got rid of em on his own”. I still don’t want one. But props for ATFE licking sack, and undocumented anything.
There are other choices. One I will take is to simply ignore the ATF and their asinine regulations. I would rather be a felon by regulatory-fiat than a compliant subject under continual infringements of my God-given rights. I’ll take my risks. I’ve put my life on the line for this country and Constitution, I’ll do so again for the Constitution. It’s no longer about “legalities, regulations, or even the rule-of-law”; it’s about liberty and free citizens willing to die to preserve them. I’m more than willing.
There are a number of “I support the 2nd Amendment, but . . . ” people in this thread.
Butters and Fudds are cancer.
It is a disease. It’s why we have never ending gun control: “Nobody needs . . .” “They should join the military if . . .” “Can’t have regular people have more ‘firepower’ then the LEOs . . .” “You don’t need that for deer hunting . . .” President Harris will come for their bolt action deer rifle claiming: “these are even more powerful than AR15s!” “these are even more powerful and more accurate than the one used to kill President Kennedy!” “these are deadly sniper rifles!” “these are weapons of war!” They will sit there with their jaws… Read more »
How disappointing to see Ammoland helping the DOJ and ATF with their plans. A decade ago we had Jim Zumbo undermining our rights; now we have Michael Ware pushing ATF’s latest anti-liberty agenda. If you haven’t read the story from MAC yet, you should: https://www.instagram.com/p/CI4KVCkg_xF
Yano i think its great that your thinking of all the gun owners and citizens on the ways of legalizing an already “legal” frearm,and how to change it,turn it in or pay a huge tax for something your have already purchased,FREE and CLEAR…..so what about the free citizens choice of NOT paying any tax,not changing the configuration or any of your firearms and moving them to a place they can not be found?What about refusing to submit to Tyranny and Doing as a “free: citizen,per our Constitutional rights,given to us by GOD and of which no person on this earth… Read more »
You realize this action is being done by Trump’s administration, right?
And you know his daughters are even more anti-2nd Amendment than he is, right?
Trump may be POTUS but it is the rogue govt that has hindered his every attempt to clean up the country that is behind this.
All he has to do is fire Lombardo or remove her from office.
Why do so many people apologize for politicians who implement or allow gun control (like Trump) or stand by and not say anything when fellow Republicans do such things (like Boebert)?
@John Dunlap Crump,
I believe GOA has formally contacted Trump and asked him to remove Lombardo from office. Is that correct, and if so, did he respond?
This is not Trump doing anything,
This is the ‘Deep State’;
aka ‘the Elites’-Millionaires and Billionaires who believe they are Demigods, ‘the Establishment’, The self-serving Washington politicians aka SWAMP-who wish they were Demigods, Global Banking cartel, the Socialists and the ‘Globalists’- both individuals and Big Corps and Big Tech, the Bilderberg Group, who started all this but still think they runs things,
Welcome to the ‘New World Order’ son.
How many of you are there? The BATFE reports to Trump – he ordered them to ban bump stocks, thereby furthering the notion that inanimate objects are the problem and the government should ban anything that can increase the rate of fire (like belt loops or Jerry Miculek’s index finger), and therefore paving the way to ban all semi-automatic firearms because they can all be made to fire very rapidly. He paved the way for the President to issue a Presidential memorandum to the BATFE in order to bypass the legislature and use the BATFE to enact more gun control.… Read more »
I see it like this. When guns and ammo become too hard to come by, I will simply take them from those who made things so hard. They always have the best stuff anyway. And we paid for it anyways….
I agree with Matt (below).
This is not about compliance. This is disarmament, one way or the other.
It isn’t going to matter whether you want to comply or not. If you do, yours will be the first they take when they switch to mandatory confiscation.
This is the exact same methodology the Nazi’s used when disarming Germany and their occupied countries.
If the Dems take Georgia, all this starts on Day One of Biden’s Presidency.
Also, seriously, how does one put a vertical grip on their pistol and ‘transfer’ it as an AOW?
Two ways to mount the grip. Many handguns have dovetail or picatinny rail space in front of the trigger guard to hang a light or laser but you can affix a vertical grip instead. If you have an AR pistol then the handguard, no matter how short, will give plenty of opportunity to mount your grip. After you figure that out it’s time for Form 1 and $200 penance. Just get the okee-dokee stamp in your hands BEFOREHAND.
