Wow, Amazon

[BehindBlueI's]

Just a guess by the way the guy kept asking me leading questions. He said he couldn't find a dealer in his area. Really, he's in Pittsburgh PA. Guess they don't have any dealers in Pittsburgh. I might have been born at night but I wasn't born last night. Naw, he was ATF.

Maybe. Having given the ATF cases on a silver platter they weren't interested in I have a hard time believing some ATF guy is putting that much work into what they call a one-guy-one-gun case.

I get a lot of questions about how to do a face to face transfer, some people still think handguns are "registered" to them even though that's not been a thing in my state in most people's lifetime, and a big chunk have no idea how Internet transfers work. Gun forums are full of people who want to know more or they wouldn't be on a gun forum. Most gun owners aren't like that.

[RevolverRob]

Well, if your friend wants to take a chance on the government running down everybody who bought one of those things, then your friend should feel free to gamble on a possible felony conviction and several years in federal prison hanging over his head.

Well my hypothetical friend is doing nothing of the sort, for obvious reasons.

But I guess to my mind the difficulty continues to lie in knowing what does and does not constitute a suppressor or suppressor part and where the line is. Are engine freeze plugs suppressor baffles before they are drilled and inserted into a tube or only after they are drilled or only after the drilled plugs are inserted into the tube?

If you own all the various bits and pieces to assembly a suppressor, but do not do so nor have intention to do so - are you in trouble for having the wrong parts on hand? That's where constructive intent always seem(ed) like an important aspect that a prosecution must prove (as opposed to the assumption that possession = constructive intent, which always seemed the default assumption).

Anyways, I just wonder if the ATF has made any more clear these distinctions or if it remains a case-by-case basis.

Moving back to bone-head territory. When I was sellin' guns for a living a guy came into the store to have a scope mounted on a rifle. He opened the rifle case and there inside was a Ruger 10/22 that was integrally suppressed. Which he proudly and openly acknowledged was not NFA registered and had been home built. I handed him his scope rings and scope and advised him to leave the shop. He seemed quite dismayed that I wasn't impressed with his felony.

[HeavyDuty]

Just a guess by the way the guy kept asking me leading questions. He said he couldn't find a dealer in his area. Really, he's in Pittsburgh PA. Guess they don't have any dealers in Pittsburgh. I might have been born at night but I wasn't born last night. Naw, he was ATF.

Actually, sounds more like a reporter to me. WQED, maybe?

[Borderland]

Actually, sounds more like a reporter to me. WQED, maybe?

Never thought of that. If he had told me who he was I would have cut him off.

[Stephanie B]

Well my hypothetical friend is doing nothing of the sort, for obvious reasons.

But I guess to my mind the difficulty continues to lie in knowing what does and does not constitute a suppressor or suppressor part and where the line is. Are engine freeze plugs suppressor baffles before they are drilled and inserted into a tube or only after they are drilled or only after the drilled plugs are inserted into the tube?

If you own all the various bits and pieces to assembly a suppressor, but do not do so nor have intention to do so - are you in trouble for having the wrong parts on hand? That's where constructive intent always seem(ed) like an important aspect that a prosecution must prove (as opposed to the assumption that possession = constructive intent, which always seemed the default assumption).

Anyways, I just wonder if the ATF has made any more clear these distinctions or if it remains a case-by-case basis.

I don't know. I'm way outside of my lane on this.

[Casual Friday]

Well my hypothetical friend is doing nothing of the sort, for obvious reasons.

But I guess to my mind the difficulty continues to lie in knowing what does and does not constitute a suppressor or suppressor part and where the line is. Are engine freeze plugs suppressor baffles before they are drilled and inserted into a tube or only after they are drilled or only after the drilled plugs are inserted into the tube?

If you own all the various bits and pieces to assembly a suppressor, but do not do so nor have intention to do so - are you in trouble for having the wrong parts on hand? That's where constructive intent always seem(ed) like an important aspect that a prosecution must prove (as opposed to the assumption that possession = constructive intent, which always seemed the default assumption).

Anyways, I just wonder if the ATF has made any more clear these distinctions or if it remains a case-by-case basis.

Moving back to bone-head territory. When I was sellin' guns for a living a guy came into the store to have a scope mounted on a rifle. He opened the rifle case and there inside was a Ruger 10/22 that was integrally suppressed. Which he proudly and openly acknowledged was not NFA registered and had been home built. I handed him his scope rings and scope and advised him to leave the shop. He seemed quite dismayed that I wasn't impressed with his felony.

