The short-barreled rifle used to be regarded as an outlaws' firearm. They were often used by coachmen in stage plays and that's why they are also called as coachman.
During the past, people believed that a sawed-off rifle was more deadly than a long-barreled firearm. For this reason, it became illegal to own them. The pattern spreads a lot quicker when a firearm barrel is sawed-off. Because of this, many states created their own penal codes for possessing short-barreled weapons. Nevertheless, some states have added provisions permitting their citizens to own them provided that they get the necessary government permits.
The ATF adopted this guideline for a long time. Individual ownership of SBRs was allowed. But in the past few years, the BATFE was urged by a few states to use the state penal provisions for short-barreled rifles as the basis to disallow transferring such firearms, unless there exists a specific NFA regulation of the state which allows transferring them.
Citizens in Texas can possess any NFA firearms as long as they meet the requirements. Short-barreled rifles have shorter than 16 inches of gun barrel or barrels. To put together your own short-barreled rifle, you must purchase the parts and to buy the parts you need to first get a permit from the ATF. You can't buy or bring home all of the components you need to assemble the firearm before obtaining approval of the ATF, doing so is regarded as constructive possession.
To apply for the permit, you need to determine the features of the SBR that you like to put together. Also, you need to supply the specs of the gun that you want to modify. For example, if you own a 16-inch barrel AR rifle that you would like to shorten, you will need to decide the actual length of the altered gun barrel and have the serial number of the gun.
The next step is to fill out the ATF Form 1, which readily available for download from the BATFE site. After completing the Form 1, you need to mail it to the ATF along with the $200 one-time federal tax payment. Then you wait for the result. Once you have it, you can bring home the parts to assemble your short-barreled rifle. Be sure you have copies of the tax stamp forms always because this will prevent you from serious trouble.
An important part of completing the required paperwork is getting your CLEO's sign off. You have the money to purchase the SBR or the SBR parts, have the pictures and finger prints, but to ask someone who does not know you well to sign-off your gun ownership application is often hard. The CLEO's signature is necessary whether you will purchase or make the short-barreled rifle. However, if you make use of an entity, like an NFA Trust Texas, to own or assemble an SBR there is no CLEO signature necessary. You just need to submit a notarized copy of a funded NFA Trust Texas, 2 copies of the filled out ATF Form 1, and $200 payment for the federal tax stamp.
The consequences of NFA infringement is up to ten years of incarceration and $250,000 fine. These consequences are enforced to prevent any individual from taking possession of a short-barreled rifle that's not registered. To make sure that you don't inadvertently commit technical violations, you have to understand the rules and regulation from the start. It's also very important not to make an effort to acquire or use or own a firearm without having the necessary paperwork and tax stamps. Given that an NFA Trust Texas lawyer or attorney can setup a gun trust to meet the exact needs of a person, the trust can protect the weapon owner and also his family members from unintentional violations of state and federal gun laws and regulations.
In case you have decided to buy or put together an SBR but you have concerns regarding the restrictions, consult a gun trust attorney. This particular blog post is not meant to be a legal advice. Only a lawyer is qualified to offer legal advice.
