NES'ers, once again I need your help!

CDSUSA

Dealer
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My tale of woe goes a little something like this:
I paid for a Rifle Dynamics AK-47 build class in Laredo TX back on 4-6-16. This is one of those classes where you build a gun and it's yours at the end of class. Once the class was complete the gun was sent back to their shop in Las Vegas for "Massification" and Moly coating. When all the work was finally done they called me and told me it was shipping out that day. Can you guess which day??? YUP 7-20-16!!!!!! I called the FFL which had originally agreed to do the transfer and they told me, "don't ship it here or we'll have to ship it back".
Since that day I've read many different interpretations that lead me to believe that anything that was purchased before 7-20-16 can still be transferred, but trying to find an FFL that is willing to do this transfer has been.......challenging.

Does anyone know an FFL that will make this transfer on the grounds that the gun was paid for on 4-6-16? Please don't respond with a random list of FFL's, I know plenty, what I need is an FFL that understands my specific situation and is willing to do the transfer.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Best Regards,
Jason Clarke
 
Find one in NH that will do it. Then you are responsible for the in state transfer w an FA10. I think you can do it that way. Ive purchased almost all my long guns in NH. Only had 1 (sports authority) that wouldnt sell me a remington AR10. Because of compliance. Ill bet the further north you go the lesstrouble you'll have.

Edit: i dont own anything that isnt mass compliant anyway.
 
You owned the firearm before the selected date, but it wasn't transferred to you. I'd contact comm2a but my personal opinion of non-legal standing would be to transfer it to NH, take possession, and then bring it back in state.

The Guidance will not be applied to possession, ownership or transfer of an Assault weapon obtained prior to July 20, 2016.
 
If he owned it already in April why does it even need to go through a FFL at all. If you own a gun, then ship it to the manufacturer to have some work done I thought the manufacturer can ship it directly to you and you sign for it at the FedEx or ups warehouse.
 
If he owned it already in April why does it even need to go through a FFL at all. If you own a gun, then ship it to the manufacturer to have some work done I thought the manufacturer can ship it directly to you and you sign for it at the FedEx or ups warehouse.
My thoughts too. Ive shipped stuff to smiths before w/o ffl
 
You owned the firearm before the selected date, but it wasn't transferred to you. I'd contact comm2a but my personal opinion of non-legal standing would be to transfer it to NH, take possession, and then bring it back in state.

May not be that simple. To do a lon g gun transfer in another state, it has to be legal in the state the transfer is happening in (NH, so far so good) but also the state youre living in, which seems to be up in the air at the moment. AG says any post 7/20 transfer is illegal.

Sounds like its your gun, theyre just doing work on it. Fly out to Vegas, pick up rifle and fly back with it. No MA transfer that way, as long as RD is cool about releasing it to you.
 
If he owned it already in April why does it even need to go through a FFL at all. If you own a gun, then ship it to the manufacturer to have some work done I thought the manufacturer can ship it directly to you and you sign for it at the FedEx or ups warehouse.

Excellent point. If he BOUGHT it on a 4473/NICS in TX in April, they (ANY FFL/mfr/gunsmith) can ship it DIRECT to him (OP) after they did the work on it. He already owns the gun and the only obligation is to eFA-10 as Registration when it arrives here in MA.

NO other FFL is legally required, have them check their BATFE Regs.
 
If he owned it already in April why does it even need to go through a FFL at all. If you own a gun, then ship it to the manufacturer to have some work done I thought the manufacturer can ship it directly to you and you sign for it at the FedEx or ups warehouse.

This. You built the gun, you should be able to have it shipped directly to you.

- - - Updated - - -

Excellent point. If he BOUGHT it on a 4473/NICS in TX in April, they (ANY FFL/mfr/gunsmith) can ship it DIRECT to him (OP) after they did the work on it. He already owns the gun and the only obligation is to eFA-10 as Registration when it arrives here in MA.

NO other FFL is legally required, have them check their BATFE Regs.

If he built it (including the receiver) it would have never needed a 4473.
 