It's 100% legal to be in possession of all the parts to assemble a suppressor, some of the 80% kits come with documentation as such. If you drill any holes, your dog, 14 year old son, and your wife holding your baby are fixin' to have a bad day.

Now as far as practicality goes, the 80% and suppressor kits are hot garbage when it comes to reducing noise levels when compared to suppressors from well known manufacturers, but they make for a neat project for people that like to build stuff but still want to keep their family and pets around.

[HCM]

It's 100% legal to be in possession of all the parts to assemble a suppressor, some of the 80% kits come with documentation as such. If you drill any holes, your dog, 14 year old son, and your wife holding your baby are fixin' to have a bad day.

Now as far as practicality goes, the 80% and suppressor kits are hot garbage when it comes to reducing noise levels when compared to suppressors from well known manufacturers, but they make for a neat project for people that like to build stuff but still want to keep their family and pets around.

re: sound reduction - it really depends on the kit. You get what you pay for.

[HCM]

Is constructive intent/possession still a thing?

I know the instant you drill the baffles it becomes a suppressor. But until then what’s the risk of having an 80% kit on hand?

#AskingForAFriend

#NotReally-JustCurious.

They are not suppressor parts until you drill them just like an 80% pistol or rifle lower in not a “firearm” until you drill out the other 20%. Why do you think Brownells and Midway USA can mail you an 80% P80 frame ?

As long as you are in a place where you can do a form 1 and legally possess a suppressor it is reasonable to buy the kit before doing the form 1 as you need to list the length on your form 1.

Constructive possession only applies to parts which can be / are ready to be assembled without modification, machining, etc.

[HCM]

Some folks may laugh at that but I'm not laughing.

I had a firearm for sale on a website and I got a call from the ATF. The person was posing as a potential buyer. The only problem was I had to ship it to a non FFL. The person ask several times if there was a way I could that. Everyone who buys online knows the rules. The whole conversation was very strange. I checked the area code and it was Pittsburg. If I had been selling an AR I could understand some nutjob wanting one without a BGC, but the item I was selling was a 2K O/U shotgun. None of this made any sense so it had to be ATF trolling by some new guy who didn't know shit about firearms.

Beware the ATF.

How'd you know it was the ATF, and how do you figure everyone online knows the rules? *HINT* No, they don't.

Maybe. Having given the ATF cases on a silver platter they weren't interested in I have a hard time believing some ATF guy is putting that much work into what they call a one-guy-one-gun case.

I get a lot of questions about how to do a face to face transfer, some people still think handguns are "registered" to them even though that's not been a thing in my state in most people's lifetime, and a big chunk have no idea how Internet transfers work. Gun forums are full of people who want to know more or they wouldn't be on a gun forum. Most gun owners aren't like that.

@BBI is spot on here. The ATF guys I work with are so busy they are only taking felon in possession cases if the offender has at least two felonies. They are working street, prison and biker gang members, groups trafficking guns out of the US, burglaries of gun stores, high volume straw purchasers etc

Also not all FFLs do transfers and some who do charge fees intentionally set high enough to discourage transfers and encourage just buying a gun from them.

[HCM]

Not too long ago, there was a seller on eBay selling 'novelty keychains' that were drop-in auto sears. No mention of weapons or firearms or anything at all in the description, but if you knew what you were looking at...

Similarly, more recently, I think it was on Alibaba or another one of those everything-made-in-China-for-cheap sites that was offering a drop in Glock backplate with a switch assembly that made the weapon select-fire. The BATF is still rounding those up after getting shipping information from what I heard.

Amazing how easy it is to get 10 Federal years for possession of <$50 worth of metal in some 'naughty' dimensions, but here in ABQ we can't keep people in jail for stabbing or shooting other people.

There are some BIG legal differences between the autosears / wish.com Glock auto plates and 80% suppressor kits. Big enough that brining up the autosears/ backplates up in a discussion of 80% suppressor kits is a non-sequitur.

You are comparing unregulated, unfinished raw materials which can be finished into a legal item, with a finished product, illegally imported, which is by legal definition an illegal post 86 machine gun.

1) the autosears / back plates are finished parts in the 100%/ final form and

2) legally they ARE a machine gun.

3) Even if they were 80% parts there is no legal mechanism to form 1 them into a legal item unless you are an SOT FFL holder.

4) As opposed to the 80% kits which are not functionally or legally suppressor parts until they are drilled/machined and

5) for which there is a legal mechanism (form 1) to make them into a legal item.