80% lowers MERGED THREADS - please ask in here, not a new thread

[Jesse C.]

I read almost the entire thread and did not see this anywhere. How legit is this?

http://www.80percentarms.com/pages/faq

AM I REQUIRED TO ENGRAVE A SERIAL NUMBER ONTO MY 80% LOWER?

Per federal law, an individual building a firearm for personal use is not required to mark it with a serial number.

Some states may have more restrictive regulations. The following is for California residents ONLY: In July, 2016, California passed AB 857 which requires all completed firearms to have a serial number applied by Jan 1, 2019. An 80% lower is not a firearm, so a serial number would only be required once the 80% lower is completed. Unfinished 80% lower receivers do not need a serial number.

If you engrave a serial number of your choosing into your completed 80% lower prior to Jul 1, 2018, you will not be affected by this law and you do not need to notify any government agency that you built a firearm. In other words, you can make up any serial number you want (as long as it meets ATF's definition of a serial number), engrave it on your receiver, and this will satisfy California’s legal requirement. You do not need to apply to the state, or tell them what your serial number is. Your lower can still legally remain completely off the radar. The important thing is you MUST engrave your serial number before July 1, 2018 to take advantage of this benefit.

After July, 2018, the law changes for the worse. If you build an 80% lower after July 1, 2018, you must FIRST apply to the California DOJ for a serial number, pay a fee, and they will then assign a serial number that you must apply to your firearm. In this case, you can’t choose your own serial number and your serial number will be in the state government’s data base. If you want to avoid falling under this law, make sure you engrave your own serial number to your completed 80% lowers before July 2018.

If you build an 80% lower and use your own “unregistered" serial number after July 2018, it would be a misdemeanor, although the state would have the burden of trying to prove in court that you did in fact build the lower after the July 2018 cut off date.

80% Arms offers an 80% lower receiver serialization service. We have an FFL license and can engrave a serial number on your completed 80% lower receiver that meets ATF requirements.

[Cokebottle]

That is correct if the 80% is going to be used for a featureless build (remember, not every 80% becomes an AR15... you can build a 1911, G19, etc....)
As of Jan 1, you can not build something that would be required to be registered as RAW.

[familyfarm]

I respectfully disagree with the legal advice given by 80% Arms. As covered at length earlier in this thread, both attorneys at Michel LLP and a number of Calgunners believe that in order to use your own engraved serial number on any gun you will need to voluntarily register it before the 7/1/2018 implementation of AB 857. DOJ has already made it clear they will not register AWs with home-made serials. But it looks like you can still VolReg a featureless build in advance and then you have met the AB-857 requirements.

Please read this new law yourself and look for a way out of it. I am hoping this will not be the case but you should not rely upon the guidance from 80% Arms. They make excellent products but they may not make excellent attorneys. Time will tell.

[IAmTheReaper]

Hilarious.

She's stunning.

Bond is always good, but shrunken he looks like "little people" and that gives me the willies.

[shaocaholica]

Well I just heard back for my last minute VolRegs. All approved!

Submitted 12/31. Literally the last minute.

2x AR glock mag pistols
1x AR 5.56 mag pistol

Used my own serials and model numbers. Multi Cal. Make was specified as 'U S'. For the single shot pistol part, I used sleds and a wooden dowel buffer block. There's no sled for a glock mag but there is a vise block tool that does the same job so that's what I used.

[Cokebottle]

Make was specified as 'U S'.

Is that what was engraved, or submitted?

[shaocaholica]

Is that what was engraved, or submitted?

Submitted. 2 pistols just had my name engraved, no make. The 3rd had a bogus make engraved which I didn't call out on the submission.

[9M62]

Submitted. 2 pistols just had my name engraved, no make. The 3rd had a bogus make engraved which I didn't call out on the submission.

I just got two of mine back too. As with yours, both were submitted with the required U S as make, my model and s/n were used. The picture showed only the model and s/n not my name. Both approved and registered.

[9M62]

Is that what was engraved, or submitted?

Whether you choose U S as a make or not, they will register it as "U S" for the make. It stands for unapproved subject or what not. So now I just put U S as the make to save time.

The only parts that transfer over to the registration paperwork are the serial number and model and caliber, if you have that.

[Quiet]

Whether you choose U S as a make or not, they will register it as "U S" for the make. It stands for unapproved subject or what not. So now I just put U S as the make to save time.

Unlicensed Subject.

[target_shot]

Is that what was engraved, or submitted?

Same here. I engraved my models as "Freedom Pew" and "Peacemaker", but submitted as "U S"


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[9M62]

Same here. I engraved my models as "Freedom Pew" and "Peacemaker", but submitted as "U S"

Yup.

The first one I did I engraved with my full name. I chose "California" as the make, since I did not know about the "U S" thing -- and I wrote in the notes that my NAME was the make, since, well, that's what I engraved.

I got the registration back with "U S" as the make, my model as the model and my s/n as the serial number.

The rest that I did from that point forward I just saved the typing and put "U S" as make in the first place.

The argument can be made as to whether or not you need to register your 80%'s prior to 2018, but for me personally I don't mind firearms being registered as long guns. I do mind them being registered in a manner that prohibits me from using them, selling them, transferring them or handing them down to my family. So for me it was simple, I reg'd all of my 80's -- some as complete guns and some as stripped lowers. The stripped lowers the calibers come back as "0000" but the others are all the caliber I listed. In any case, I've never had one returned yet, and in some cases I've sent photos of the entire lower, the entire gun, and other times just of the serial number and model (not even make). Never an issue.

The ridiculous part, the most ridiculous part, is if my firearm is stolen and a cop finds it, there is a slim to none chance that they will run it out as a "U S" make and then model / serial. They're going to run it as an unknown make and model and get no return, or take a guess on the make and use the serial number and get a thousand returns. THen guess what they'll do? They'll enter it as located for destruction and place it in evidence until they destroy it. In either case, there's no way I'd ever know about it.

[Motor Man]

I've looked at the "make" drop down window on the website form several times and have never been able to find US as an option. Where are you all finding it?

[rivraton]

I've looked at the "make" drop down window on the website form several times and have never been able to find US as an option. Where are you all finding it?

Between "U C" and "U S &S"

[Motor Man]

Well "L", now I see it. I must have been stuck in the letter "M" looking for "made in U.S." Don't I feel silly.