Question about legality of modifying a rifle to CA compliance at home

[Rcas]

This weekend while at my national guard drill I discovered one of the other officers is an ATF agent. She advised one of the captains that he needed to take his AR's to a gunsmith to have a bullet button installed and that it was illegal to do it himself since he purchased them as CA non compliant while stationed in another state before he was a CA resident. The reason being that I the serial number was run by ATF it would come up as CA non compliant and if its configuration was currently CA compliant he could be charged with illegal modification of a firearm from its original configuration.

This sounds completely wrong to me and nothing I read when moving here told me I couldn't make my rifles CA compliant with my own tools. Can anyone confirm or disprove what she said?

Any insight is appreciated.

[highpower790]

Your fellow patriot should just buy the kit and do it himself.Story doesnt sound right to me.

[REDdawn6]

FUD!!!

[killmime1234]

The only way the ATF can determine the rifle's origin is to do a trace. The trace will ultimately lead back to the manufacturer's A&D log. The only descriptors for the firearm will be that it is a RIFLE, with SERIAL XXXX, model AAAA. Unless the manufacturer has separate model names for the CA compliant variants, there will be no way to tell whether it was built with a bullet button or not.

Beside all that, there is no law that makes it illegal to modify your own rifle in such a way in the first place!

[hellayella]

FUD

[Rcas]

The only way the ATF can determine the rifle's origin is to do a trace. The trace will ultimately lead back to the manufacturer's A&D log. The only descriptors for the firearm will be that it is a RIFLE, with SERIAL XXXX, model AAAA. Unless the manufacturer has separate model names for the CA compliant variants, there will be no way to tell whether it was built with a bullet button or not.

Beside all that, there is no law that makes it illegal to modify your own rifle in such a way in the first place!

That's what I thought, I still plan on getting clarification from her since she said there were pending cases for people doing that but I'm betting she's generalizing based on open cases and not knowing all the facts. I will update with more info when I get it.

[Jimi Jah]

When ATF agents don't know the laws they are sworn to obey, it's very scary.

[Librarian]

This weekend while at my national guard drill I discovered one of the other officers is an ATF agent. She advised one of the captains that he needed to take his AR's to a gunsmith to have a bullet button installed and that it was illegal to do it himself since he purchased them as CA non compliant while stationed in another state before he was a CA resident. The reason being that I the serial number was run by ATF it would come up as CA non compliant and if its configuration was currently CA compliant he could be charged with illegal modification of a firearm from its original configuration.

This sounds completely wrong to me and nothing I read when moving here told me I couldn't make my rifles CA compliant with my own tools. Can anyone confirm or disprove what she said?

Any insight is appreciated.

Aside from info already expressed - ATF agent is substantially wrong, there are no Federal issues, and an 07 is not required to install a bullet-button - if things are as you relate

he purchased them as CA non compliant while stationed in another state before he was a CA resident.

that officer would have major legal problems in the weeds: that phrasing suggests he may have imported those rifles in a condition CA calls an 'assault weapon'.

He may have been on active duty at the time, and may have been able to get a MAWP back when that was reasonable to get, but when changing to Reserve status, should have converted his rifles away from 'assault weapon' status.

[CSACANNONEER]

This weekend while at my national guard drill I discovered one of the other officers is an ATF agent. She advised one of the captains that he needed to take his AR's to a gunsmith to have a bullet button installed and that it was illegal to do it himself since he purchased them as CA non compliant while stationed in another state before he was a CA resident. The reason being that I the serial number was run by ATF it would come up as CA non compliant and if its configuration was currently CA compliant he could be charged with illegal modification of a firearm from its original configuration.

This sounds completely wrong to me and nothing I read when moving here told me I couldn't make my rifles CA compliant with my own tools. Can anyone confirm or disprove what she said?

Any insight is appreciated.

LOL. It sure sounds like someone who doesn't know her azz from a hole in the wall. First of all, no serial number comes back as "CA compliant". Second of all, it is not illegal to modify a firearm from it's original configuration.

[Rcas]

Question about legality of modifying a rifle to CA compliance at home

I got clarification from the Agent when we both had a few min to sit down, she somehow got twisted on what was being asked and was saying its illegal to remove the bullet button which we all know is true. But she was actually being asked how he should have it installed. The officer asking recently moved here and I'm not sure on if he's already brought all his belongings into CA. I did discover the ATF (at least where she works) doesn't care if there's a bullet button on a firearm unless you're already being charged with something else since they aren't concerned with state laws. How this was mixed up I'll never know and why I was the only one who thought it sounded off concerns me.

I figured the law was as it is, but I always accept the possibility that what I think I know re: CA gun laws may have changed to something ridiculous since I don't read up as much as I probably should.

Thank you for the quick responses though. They were a big help to make sure I hadn't missed something before approaching the Agent.

[dwtt]

Since you're in Pacifica, I'm assuming this ATF person is in the San Francisco field office. I doubt she's a special agent, though, but one of the admin people since the special agents know the laws and aren't going to mix up something like this. You're right about the ATF not caring about bullet buttons on rifles in CA, since this has nothing to do with federal firearms laws.

[Rcas]

Question about legality of modifying a rifle to CA compliance at home

The agent is a member of my Guard unit which isn't in the Bay Area and we have people from all over the state so she could be from anywhere.

[CSACANNONEER]

she somehow got twisted on what was being asked and was saying its illegal to remove the bullet button which we all know is true. But she was actually being asked how he should have it installed.

No, we don't all know it's true. In fact, most of us know that it can be 100% legal to remove a Bullet Button or any other mag lock without getting a FFL involved. You just need to remove the evil features first. Or, in the case of an AR15 rifle (not handgun), just remove the upper and don't install a centerfire upper unless the lower doesn't have evil features.

[Rcas]

Question about legality of modifying a rifle to CA compliance at home

If you want to get literal about it. I was talking about turning your otherwise normally configured AR into a CA assault weapon.

[Thomkat]

When ATF agents don't know the laws they are sworn to obey, it's very scary.

They just make them up as they go, don't put it in plain language, and forget what they said.