Thanks but I was referring to the $5 ‘transfer’ AOW, not the ‘making’ of a form 1 AOW. Thanks anyway
Y’all still think they want compliance? Uh no this isn’t about compliance. Think harder
You act as if our vote means something. You poor naive fool.
Nobodys going to be looking for polymer 80s or telling us to register AR pistols when civil war breaks out.
The country can thank the ATF and the politicians who support them..which Is pretty much all of them BOTH SIDES.
(Shall not be infringed) its bad enough Florida will not recognize Constitutional Carry like some of my yankee bros states. I have to pay a fee and ask for permission to exercise my 2nd Amendment right. So in a nutshell I’m not real happy with any of the options listed above but thank you for telling us the proper and most expedient way to do this.
I saved this article just in case that day comes.
Just take the brace off and it’s not a SBR. It’s a pistol. You lost the brace in a boat accident.
Not one word about the expectations that Republican voters have that the people they voted for meet with Trump, who they also voted for, and tell him to tell Lombardo to stop.
Lauren Boebert has been tweeting non-stop about:
But we aren’t supposed to expect her to speak up about the BATFE.
Michael Ware, do you also think that (well for the last four years, not the next four years) the BATFE is a “rogue agency?”
Now she’s tweeting about goats.
How cute.
Someone in the establishment has clued her in – the firearm community has zero expectations of you doing anything, so just do what you want.
I will be giving Mr Ware a chance to respond to the comments made here before contacting him through his company. However, it is important to note a piece of information has come to light nationally today that has made my original comment to him somewhat prophetic. There is a document outlining a concerted attack on Christian faith, Churches, legal protections of equal standing under the law, revision of history as they accuse us of being the revisionists, ect…. It’s 28 pages, written by no less than 14 of our current sitting congressmen and women of the liberal left. They… Read more »
The 3 greatest threats to Communism;
Free Speech
Guns
Religion
Yes.
I don’t remember a single “handgun”, starting with my first, a H&R 949, that I fired with just one hand except rarely. Why, even the XP-100, for those old enough to remember when they came out, was meant to be fired with two hands. As far as “rules and laws” it is just “smile and wave” for me anymore.
my old H&R 949 finally wore out. It was my favorite. I bought a newer 949, but it feels different. I haven`t become emotionally attached as with my original.
I not only remember the XP-100, I still have a box of .221 fireball in my collection. My cartridge collection (unlike yours… 🙂 )isn’t about numbers, it’s about having a box for every gun I’ve ever had, plus one round of every cartridge that ever existed.
Wish me luck on that last… I’ll need it. Got a longgggg way to go yet. 🙂
The problem with SBRs is if you drive out of state you have to call ahead and get notice. I was planning on getting a suppressor for a while and this pistol brace thing was the final kick in pants for me. You can buy a direct thread and have it pinned to your barrel. Makes 10.5 a 16 and you don’t have get permission to travel with a suppressor. Going the SBR route is good for some people but for those of you crossing state lines every month, this is a different route to consider
.
We must draw the line at “once a legal firearm, always a legal firearm” just like machine guns.
It’s time to dismantle the ATF! The Democrats are abusing the US Constitution, and the ATF is their minion. Too many Democrats working in ATF! They have overreached their powers. They should have never been allowed to regulate domestic arms period. “Shall not be infringed!” Democrats openly violate Article VI (Supreme Law) at all levels of government and those who continue to do so need to be removed from office!
At this point, I believe you are a Democrat making fun of Republicans who can’t read an organization chart and refuse to consider facts that are inconsistent with their cult-like worship of an anti-2nd Amendment Republican.
Good job – you’ve got it down. Say something about “Murica” or “MAGA.”
Michael, Please proofread your column. 2nd paragraph, and-are.
ATF may attempt making legal pistol brace owners criminals
ATF may attempt to make legal pistol brace owners criminals.
It’s like reading with speed bumps.
Awkward grammar…..
I won’t even address lack of punctuation. Commas are a very important part of writing. When I have to reread a sentence because missing commas make it read awkward, I just stop reading.
“…read awkward,…”?
BREAKING: President Trump’s DOJ seeks to make braced pistols NFA items! Watch this live stream by Military Arms Channel.
I don’t care where she carries a firearm.
I don’t care what kind of firearm she carries.
I don’t care if she is young.
I don’t care if she is a “fire cracker.”
I don’t care that her goat gave birth to twins.
I would like to see her speak up about the BATFE.
I’m starting to think she is a drama-addicted air-head, but I’ll reserve judgement for a little longer.
