SBR?

[H2O MAN]

I have a .223 rifle that I am thinking about having the barrel professionally shortened to about 11", making it an SBR. I would want the work done locally, but I don't know who to go to, or what legal hoops I have to jump through.

Any help will be appreciated.

 

[rumrunner55]

Form 1 your receiver and wait for tax stamp to come back, then either buy a new barrel and install or have it cut by someone (pretty much any competent gunsmith could do this) and then enjoy

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

If you know the barrel length & overall length of the weapon as it will be when you are finished modifying it,
then you can go ahead and do your ATF form 1 application to make an NFA restricted firearm right now. Download it from the Internet, read the instructions, and see what you can do. Expect to get a passport size photo made, get fingerprinting done from your local police chief or sheriff, and you'll have to make a $200 tax payment at the time you send in your application to the feds.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

You can do in NFA form 1 build either as an individual or as a trustee of a trust you'd create for this purpose.
Years ago everybody wanted a trust because you could skip the photographs and fingerprinting. Now you can't skip that stuff, so the advantages of a trust are smaller --basically shared possession among several friends and family members (co-trustees) and continuity of ownership in case some future gun law bans the transfer of these weapons but lets multiple generations of trustees possess them for a trust that lasts a long, long time.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

Have you considered the cost of modifying your rifle or carbine barrel as contrasted with simply buying a separate pistol length barreled upper receiver?
If you have an AR-15 pattern rifle now, that's what I would do.
But if you're talking about a bolt action or some other type of .223 rifle,
then it may be best to chop the barrel you've already got.

 

[H2O MAN]

I have a trust for my cans, this is the rifle.

 

[fast306stang]

I have a trust for my cans, this is the rifle.

View attachment 3047870

I'm not certain but you may have to play around with the gas port opening once it's shortened. There are others here more knowledgeable than me but it's something to research and ask about just to be safe.

 

[H2O MAN]

This is how these rifles look in their natural select fire state, the longer barrel was for semi-auto export only.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

I'd talk to the gunsmith who is going to do the work first,
before you submit the form 1.
He may have some suggestions on what barrel length would work best,
and that may impact what modifications you do to the gas port.

But, the short answer is once you know the specs of your finished build you can go ahead and send in the Form 1 to build this rifle as an SBR, either individually or in your capacity as a trustee for your existing trust.

Once you get the Fed's approval & tax stamp, you have a special kind of gunsmith that is allowed to possess NFA weapons overnight (I forget what SOT level that is) do the work. The weapons receiver will need to be marked (engraved, stamped) with your information as the manufacturer (which is really a modification, but the feds consider it as you are manufacturing an SBR.) Can your barrel-chopping (and muzzle-threading?) gunsmith also do the engraving? I hope so.

 

[H2O MAN]

I need to find a qualified gunsmith that can answer all of those questions.
Can anyone recommend one, preferably in the Athens area?