How to Stay Out of Prison When Building a Rifle at Home

ever think about building a firearm in your own home today on the a.k show we're talking about how to avoid the legal traps when building your own custom firearm in your own home this is Alex a Kay Kincaid welcome to the Acacia my husband started building AR style rifles in our own home and I immediately knew I wanted to build something myself - after choosing each part you put together exactly what you want for a finished product that is one-of-a-kind and it's the difference between buying a frozen dinner and making your own gourmet dinner at home from scratch this is my first build this was or it is a Grendel six point five millimeter you can make it with the lower that is designed for a regular ar-15 and as soon as my leupold vx-3 optic arrives it will be my new coyote rifle but I was able to pick my own parts put this together and thankfully I had someone to guide me that was my husband because he had done it before in building this but I put all these little parts together in myself and you can - but this video is a little bit different from some of the others on YouTube because I'm not actually showing you how to build I'm a lawyer and I'm worried about the legalities of building so I'm not here to encourage anyone who isn't comfortable building their own rifle and doesn't have the right experience and knowledge to build a rifle on their own in their own home to do it but if you feel that you do and you have someone to guide you especially through that fear spilled it can be a really wonderful hobby and you can make a beautiful rifle for many different purposes a good way to get started is to figure out what that rifles purpose will be and then design your build list you can find a link to a great build list on my website at Alex Kincaid comm a build list is essentially your shopping list I'm going to give you three simple rules to remember number one build for your own personal use number two make sure you know what you're buying and number three make sure you know what you're building so number one build for your own personal use it's pretty simple if you want to be certain you're building a rifle legally build the rifle for your own personal use you don't want to be in a situation where you're under scrutiny for manufacturing or dealing or even gunsmithing when you shouldn't be the law says that if you're going to build rifles or sell them for a profit and you're doing it for the purpose of your livelihood and there are a lot of different nuances to how this law is interpreted but if you're doing those things you're going to need a license to do that but under federal law you can clearly make a rifle for your own personal use so that's the way to make sure that you are in line with that number one rule now you have to be careful if you are using imported parts because making a non-sporting semi-automatic rifle or shotgun with one or more imported parts is prohibited so buy in America we all want to do that anyways I found that buying locally here in Boise Idaho or just the state of Idaho alone was pretty easy for me there are so many amazing manufacturers in my home state that we were able to get a lot of the parts for my first build here and you may be able to do the same in your home state I'm going to elaborate a little more in a minute about why it's important to stick with this rule of making things for yourself when I talk about my second point and my second point is make sure you know what you're buying just because something is for sale on the internet doesn't mean it's legal and when you buy parts like this little guy this is a serialized firearm under the law a normal person looks at this and might think this is just a piece of metal but this is your firearm when you're making a non-sporting rifle this is your lower receiver it has a serial number and when you pick this up from your dealer you're going to have to fill out the background check form the form 4473 have the background ground check completed just like you would if you were buying a complete firearm we'll do another show about 80% lowers I know a lot of you are thinking well what about the 80% lowers an 80% lower is not complete like this one is it is not a firearm but where people can run into trouble with the 80% lowers and this the ATF recently came out with a clear statement about finishing 80% lowers if you have someone else finish it for you and you pay them for that you will have some trouble with the law because the person who is finishing at 80% lower has to have a license in order to do that the ATF has clearly said that now and you need to be very careful when you are finishing 80% lowers and actually turning that piece of metal into a firearm versus buying the completed firearm to begin with when you buy this and you add parts to it we're improving this firearm other things that you can buy online that might be accessories for your build can also cause you a problem one common accessory is to put a foregrip on a firearm and a foregrip can be vertical or it can be ankle those are your two basic categories the law looks at them differently or the ATF interprets the law differently rather so some states include for grips as cosmetic features that can turn what might be a legal non sporting rifle into a so-called assault weapon and on top of it if you put a vertical foregrip on a pistol like this one you know if this had a little straight up-and-down grip on it here in the front all of a sudden you have turned this legal AR style pistol into a firearm that will fall into a category called any other weapons any other weapons are subject to the registration and tax requirements of a federal law called the National Firearms Act and if you don't pay attacks and fill out the right paperwork before you put that for grip on a pistol like this you've broke the law and you can face prison time so just putting a little part on your build can convert it from legal illegal no what you're buying and with the four grips there's all kinds of styles out there some manufacturers aren't really sure what they have even I've asked them before when I've got a little four grip that isn't necessarily vertical or angled and I don't know what the the ATF would