Posted: 5/30/2004 6:06:54 PM EDT
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Tried to search for an answer but haven't found a detailed answer. If anyone has the knowledge and the time to share it, my question is as follows. What is the law pertaining to post-ban barrels, and flash hiders/muzzle brakes/compensators. I see post ban ARs with faux compensators, I see post ban ARs with "muzzle brakes" that look like fully functional compensators. What's the story on what you can and can't put on a post-ban barrel? Follow on questions... If you put a functional muzzle brake on a post ban, does it have to be permanently attached? -Assume it does meet the 16" requirement -Now assume it's a 14.5 barrel Can you shorten your barrel to 14.5" and add a muzzle brake? - Follow on: It can't be an A2 birdcage right? I guess I'm just fishing for answers here. I'm wanting to take a post-ban 16" Heavy barrel and bring it down to 14.5" and permanently attach an brake/compensator/FH and am really muddled in confusion about what I can and can't put on it. Does it have to be permanently attached? I'd be grateful to anyone with some knowledge and the time to share it. Thanks, Dan |
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Looks like you are dancing around two laws - the '94 law for flash hiders/suppressors and the whole 16" barrel law. I am no expert but have been around these two topics a couple times. Here is the deal... Once your barrel drops below 16" in length it becomes a short barreled rifle and you need to get a tax stamp/BATF approval letter for it. So when you want to drop your barrel down to 14.5" you need something to "stretch" it back to 16". The answer is some sort of muzzle device that is over 1.5" long. This then needs to be permanently attached via an approved method (blind pinning, etc.) - I look at it as if you decide to break out the crescent wrench and remove the muzzle device and if you now have a SBR on your hands the FH should have been permanently attached. Popular devices that meet the length requirements on 14.5" barrels are the Smith Vortex and the Phantom. Clear as mud??? As for the muzzle brake/compensator issue, you will have to go to the manufacturer to see if they have BATF approval as a brake/comp and not a flash hider. Some good places to look are EGW, Kurts Kustom, and Cav Arms (these are the ones I'm looking at since they look like an A2 FH but are post-ban legal). Any good 'smith should be able to straighten you out... I'm not sure if they have to be permanently installed, unless of course the barrel is less than 16" long without it. I guess the only catch is that the barrel is sometimes threaded to accept the device you then have to permanently attach it because you can break out your wrench and put a no kidding FH on it... I hope this helped! If not, I hope someone much smarter comes along! Spooky |
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I second Spooky's comments -- He's on the money. The two laws he is referenceing, the National Firearms Act (NFA), and the "Assault Weapons Ban" (part of the Gun Control Act -- GCA) are found here (especially section 5845, (a)(3)), and here (especially (a)(30)(B)(iv)). Bottom line is that you can do what you intend as long as the muzzle brake is an ATF-approved design, permanently attached, and the overall, finished length is at least 16 inches. The ATF has information floating around somewhere that they define "permanently attached" as either silver soldered (+1100 F) or "blind-pinned." Cheers, Otto |
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www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/usr/wbardwel/public/nfalist/atf_letter40.txt DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Washington, D.C. 20226 JUN 18 1998 F:FPD:FTB:RAT 3311 Dear Mr. : This refers to your letter of March 31, 1998, in which you ask about permanently attaching a muzzle device to various firearms. A muzzle device, such as a muzzle brake or barrel extension, which is attached to a barrel by means of welding or high temperature silver solder having a melting point of at least 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit, is considered to be part of the barrel for purposes of measurement. A seam weld extending at least one-half the circumference of the barrel or four equidistant tack welds around the circumference of the barrel are adequate for this purpose. A firearm having a muzzle brake, cap, or barrel extension permanently attached by those same methods to cover the threads on a barrel, would not be considered to have a threaded muzzle. Please note, however, that any muzzle device or barrel extension which functions as a flash suppressor or grenade launcher would still constitute one of the qualifying features of a semiautomatic assault weapon as that term is defined in 18 U.S.C. section 921(a)(30(B). Industrial adhesive products are not an acceptable method for permanently attaching a muzzle device. - 2 - Mr. We trust that the foregoing has been responsive to your inquiry. If you have further questions concerning this matter, please contact us. Sincerely yours, [signed] Edward M. Owen, Jr. Chief, Firearms Technology Branch |