Yet anothe FA10 question: (when do you need one)

[milktree]

Buy a rifle out of state: FA10 within 7 days

Buy an AR stripped lower: FA10 within 7 days of when it can go "Bang!"

Buy a full rifle out of state that needs modification for AWB compliance: take it apart and ship the bits to your favorite gunsmith(s) to neuter it, then FA10 within 7 days of when you put the "fixed" bits back together.

OK, those are the easier ones:

How 'bout this hypothetical (which I'm sure has happened)

Say I buy a 1911 frame to build myself from my own mix if special parts. It takes me a year, but I finally get it done. It goes "bang", so I send in an FA10 within 7 days of that first "bang" capability.

But I'm unhappy with the slide and hammer and seer and barrel, so I strip the gun down to its frame again to get new bits. I sell the slide/barrel/hammer/sear etc, leaving me with a raw frame. After another few months I realize I'll never build this fancy frame up properly, and decide to sell it. The frame *had been* FA10'd before, but it can no longer go "Bang!". When I sell the frame, do I need to FA10 it? My instinct says, "no", because it's not a gun by MA definitions (can't go "bang")

 

[fishhawk357]

I would say "yes" you need to fa10 transfer from the point in which you register it as a firearm.

 

[milktree]

I would say "yes" you need to fa10 transfer from the point in which you register it as a firearm.

You mean, "once an FA10 has been filed on a gun, forever more, even if it's no longer a "gun" by MGL definitions, an FA10 is still required."?

That seems... weird. All of my reading of the MGL seem to indicate the FA10 parts use the standard definitions.

 

[soam]

This is a question I've been curious about as well, regarding AR-15s as opposed to 1911s. You build up a lower into a complete gun that goes "bang", register it, then later on you decide to sell the lower but not the upper. When you sell the lower, do you have to file an FA-10? My gut says "no", since it is not a complete gun anymore. Once the new owner puts an upper on it so it goes "bang", it's their responsibility to register it.

 

[MisterHappy]

IANAL, but if you've put it "on paper"...it now exists.

If you sell it, you probably want a "paper trail", as you have no proof that it was, in fact, a stripped lower or frame, when it was transferred to its new owner.

The purchaser may not like this, but Massprudence woudl indicate that you CYA.

That's my take.

 

[wolfenkraft]

IANAL, but if you've put it "on paper"...it now exists.

If you sell it, you probably want a "paper trail", as you have no proof that it was, in fact, a stripped lower or frame, when it was transferred to its new owner.

The purchaser may not like this, but Massprudence woudl indicate that you CYA.

That's my take.

IANAL as well, but I am definitely someone who doesn't want to end up in prison/jail for not CYA properly in a situation like this. Just do the FA10 and don't sweat it.

 

[FreeWillie]

Get a bill of sale for "ONE stripped AR-15 lower serial # xxxxxxxxxxxx". Sold to Fred Flintstone, 111 Rockway Rd. Rockport, MA". Sign it and have him sign it with his LTC License Number following his name. File it with your other papers.

F the State after that. What the hell right do they have in telling you what you can and can't do with your personal property?

IANAL and if you end up in jail don't blame me.

 

[milktree]

IANAL as well, but I am definitely someone who doesn't want to end up in prison/jail for not CYA properly in a situation like this. Just do the FA10 and don't sweat it.

If I wanted to CMA, I wouldn't buy or sell guns, ever. I want to know if there's any *LAW* on the issue. "do the FA10 and don't worry about it" doesn't help if you've already sold 4 guns via FA10 in a year, and the stripped lower isn't something that a MA dealer could transfer (like a 1911 frame)

 

[Kevlar]

This is not a black & white issue.

By the letter of the law, no FA-10 is required, however, there is some relevant case law.

Basically, the courts have held that a gun does not lose its character as such when a "...relatively slight repair, replacement, or adjustment will make it an effective weapon."

IOW, each part added makes it more like a gun, so IMO a stripped 1911 frame is unlikely to be considered a "firearm", while a complete AR lower is likely to be considered a "rifle".

...the stripped lower isn't something that a MA dealer could transfer (like a 1911 frame)

As I stated above, even under the most conservative reading of the statute and case law, IMO a stripped 1911 frame would not be considered a "firearm". I see no reason why a MA FFL couldn't legally transfer it.

IANAL, YMMV etc.

 

[7.62x39]

Get a bill of sale for "ONE stripped AR-15 lower serial # xxxxxxxxxxxx". Sold to Fred Flintstone, 111 Rockway Rd. Rockport, MA". Sign it and have him sign it with his LTC License Number following his name. File it with your other papers.

I am going through this exact scenario right now. I contacted my FFL about transferring a lower for me and this is exactly what he told me to do.