She claims twins. You may inside knowledge – is she concealing a stillbirth? Because this is important stuff (as compared to ending BATFE overreach).
A very few years ago, there were no braces, only SBRs. A manufacturer took a design to ATF, and ATF established the loophole of Braces, with the proviso it was not a blanket exemption but rather to be determined case by case. Tired of this looking a gift horse in the mouth. The current brouhaha is based upon whether a manufacturer had prior approval. Similarly, 80% guns come under fire because a manufacturer everything in a box to be a firearm. It is time to stop being our own worst enemy.
Or, the Republicans could have removed SBRs from the purview of the NFA of 1934 when they had the House, Senate, and White House in 2017 and 2018. Then the government would no longer have to fret over what is a rifle and what is a pistol. What do you think of that solution?
Trump should have pulled a Reagan, except with the ATF, and fired every ATF employee.
Neither side is “our” side, unfortunately.
I hope everyone on this board reads D Y’s post above.
The time to say “no” is now (actually many decades ago).
We should not be apologizing for any politician – even if there is some weird cult-worship of that person because they make up funny names for their opponents or you think they look good in jeans.
All Republican politicians should be fighting against gun control.
They are not “on our side” – they have to be constantly pressured to do the right thing.
And we could make a law banning murder and armed robbery, so even though SBRs would be legal, crime wouldn’t go up.
You are wrong. ATF said, in writing, (probably because they are lazy bureaucrats) that brace manufacturers do NOT need to keep having designs approved. ATF did not want to be hassled with the work of approving multiple variations. As long as the braces stayed generally of the same construction, of generally the same components and theory, that they would be ok. (Edit: if they were honest, then why are they talking about going after designs they DID approve? This is how you know they are acting in bad faith) Now we have this. Stop defending an agency that has done… Read more »
Let me start with: When pistol arm braces first came out I was already playing with The Sig setup to hold ur pistol inside and add a lot of extra stability, so the brace was a must have known it was illegal to should it. I built that one, added one to a MAC, and an AK pistol. All great fun and greatly increase accuracy at 50 plus yards. Well provided I put it on my shoulder which was and still is illegal. I am guessing it has been 20 years since I first wondered why our LE don’t carry… Read more »
It is not illegal to shoulder a braced pistol.
“Firepower”
LEOs should arrest “they.”
The government does a check when you buy a braced pistol.
The government does a check when you buy a SBR. How does paying the government $200 and waiting a year until a government employee gives you permission keep LEOs safer?
Another butter who loves constitution violating infringement.
These are the people Biden, and other people who hate the 2nd Amendment, quote all the time:
“90% of NRA members agree that . . . “ and then they go on to describe more gun control.
Gooder12: “We have to protect our LEO from us having more firepower than they have.” You should be posting on Democratic Underground – they love that stuff.
Nilsigne, the whole traveling or driving out of state excuse is the typical lame, BS that all the faux Rambo shoulder stock crowd always use. If you don’t want to pay the $200 tax and undergo the criminal background check to create a legal SBR, then just get a simple, inexpensive braceless firearm to use as your “traveling” gun, because 99.9% of everybody haven’t been out of their backyard since March and those that have aren’t gone for more than a day or two. For those that are, like long haul truck drivers, I guess it sucks to be you.… Read more »
Statists always bring up Rambo. And bazookas – “WELL YOU CAN’T HAVE A BAZOOKA OR A MAGAZINE WITH A HUNDRED CLIPS IN IT!!!!!!!!!”
How about removing SBRs from the purview of the NFA of 1934?
I’m fine with that – I was offering a compromise.
I’m a reasonable person.
I got the ar pistol because I’m 5’3 and a shorter rifle is easier for me to handle. I live in Washington and they don’t allow sbrs and I’ve driven out of the state 14 times since March. I work as a landscape/lifestyle photographer so I’m usually in some rather remote and sketchy locations for a girl by herself
WA allows SBRs (still have to get that pesky tax stamp from the Feds). I know plenty of folks who have them.
None of our damn business why or how you want to use your rights. Not sure why people can’t get that through their thick heads. But it’s why we have the problems we do now…people don’t understand we the people have zero obligation to justify ourselves.
This Fudd loves his infringement.
Also I already went through a criminal background check when I immigrated here, another when I got my US citizenship and three more every time I purchased a gun, so no, I’m not trying to avoid a background check and if you took the time to actually read my previous post, I was talking about permanently attaching a suppressor to get to 16in instead of applying for an SBR.