look at it as those manufacturers are perfectly capable of getting an opinion from the ATF to tell us and them if that item is a vertical foregrip or an angled four grip and I would insist that they do that before just plopping it on a little pistol like this and possibly creating in any other weapon so know what you're buying insists that the manufacturer tell you what you're buying if you're unsure get something from them in writing if there's a question at all and you know not only under the federal law but under your state law because we have so many ridiculous rules now where if you buy little parts and pieces like a foregrip and you're trying to make a firearm look cool and do certain things and function a certain way those little parts can make it more comfortable but state laws can restrict a lot of features and turn an ordinary non-sporting rifle into what the liberals and anti Gunners are calling assault weapons and we'll talk about that more when I discuss rule number three for staying out of trouble when you're building at home be careful about what you're doing and know what these parts are and know what is prohibited not only under federal law but under state law you know parts like this magazine this is a hundred round magazine and some people would think this is just the most horrible thing they've ever seen and yes it's loaded because when I get done at the office today I'm gonna go fire off these rounds for a little therapy this in my state of Idaho is a standard capacity magazine in places like California it's referred to as a high-capacity magazine and it's illegal and you wouldn't want to put PAC in a rifle of course in California you're probably not going to be able to have most of these without significant vacation anyways but my point is know what you have even the little the little pieces little parts that go with what looks like a finished firearm and make sure you know what you're buying and then number three my final rule know what you're building my final rule to avoid these legal traps so we've got make things for your own personal use know what you're buying and then thirdly know what you're making this is the other area of the law where I see so many people unknowingly and I'm they're not intending to break the law but they do it because the laws don't make any sense to people who are knowledgeable about firearms we don't think that putting certain parts on a firearm or having a barrel that is a little bit shorter than a certain length is hurting anyone we know that if we pick up a gun and we point it at someone we are breaking the law unless we are using deadly force in a lawful manner so if I'm being attacked certainly I can point my gun at someone I know if I pick it up and point it at someone in this room I'm breaking the law but if you have little parts and you're adding those to your gun we don't necessarily stop and think that we're committing a criminal act so when we talk about what you're building there are three main things that you're gonna make in this non-sporting rifle situation you may be making a pistol you may be making an ordinary rifle or you may be making what's known as a short-barreled right you have to read and know and understand these rules before you make your own rifle in your home this style of rifle my Grendel to people who don't understand how they work and what they do and the benefits of having an AR style rifle they look scary and they're scared to death of them I've had people call my office and say I saw someone with a sniper rifle or even an assault weapon or something that they are building in their own home that can't possibly be legal well we know that these firearms that are extremely safe when they are used by responsible law-abiding Americans they protect he they save lives and that's why I want to bring you the legal knowledge to build more of them and make more sport non-sporting rifles for your own personal use one of the things to know about what you're building is to know the difference between making the pistol the short-barrel rifle which is also called an SBR and just a regular rifle like this so one of the other items that I brought today to show you is this AR style pistol these have become extremely popular it might possibly look like a rifle to a knowledgeable people it's black it's scary it's probably in many people's minds a so-called assault weapon but all it is is an AR style pistol it's a firearm that is designed to shoot with one hand it's not designed to shoot from the shoulder okay that's why it's got this on it versus what you're seeing on the other rifles over here the stocks that you're seeing on them this is a pistol now like I said you can turn it into an any other weapon but it's not an SBR even though it's little impactful it's a great tool and we haven't violated any laws any federal laws at least by making it this short again you're gonna have to check with your state laws states are passing more and more laws to make this type of firearm illegal so you always have to look to your state as well as the Federal Rules but as far as federal law goes this is perfectly legal to make and own in your own home the Grendel is a normal rifle in most states and under federal law it's not an SBR most states don't call it an assault weapon although more and more of them are it has a barrel that is more than 16 inches in length its overall length is 26 inches plus and it's just a semi-automatic non-sporting rifle under the law because it's designed unlike the pistol to shoot from my shoulder right so and by the way I want to mention that all of our sarah coding is done by MCM firearms in Idaho they do a beautiful job and you'll see in a minute here I've even got my logo on my SBR this is an SBR because the barrel when measured from chamber to muzzle is less than 16 inches and when you're looking now this one of course has a suppressor on it but if you're looking to add a flash suppressor or a muzzle brake to the end of your rifle and you want to include that length in the 16 inches that a rifle has to be to not fall in the category of an SBR that muzzle brake or flash suppressor has to be permanently affixed locked i'ts not going to do it permanently affixed or you don't get to include it