I was kind of in the same boat. I bought an Ar15 on 7/20 paid for it got a receipt but the store owner couldn't transfer me it because I didn't have my pin on me. He said to wait it out and he will hold on to it but everyone told me I was screwed so I got my money back a week later.
 
If he built it (including the receiver) it would have never needed a 4473.

Yes it would. You cannot obtain a gun in any way out of state and then bring it back into your state of residence, due to 18 USC 922(a)(3). Although there are a few exceptions in the statute, the only applicable one here would be transferring through a dealer on a 4473.

But that's somewhat irreverent, as ATF Rul. 2015-1 states that a gun made in a class like this is still considered to be manufactured by the FFL, and not the class participant. So a 4473 transfer would still have to take place in this instance even if making a firearm wasn't considered the same as "obtaining" it.
 
I say have it shipped to an out of state FFL and have a friend do the transfer. Then let your friend hold onto it (with visitation, of course) until you move out of MA. Your other option would be to have the receiver removed and have the remaining parts shipped directly to you as a demilled parts kit. Sorry, man there is no way you are going to legally own that gun here. The part about the pre-7-20 exemption only applies to guns which were possessed IN MA prior to 7-20.
 
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ATF Rul. 2015-1 states that a gun made in a class like this is still considered to be manufactured by the FFL, and not the class participant. So a 4473 transfer would still have to take place in this instance even if making a firearm wasn't considered the same as "obtaining" it.

Spot on. The instructor mentioned that the law classifies the FFL as the manufacturer of the firearm. So it needs to be transferred from the FFL in Las Vegas to an FFL in MA. The rifle was paid for, with proof of purchase dated 4-6-16, but no transfer took place at that time because they still needed to do work to it. The only exchange of money for this rifle took place on 4-6-16. How does this not fall under the exemption of purchasing it before 7-20-16? I feel like I'm gettin boned here! [angry]
 
Purchase =/= Ownership =/= Possession =/= Transfer

These are all different things. You purchased an item, held ownership of an item, but did not take possession and did not transfer into the state. Because you did not transfer it into the state should not void any of the prior.
 
The only exchange of money for this rifle took place on 4-6-16. How does this not fall under the exemption of purchasing it before 7-20-16? I feel like I'm gettin boned here! [angry]

Because, while money may have changed hands, the state does not consider the transaction complete until all applicable transfer paperwork has been filed. And yeah, you are getting boned. You can thank god-emperor healey for that noise. None of this is exactly set in stone or clarified, nor will it ever be, but even if you find an ffl to transfer it for you, good luck arguing your case when you get a visit from some FRB goons for FA10ing an AK after 7/20.
 
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Spot on. The instructor mentioned that the law classifies the FFL as the manufacturer of the firearm. So it needs to be transferred from the FFL in Las Vegas to an FFL in MA. The rifle was paid for, with proof of purchase dated 4-6-16, but no transfer took place at that time because they still needed to do work to it. The only exchange of money for this rifle took place on 4-6-16. How does this not fall under the exemption of purchasing it before 7-20-16? I feel like I'm gettin boned here! [angry]

Please show me in any law where a long gun MUST be transferred from an FFL where you bought it to a MA FFL to transfer it to you when you were physically present to purchase it in TX in April?

You can buy a rifle in any state, assuming said rifle is legal to possess where you live before you take it home with you, they should have done the 4473/NICS when it was built per the ATF regs JD pointed out, then modified it and shipped it directly to you, the owner. Since you didn't do the 4473/NICS in TX, you either must find a very daring FFL in MA to accept it from them or go back to TX and attempt to do it there (my bet is that the AG stuff is such that they will refuse). Sorry but the way I see it you unintentionally screwed yourself by not doing the paperwork in TX in April, due to the AG's BS. There is so much gray here that it is ridiculous and as stated above the AG will never clarify anything to help.


Because, while money may have changed hands, the state does not consider the transaction complete until all applicable transfer paperwork has been filed. And yeah, you are getting boned. You can thank god-emperor healey for that noise. None of this is exactly set in stone or clarified, nor will it ever be, but even if you find an ffl to transfer it for you, good luck arguing your case when you get a visit from some FRB goons for FA10ing an AK after 7/20.

