#FFL

Right now if you are living on the east coast, you have multiple significant storms heading your way that could unfortunately change your life for the worst. To curb against the danger of these storms, some states are actually advising evacuation of your home, if possible. As horrifying as leaving your home behind may sound, the tribulations of leaving something you built can be even worse if you operate an FFL (Federal Firearms Licensed) business. Then, in the event you return to your business, you need to deal with the repercussions of water damage and the potential loss of product. This alone is horrific enough, but then the  ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives),  NFA (National Firearms Act Branch) or local police could be paying you a visit as well.

Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) are required to jump through various hoops to be able to sell guns as a business. From zoning laws, to insurance to National Firearms Act (NFA) payments, and to detailed record keeping, license holders need to be in compliance or risk losing their ability to transfer firearms. Going a step further, manufacturers of small arms have an additional set of rules to follow and records to keep. Not in the least being the International Traffic Of Arms Regulations (ITAR), a program meant to keep weapons from being illegally exported into the hands of enemies of the United States.

After a temporary pause in producing video content, Royal Nonesuch is back. This YouTube channel is known for the variety of homemade gun projects. Not only he is back but also plans to start even more entertaining projects. He also applied for an FFL and SOT which will allow him to expand the range of weapons and mechanisms he can experiment with. Among his first new project is a gun utilizing an advanced primer ignition (API) mechanism with an extended chamber. Let’s see how the host of the channel describes his project.

Seventeen years after we narrowly missed the Y2K technological disaster (snicker), both business and government still rely heavily on printed paper documents. Put those two organizations together and you have regulated chaos of tax records, purchase data, and in the case of Federal Firearms Licensees (FFL), transfer records of every firearm ever bought or sold. And while current regulations still require dealers to have a physical bound log book, companies like FFL Boss are helping to lessen the record keeping burden for firearm sellers by providing them with an easy to use software solution.

I think its safe to say that many of our readers view the AR-15 as a thoroughly modern weapon system. Admittedly, it’s hard not to with various companies and innovations popping up all the time. Various improvements to the base design, newer materials, and modern CNC milling have given this actually antique platform a long lease on life.

In what appears to fly in the face of the Bureau’s prior attitudes towards enforcement of gun laws, a white paper by BATFE Associate  Deputy Director Ronald Turk was recently leaked which proposed loosening or modifying gun regulations in sixteen ways, to be discussed below. If you have not yet read Nicholas’ post on the leak, you can do that, and also follow the link here to the white paper itself. In this article, I’ll be taking a (hopefully) brief look at what the white paper means and why it’s so significant (and it is significant, don’t get me wrong).

Having some small dissatisfaction with my previous job and looking to move jobs, I had been searching for awhile while the FFL was up and running. I was fortunate enough to find my “dream job” which was going to require relocation from my dear Fort Wayne. I was loathe to leave it, especially if that meant that I had to give up my FFL and start the process all over again.

I know, I know. I’ve been a bit remiss at completing the Home-Based FFL series complete. Fortunately, there are many passionate TFB readers who are able to light, maintain, and grow a bonfire on my derriere to keep it moving. My thanks for the motivation!

As July 14th is now only a few weeks away, thousands of NFA buyers are wondering what the new application process is going to entail. Suppressor buyers have the option of using Silencer Shop’s network of “Powered By” dealers to facilitate their transfers. And in a post 41F-world, that will include the use of a new Kiosk system that will take electronic copies of fingerprints for submission into the BATFE’s National Firearms Act (NFA) application process.

For those not an FFL, there is an annoying quirk in the system – one cannot get their Special Occupancy Tax (SOT or “Class III” which is an incorrect, but commonly used term) when they apply and receiver their FFL. Simply put, the ATF’s procedures do not allow one to apply for the SOT until they have received their FFL. This boggles my mind, as one would think the Government would want your money as fast as possible, right?

The interview was quick and easy, and with the assurance that I was going to be approved, it was time to get the leg-work done in preparation for the incoming license. Fortunately, in my case, this was not too onerous of a task as the majority was just getting the company ready.

Just three weeks after my interview the IOI, my FFL arrived! Its sending was completely unceremonious, using the FFL itself as the address for the envelope. I wasn’t expecting major fan-fare, but I would think the Government would at least include a cover letter and maybe send tracking information that a Federal License was on its way. I digress…

Connecticut gun manufacturer Stag plead guilty today to violating federal law, including the loss of 200 firearms from its record books, and the possession of 62 machine guns or receivers for machine guns not registered to the company. In the plea agreement that to the revocation of the company’s Federal Firearms License, owner Mark Malkowski agreed to sell Stag and never own another gun company again. The Hartford Courant reports:

Author’s Note: First off, my apologies to our readership for the delays getting this series going again and completed. To spoil the story, I have received my FFL and operate from it daily. 

I love covering these stories about small arms turning up all over the place, and in the oddest of circumstances, the criminals who stashed the MP40 and Lee Enfield, or the elderly lady who passed away and left behind a fully functional Sten gun. But I think this one takes the cake by a far margin. A gentleman passed away from yet to be explained conditions and left behind more than 1,200 firearms and two tons of ammunition at his home in Palisades Drive, California. The news reports were talking about Police having to squeeze in between boxes of ammunition piled to the ceiling, just to get to all the firearms. It appears that there was some possibility of a crime involved in the mans death or else the police presence wouldn’t have been nearly as much or at all in fact.