Home cooked single fire shotgun

[J. Randall]

Not recording a weapon by number with the proper authorities is an offense in itself. While the laws may be convoluted and confusing, it is not to a Judge or his assigns if you must appear before him. I would tread lightly on the laws, they can have a painful sting.

Dave the laws in your state or locality may be different than ours, but here in Okla. we can build a gun from scratch with no numbers, and it is perfectly legal to own as long as it is a legal build. I don't think we have to register it with anyone. Now if you want to transfer it, it gets to be a different story.
James

[steamin10]

FED rules simply state: Blah-Blah-BLah, Must be registered with an original number. Pretty much says it all. In their view, if its a duck, you had best have the license, or number registered.

[PeteH]

Interesting. I've had a couple of old Sears/Monkey Ward "farmer's special" shotguns that had no numbers at all. I wonder if they were made before the Federales imposed that rule.

[steamin10]

I am not aware of any commercial manufacturer that does not imprint a makers mark or code number on their sales units.

It has been cutomary for the manufacture of arms to be serialized since the civil war and before. The hard laws came later.

[pacrat]

Prior to GCA 1968 there was no Federal Law requiring the serialization of firearms. Millions of legal guns are floating around with no Sr #'s. There is no Federal requirement that face to face sale of firearms be registered with ATF. This is what the Lib-Tards are squawking about and calling a "Gunshow Loophole". Because they want BIG BROTHER aka BATFE to know where all guns are at all times so they can confiscate them at a later time.

Federally there is no restriction of making a firearm for your own use as long as it meets legal criteria. It does not have to be serialized unless it is sold or transferred.


State Laws are a patchwork and vary drastically.

JM2c

[JoeCB]

My understanding agrees with JM2c ... as long as it's a legal build and it's for your own use/ownership, you are OK with the Feds. Don't know what is supposed to happen when you die... in theory the arm can't be passed on.
Joe B

[medicmike]

FED rules simply state: Blah-Blah-BLah, Must be registered with an original number. Pretty much says it all. In their view, if its a duck, you had best have the license, or number registered.

The Feds don't require SN or registration for weapons built for personal use. If you build it to sell it, the rules change dramatically. It is a good idea to stamp a SN on a firearm you construct as a local LEO might have an issue with an un-serialized weapon and it also shows ownership especially of the weapon is lost or stolen.

State and local laws can vary greatly on the above.

As for a barrel length is concerned, Canada has a completely different set of rules. I have no clue what their rules are for home construction.

[medicmike]

Individuals manufacturing sporting-type firearms for their own use need not hold Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs). However, we suggest that the manufacturer at least identify the firearm with a serial number as a safeguard in the event that the firearm is lost or stolen. Also, the firearm should be identified as required in 27 CFR 478.92 if it is sold or otherwise lawfully transferred in the future.

From http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/firearm ... s-assembly

[steamin10]

Thanks, med mike. This is the Duck catch all, that has vagaries, that can and will cause problems if ever you get looked upon. AKA, the why quest: Why do you NEED and unregistered weapon? Why , why , WHY???? too many questions to avoid lawfull scrutiny. Eliminate the question up front, and dont give them a dumb angle to cause greif. Just my view guys.

[medicmike]

There really is no national firearms "registration" other than for weapons covered under the NFA. There has been a "de facto" registration with the insta-check system along with state and local requirements. Firearms from manufacturers are recorded and records kept by the manufacturer, distributor and dealer. Once it leaves the dealer there is no federal laws regarding the tracking of serial numbers. So say in Oregon, if I buy a firearm from a friend or even a stranger from a newspaper ad or whatever the paper trail ends there, unless I sell it back to a dealer. Oregon now requires any firearm sold to an individual at a gunshow to be approved through the Oregon instant check system administrated by the State Police.

I have built a few from scratch over the years, I have them identified with my initials and a serial number in case they are stolen or an LEO decides to check me at the range, this avoids explaining why I have a weapon without a SN. Now on a manufactured weapon, if the serial number is removed, that is a big no-no and will get you in some serious hot water, with ATF approval they can however be altered.

As far as a "need" to have an unregistered firearm, I leave that to the individual to decide, it really makes no difference to me either way. I have some I built, these are off the books, some I purchased from dealers, a couple purchased as a dealer (used to be a class III in the 80's) and some purchased from friends. So some are "on the books" and some are "off the books".

When it comes to firearms I ALWAYS suggest that people be above board and transparent, follow all local and federal laws. It just isn't worth the potential problems that it can cause. I have known a few people that have done hard time because they got caught with toys that weren't above board. Once that happens you can kiss your firearms rights goodbye for life.

[nipperdog]

When I was 12 years old I made my 1st .22 pistol. The barrel was fabricated from a piece of lamp pipe, and the firing pin was a blunted nail driven by a couple of heavy rubber bands. Nobody told me that I needed a breechblock so none was used. When I discharged the .22 short the brass embedded itself in my forehead, and I thought that I was going to die. There is nothing wrong with building your own gun, but for goodness sake know what youre doing

[ZipSnipe]

While I admire the gun Seaman Staines and I am sure it is meant for home defense judging by that bayonet on the end of it. Sometimes it is best just to keep it on the down low.

Here in Florida you could easily kill an intruder with that weapon and then because you killed him you would be immune from any prosecution. So the length of barrel law has no effect. Now if your in your backyard shooting it and the police come yeah your getting a ticket for sure maybe even confiscated.

Also you can find barrels on Ebay cheap I've seen them go as low as $50

Something to think about!!!