Does a C&R receiver/barreled action require an FFL01?

[rdfact]

I am on the hunt for a receiver or barreled action for a Swedish Mauser M96.
So my question is: must this be shipped through an FFL01 or does a C&R + COE allow me to get this shipped directly to me?

I searched and the best I could find was this thread from 2014:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=961566&highlight=COE+receiver

This thread was originally specific to receivers from the CMP.

Post #18:
"Also ATF told me that as long as what you receive is unaltered it is a C&R gun. The question that they posed to me was :
"Is EVERYTHING that you are receiving 100% original ? IE: if it is missing the barrel bands, butt plate and rear sight , it is still a C&R as all else is original."

[Tonymin]

I think officially yes. But I heard some people sent in the registration form and it was accepted. But that doesn't mean it was right.

[2meterB]

[Milsurp Collector]

A barreled action can't be transferred across state lines to a C&R license holder.

What modifications can be made on C&R firearms without changing their C&R classification?they must be in original configuration and adds that a receiver is not a C&R item. Combining this ruling and the definition of C&R firearms, the Firearms Technology Branch (FTB) has concluded that a firearm must be in its original condition to be considered a C&R weapon.

It is also the opinion of FTB, however, that a minor change such as the addition of scope mounts, non-original sights, or sling swivels would not remove a firearm from its original condition. Moreover, we have determined that replacing particular firearms parts with new parts that are made to the original design would also be acceptable-for example, replacing a cracked M1 Garand stock with a new wooden stock of the same design, but replacing the original firearm stock with a plastic stock would change its classification as a C&R item.

https://www.atf.gov/content/what-modifications-can-be-made-cr-firearms-without-changing-their-cr-classification

If replacing a wooden stock with a plastic stock takes a firearm out of the C&R category according to the ATF, how do you think they would classify a rifle that has had its stock removed and replaced with nothing (i.e. a barreled receiver)?

It might be cheaper to buy the entire rifle and have it shipped to you using your C&R, and then sell the stock if you don't need it.

[emcon5]

Off the top of my head, SAMCO, R-Guns and SOG have all sold barreled actions as C&R, and they get audited much more often than you average C&R holder.

In fact, Samco has a few listed right now:

https://www.samcoglobal.com/1-swed-SM38.html

https://www.samcoglobal.com/1-M24-47.html

Here is the Wayback Machine copy of the Rguns bolt action rifle page from 2011, showing both Mosin 91/30 and K98 barreled actions as C&R.

https://web.archive.org/web/20110505085955/http://rguns.net/rifles/rifles-bolt.shtml

I bought one of the K98 barreled actions, and turned it into this:


The argument could made, that an otherwise intact barreled action is unmodified, just missing parts.

If you take the view that a barreled action is not C&R, how many parts are allowed to be missing before a gun loses C&R status? The stacking swivel screw fell out of my M1, and the swivel fell off, did it lose C&R status?

Just about every vendor has sold "Gunsmith Specials" with missing parts. I don't see a barreled action as any different, provided what you get is in the original configuration.

[2meterB]

Off the top of my head, SAMCO, R-Guns and SOG have all sold barreled actions as C&R, and they get audited much more often than you average C&R holder.

In fact, Samco has a few listed right now:

https://www.samcoglobal.com/1-swed-SM38.html

https://www.samcoglobal.com/1-M24-47.html

Here is the Wayback Machine copy of the Rguns bolt action rifle page from 2011, showing both Mosin 91/30 and K98 barreled actions as C&R.

https://web.archive.org/web/20110505085955/http://rguns.net/rifles/rifles-bolt.shtml

I bought one of the K98 barreled actions, and turned it into this:


The argument could made, that an otherwise intact barreled action is unmodified, just missing parts.

If you take the view that a barreled action is not C&R, how many parts are allowed to be missing before a gun loses C&R status? The stacking swivel screw fell out of my M1, and the swivel fell off, did it lose C&R status?

Just about every vendor has sold "Gunsmith Specials" with missing parts. I don't see a barreled action as any different, provided what you get is in the original configuration.

What do you make of atf 85-10?

[emcon5]

What do you make of atf 85-10?

I think it is the poster child of executive overreach. It is a ruling ATF made, in response to a law passed which they didn't like (requiring them to allow importation of C&Rs), which they tried to limit as much as they possibly could.

They then applied it globally, which in my layman's opinion is not reflected in the law. The law says a C&R must be one of three things to qualify. ATF says,"never mind that, a C&R is what we say it is.

The fact remains, pretty much all the big vendors have sold (or as noted by Samco, currently sell) otherwise unmodified barreled actions or you-fix-em/gunsmith specials as C&R eligible.

Do you think they would do that if ATF didn't think it was legal?

[2meterB]

They certainly wouldnt for very long!

[emcon5]

They certainly wouldnt for very long!

Samco has been selling them for years (since at least 1997 according to the Wayback machine), and Rguns had the RC K98 Barreled actions for several years (according to the Wayback machine from at least Dec 2008 to Nov 2012) before they finally ran out.

But hey, according to some experts on this board, they (and I) are all stupid.

[morrcarr67]

I bought a frame for an Argentine 1927 from a Class 3 dealer, yes Class 3 not type 03. Like all the big mail order ffls I would bet that they audit Class 3 dealers pretty regularly. This dealer had these, Balister Molina and some Browning HP frames that they had listed as C&R on their website for about 2 years.

[rdfact]

Thanks for the info everyone.
It's ironic that a C&R and COE allows one to receive a complete, fully functional rifle ready to shoot, but those same licenses do not allow you to receive a nearly 100 year old receiver that, in its current configuration, is nothing more than a paperweight.

[Flintlock Tom]

BATFE has repeatedly stated that a barreled receiver is not C&R eligible.

[6mmintl]

Only if you want to transfer legal ownership to the government.

[emcon5]

BATFE has repeatedly stated that a barreled receiver is not C&R eligible.

Citation?

I have seen them repeatedly say that a bare receiver is not C&R, it is the FAQ and in 85-10. I have yet to see anything that says a barreled action is not.

An otherwise unmolested barreled action is capable of firing, and can be put back to original config by pretty much anyone with the parts and a screwdriver. No special skills or tools required, for the most part.

And again, every mail order place has sold, or in the case of Samco currently sells barreled actions as C&R, and has been for about 2 decades.

[sakosf]

You would need to find a barreled action of a 1898 dated Swedish Mauser (antique, first year of production)