If he did the Fed paperwork in TX, ownership would be solid before 7/20 and he'd have a leg to stand on. Now it is dark gray at best.

FRB has no "goons", they are a database operation with no LEOs and no LE authority at all. So if anyone is going to come knocking, it would be local police and they are confused as well, so I don't see that happening.
 
If he did the Fed paperwork in TX, ownership would be solid before 7/20 and he'd have a leg to stand on. Now it is dark gray at best.

FRB has no "goons", they are a database operation with no LEOs and no LE authority at all. So if anyone is going to come knocking, it would be local police and they are confused as well, so I don't see that happening.

Yeah. He probably should have just done the 4473 in TX and taken the gun home with him back in april, FA10d it and had a local shop massify it for him.

I didn't realize FRB didn't have any sort of policing unit behind it. I suppose they could send some sort of illegal transfer report to the staties though. I agree that most non-insane local PDs would probably ignore such a report.
 
No matter what way you spin it this is just crap for you. Your best bet might be to Have the FFL Reimburse you for the class which is doubtful or have them sell it for you. Unless you find an out of state ffl willing to take the transfer for you. Do you have friends in other states willing to take ownership until this gets settled
 
Take up secondary residence in NH by moving in with a friend temporarily. Have it shipped to NH. Decide whether/how exactly to break MA gun laws later or just reinterpret them yourself, it worked for AG Healy.
 
Just my .02, Your naturally proud of the rifle you built and you want to take possession in your home state, but you can't legally, so it seems. Why not have them disassemble it, ship every part of the rifle to Mass, except the receiver.

I bet there's a bunch of legal AK receivers you could buy in Mass, then your free reassemble your rifle at your leisure. You could sell the Texas AK receiver to recoup costs.
 
Just my .02, Your naturally proud of the rifle you built and you want to take possession in your home state, but you can't legally, so it seems. Why not have them disassemble it, ship every part of the rifle to Mass, except the receiver.

I bet there's a bunch of legal AK receivers you could buy in Mass, then your free reassemble your rifle at your leisure. You could sell the Texas AK receiver to recoup costs.

This isn't like an AR, rebuilding an AK like that is like rebuilding a motor, its a pain in the sack. Even taking an AK apart like that is a pain in the sack.

-Mike
 
I say have it shipped to an out of state FFL and have a friend do the transfer. Then let your friend hold onto it (with visitation, of course) until you move out of MA. Your other option would be to have the receiver removed and have the remaining parts shipped directly to you as a demilled parts kit. Sorry, man there is no way you are going to legally own that gun here. The part about the pre-7-20 exemption only applies to guns which were possessed IN MA prior to 7-20.

where does the enforcement notice say "in MA"?
 
I say have it shipped to an out of state FFL and have a friend do the transfer. Then let your friend hold onto it (with visitation, of course) until you move out of MA. Your other option would be to have the receiver removed and have the remaining parts shipped directly to you as a demilled parts kit. Sorry, man there is no way you are going to legally own that gun here. The part about the pre-7-20 exemption only applies to guns which were possessed IN MA prior to 7-20.

You're interpreting it incorrectly.

The Guidance will not be applied to possession, ownership or transfer of an Assault weapon obtained prior to July 20, 2016.

It clearly says "or", not "and". If any one of those conditions applies, it holds up. ie, the OP owned the rifle prior to 7/20 (even without possession), so he should be able to legally do this. I say "legally", but legally this is all horseshit and Healey is really the only one breaking the law.
 
You're interpreting it incorrectly.



It clearly says "or", not "and". If any one of those conditions applies, it holds up. ie, the OP owned the rifle prior to 7/20 (even without possession), so he should be able to legally do this. I say "legally", but legally this is all horseshit and Healey is really the only one breaking the law.


The key word here are not what you have highlighted. The key phrase here is "obtained by". That being said, it seems like he obtained it after the class then gave it to them to be modified... am I correct?
 
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