in the length so again the overall length of your build has to be 26 inches or more and the barrel length has to be 16 inches or more or you have to register this firearm as a National Firearms Act firearm fill out paperwork with the ATF pay a two hundred dollar tax and wait nine to twelve months to get your tax stamp back and actually take possession of your firearm this is actually this bill they actually had to CAC stamps I got to wait twice because the suppressor on the end here is also a firearm so I got to pay $200 for this and $200 for the short barrel I'm actually holding under the law what would be called two firearms again if you are going to delve into the world of creating NFA firearms talk to us about a gun trust because of gun trust before you build will protect your family and can save you a lot of time and money down the road another point about building an SBR when you create an SBR and you've registered it as such you've taken the lower receiver alright this had just a normal ear style or lower receiver with it your firearm and you've registered that receiver as a rifle you can't then take the stock off and turn it into a pistol so keep that in mind as well this is now a registered rifle we've committed - paper there's no going back there's no changing it into a little pistol that will not be subject to that federal law known as the National Firearms Act people are also concerned about having to register their firearms at the federal level if you're building subjects something's that that's subject to the National Firearms Act you will be on a registry you will be sending in paperwork if you're building it you will fill out an ATF form called form one because you have to fill that out before you build it and get approval before you build it and then you may put it together and own it if you live in a state where there are state registry rules like California you need to figure out what the law is in your own state and make sure that you comply with those rules as well they can apply to many more types of firearms than the ones that are subject to the National Firearms Act at the federal level and also at the state level lots of firearms are currently banned we're hoping to fix this and here is to come but right now if you live in a state where you have lists of firearms that are illegal to possess you can't build it obviously so don't try and get around those rules because you'll wind up in jail or prison if you live in a state where you have these so-called assault weapon bans you have to be especially careful about the little parts that you are buying online collapsible stocks for grips like we talked about vertical angled flash suppressors all those things things are deemed by the anti-gun community to be extraordinarily dangerous and you're going to turn what may be a legal non sporting rifle into an assault weapon and if you do that in a state where it's not allowed you're breaking your state's law and you're looking at jail or prison so be careful and know what your state laws are in addition to the federal law I'm trying to give you some pointers today that can be used around the country to look at the most common legal traps that I see people falling into so building a rifle on your own can be a wonderful experience it's a way to make a that it's exactly what you wanted and not something that comes out of a box off the shelf just be aware that there are lots of rules that apply we have federal rules and we have state rules don't be afraid of the rules just be aware of them understand them get help if you need it get help with your build talk to a knowledgeable Firearms law attorney to help you understand what the rules are and remember my three basic rules of thumb when you build in your own home number one be selfish when you do this build what you want and build it for yourself so no one can accuse you of manufacturing or needing a license number two know what you're buying just because something is online doesn't mean it's legal and it doesn't mean it's legal in your state and number three know what you're making are you making a pistol are you making a rifle or are you making a short-barreled rifle you need to know before you embark on that journey please visit my website because it Alex Kincaid com I've turned this video into a blog you can reread it I also have on my website links to a build list to help you get started you can figure out what parts you need and where to buy them and what tools are handy to have before you start building rifles in your home I also have a list of some of my favorite youtube videos that show in great detail how to actually put all the parts together one other thing that's on my website is a forum one guide so if you are going to make something that will be subject to the National Firearms Act most of the time it means you're either making an any other weapon like a pistol with some kind of part on it that it's turning it into an any other weapon or you're making an SBR you'll need that form one guy to help walk you through the paperwork and get it submitted before you actually put the parts together and create that firearm I hope that you will post pictures of your builds we want to see what you're making we want to hear your comments we want to know about your experience and also let us know if there's anything else we can provide to you to help you embark on this amazing adventure of building your own in your own home at Alex Kincaid calm you'll find for free the build lists the form one guide and more information about gun trust not free to get a gun trust but very well worth it if you're going to make something subject to the National Firearms Act as always thank you for watching the a case show this is Alex Kincaid and thank you for watching the vacation

Channel: 3 F Words

Views: 1,284,237

Rating: 4.8752346 out of 5

Keywords: rifle build, nfa, gun trusts, building a rifle at home, gun laws, gun control, gun rights, firearms manufacturing, sbr, building an AR 15, Building an AR15, AR15, AR build, Build an AR, Grendel, Grendel Build, AR Pistol, firearms attorney, firearms law, firearms lawyer, gun lawyer

Id: BtiSwZeTnQI

Length: 20min 10sec (1210 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 12 2017