From the definition provided by the ATF in their NFA handbook – A rifle is defined as a firearm that’s designed to fire a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger. This rifle is also designed to be fired from the shoulder. Note that this is the definition of a rifle, and NOT an NFA rifle.

In order to be classified as an NFA firearm or Title II weapon, the rifle must meet some specific requirements. Very similar to the requirements for an NFA shotgun, the requirements for an NFA rifle are based on the physical dimensions of the rifle itself; the overall length, and the barrel length. If the overall length of the rifle is less than 26 inches, or the barrel length is less than 16 inches, then the rifle is considered a short barreled rifle (SBR), and it does fall under the NFA rifle title, thus requiring a Federal Firearms License (FFL) to sell.



The overall length measurement is pretty much how it sounds. The rifle is measured from the muzzle to the end of the stock. If the rifle has a telescoping stock, or a folding stock, then the measurement is to be taken with the stock fully collapsed or folded.



The barrel length is measured from the muzzle to the breech. Again, like the rules for shotguns, the barrel length does not include any barrel attachment like a choke, muzzle break, compensator, etc, unless said device is permanently attached to the barrel via full penetration welding or silver soldering.

There are two ways that a short barreled rifle (SBR) may be created. The first and most obvious way is to shorten the barrel of a non ATF rifle to under 16 inches. You can also shorten the stock in order to make the overall length less than 26 inches. One other way to create a short barreled rifle is to add a shoulder stock to a handgun. In each of these cases, the firearm must be registered with the ATF.

Two points worth noting are that:

1) It’s a felony to own a short barreled rifle unless it’s been authorized (registered) by the ATF.

and

2) If you need to transport these firearms across state lines, you must notify the ATF well in advance by filling out form 5320.20.

Tags: atf, federal firearms license, ffl, national firearms act, NFA, sbr, short barrel rifle

There was a time when you didn’t need to have a federal gun license to buy firearms. It’s true, there was in fact a time when you didn’t need a federal gun license to purchase any type of firearms. Up until 1934, almost anyone in the United States was allowed to purchase any type of firearm, including machine guns, short barrel rifles (SBR), short barreled shotguns (SBS), noise suppressors, and destructive devices (DD). And then right around the time that Prohibition ended, the national firearms act was enacted. What this did was to collect a mandatory excise tax on the transfer of all title to weapons. It also required that these same weapons be registered.



The fact that this all occurred around the time of Prohibition indicates that these laws were enacted in order to combat organized crime. After all Prohibition didn’t actually stop the flow of alcohol, it just put the legitimate, legal alcohol distributors out of business and transferred the business to organized crime.



The National Firearms Act requires that any transfer of firearms across state lines gets reported to the Department of Justice. Not only do you have to report the transportation of weapons, you’re charged a transfer tax to do so. Some may argue, and rightfully so, that like a lot of laws that are designed to regulate, this one falls short of it’s original goal of hampering organized crime, and adds undue restrictions, costs, and difficulties to lawful American citizens.



Fast-forward to the gun control act of 1968. This new omnibus act attempts to regulate firearms owners and any interstate commerce involving firearms. It does this by restricting the transfer of firearms to licensed manufacturer’s dealers and importers. Up until 1968, there was no federal gun license required per se. But this changed with the introduction of the federal firearms license or FFL in the Gun Control Act of 1968. Now there is a clear and defined set of rules and requirements that must be followed in order for a law abiding citizen to do deal in firearms or to purchase certain firearms that have been included on a list of weapons categorized by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives.

Tags: BATFE, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, dd, dealer, destructive devices, federal firearms license, ffl, gun control act of 1968, importer, machine guns, national firearms act, NFA, sbr, sbs, short barrel rifles, short barrel shotguns