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The 80% Solution for Staying Off Government Radar

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  • Genesis CNC

    New Member
    Sep 3, 2013
    29
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    [h=1] Here is an article from one of our blog writers Kitty Lusby. Check out our blog for more articles

    The 80% Solution for Staying Off Government Radar
    [/h]It seems like every time you buy a new gun, there’s more paperwork to fill out, more junk you have to bring with you, more hoops to jump through and red tape to cut through and more people adding your name to some list for who-knows-what purpose. The national panic level has gotten so out of hand that your neighbors feel like it’s their business to know what you keep in your house…and what kind of grill you can buy, and what you can do in your own back yard, and what sort of music you can play during which hours of the day…


    It’s nobody’s business but yours!

    Your neighbors don’t have any right or reason to know what kind of guns you keep in your house, and neither does the government. Aside from the historical evidence that those kinds of government records are a really bad idea, one of the strongest deterrents for both violent crime AND large scale tyranny is fear – the fear that the victim might be more dangerous than the perpetrator. Privacy, it turns out, is more than just a luxury. It’s an integral part of personal and national security.


    But patriotic duty aside, it’s really nobody’s business what kind of guns you own, or why. You are an intelligent, capable individual, not an invalid looking for someone else to take care of you. You decide what you eat, what you wear, where you work, how much money you make, and what you do with that money once you make it. Nobody checks in on you to make sure you’re bathing regularly or taking care of your hardwood floors. As adults, we’re responsible for making our own decisions and looking after our own health and wellbeing – so why do so many people feel like they have a right to dictate how you handle your personal security?


    There is a solution

    We can’t help you with your nosy neighbors, but we CAN help you stay off the government radar when you make your next gun purchase. No, it’s not the black market…and there’s actually no such thing as a ‘gun show loophole’ so it’s not that, either. It’s actually 100% legal for you to order online, have it shipped directly to your home, and there never has to be a serial number on it at all.


    Now, before we go any further, the powers that be insist that we tell you that we’re not lawyers, and we’re not qualified to give you legal advice. In fact, if you want legal advice, you should probably be on the phone with an actual attorney and not surfing the internet reading blog posts. The information we’re giving you here is based off of our understanding of the law and the ATF’s comments on the matter, so if you’re even a little bit unsure, check with a bona fide lawyer before doing anything. Oh, and just to be clear, if you do anything illegal, it’s your own fault. We’re not interested in helping you break the law, so don’t ask us.

    Now, back to this solution we’ve been talking about. You can legally own a firearm that has no serial number and is on nobody’s list, and you can order online and ship directly to your home without going through a FFL.
    What’s the catch?


    It’s not technically a gun. Yet.


    Receiver Blanks, The 80% Answer

    According to the ATF, the only part of a gun that must be serialized and tracked is the lower receiver. That’s the piece that they actually consider a firearm – but until a lower receiver is more than 80 percent completed, it’s just a piece of metal shaped kind of a like a gun part. You can read what they have to say on the topic here , by the way. As far as the government is concerned, they have nothing at all to do with unfinished lowers, and this is good news for you.

    Since it’s NOT a firearm, an 80 lower receiver can be shipped directly to your house, and according to current ATF guidelines, you can then do the last bit of work yourself and build a complete rifle without ever having to jump through those government hoops. Of course, to be on the up-and-up, you can only build a gun that you’d be legally allowed to have if you purchased it in the store, and you must do the work yourself – no sending it off to a gunsmith.


    What If I Don’t Know How To Build a Rifle?

    Don’t let the idea of a home build intimidate you. When you order your 80% lower, you can also get a jig to guide you, and the work can be completed on almost any standard drill press. In fact, you can even save money by getting your .308 lower receiver, upper receiver, and the jig as a package deal. There are also some huge advantages to building your own rifle that you won’t get from any store bought version, which you can read about here.

    We’d love to offer you as much help a possible, and you’ll find plenty of tips and how-to’s in our forum if you click here.

    There are even some handy videos showing the work being completed, so you know exactly what to expect. Think of it as the badass grownup version of arts and crafts, except the end result is a custom rifle.

    Okay, But I Have Questions

    Of course you have questions! To try to make it easier for you, we’ve compiled some of the most frequent questions and concerns about 80% lowers.


    Is it really, really legal? According to the ATF, yes. As long as you build your own gun for your own purposes and don’t transfer (sell or give) the finished gun to anyone else, you can legally own a firearm made from an 80% receiver without ever having to engrave it with identifying information or register it anywhere…though we recommend putting some kind of permanent mark on it for your own records, just in case anything happens later, so that you can identify it as yours.


    What if I want to sell the finished gun later? That’s getting to be a tricky legal question, and the ATF answers haven’t been exactly black and white when it comes to transfer of the completed firearms. As of right now, it’s our understanding that you MIGHT be able to transfer a finished gun that was built from a receiver blank, but you’d have to mark it according to ATF standards. If you’re in that position, you should talk to a lawyer. Don’t just Google it and hope for the best.


    Can I make a full-auto AR from a receiver blank? This is another question for your lawyer. Odds are, no: in order to own NFA items (guns regulated by the National Firearms Act) you’re required to purchase a tax stamp and have certain permissions. We don’t sell these 308 lowers intending for them to become full-auto, so for the sake of simplicity and because it’s the answer that most people are going to hear – no, you can’t build a full-auto rifle from a blank receiver.


    Can I take my lower to a smith just for the machining as long as I’m standing there with them? Once again, you’re going to see answers on both side of the fence on this one. The ATF is known for giving answers that aren’t answers and interpreting the law however best suits them at the time, so it’s better to stay in the safe zone and complete your own build. Ask a lawyer if you’re really certain you’re incapable of doing the work yourself, but we recommend that you just do it on your own anyway. The jig makes it straightforward and easy to understand, and you can always get help in our forums here.


    The Next Steps

    If you’ve got burning questions that weren’t answered here, feel free to get in touch. Click here to go to our contact page – we’ll do our best to point you in the right direction.
    Owning a new .308 rifle built from a receiver blank is one more way to optimize your survival kit. Not only that, but by learning to do the work yourself, you’re building a valuable skill that most preppers don’t have, and it’s a subtle, but poignant, expression of your right to privacy. Over the next few weeks, we’ll also be going over some of the ins and outs of building for yourself, so check back if you need some extra guidance. Do your research and decide what you want in your ideal rifle, and when you’re ready to get started, we’ll be here.

    ~

    By Kitty Lusby
    Firearms have been a part of Kitty’s family longer than Kitty herself, beginning when her parents went target shooting on their first dates, and she grew up in a household that taught firearm safety alongside potty training. Shooting and writing have been some of her favorite activities for as long as she can remember, and it only made sense to turn those hobbies into a career. Today, Kitty works from her home near Las Vegas, Nevada, where the tacos are good and gun shops are plentiful.
    DK Firearms
     

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