a guy at the range was shooting illegal SBRs

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Ocraknife

New member
I was at a public range today - a Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency range. This particular range doesn't have a range officer so sometimes people will do some interesting things there.

Anyway, this nice man and what looked to be his family took a spot next to me and they started shooting. I noticed he had two gas operated pistols, one was basically an AR variant and the other was an AK; both had collapsible stocks on both of them.

I complemented him on his SBRs and he said, oh, I didn't file any papers or anything - they're still just pistols.

I didn't really know what to say. He knew a lot about guns and had some beautiful M1s with him, he knew he needed an NFA stamp to legally use those guns as rifles - which he did. I was just surprised that someone would be that cavalier about it.

Anyway, I thought thought I'd share my range experience.
 
On the off chance that he was under some misconception, I'd have felt compelled to (in the friendliest possible terms) reinforce the status of these guns and the severe penalties if he runs across the wrong people while in possession of them.

This is not the place to test the limits, much less blithely drive your monster truck through them while blasting "Detroit Rock City" on the stereo.

I wonder how the guns came to be as they are. An AR can easily become an SBR but an AK would seem to take more work.
 
"I noticed he had two gas operated pistols, one was basically an AR variant and the other was an AK; both had collapsible stocks on both of them."

An AR with a "KAK or SIG stock" looks very much like an SBR but is a fully legal "pistol"(as long as you don't fire it with the back end of the forearm support touching your shoulder).
 
I think the best response to the situation is to mind your own business and not concern yourself with other's life decisions that do not affect you.
 
I want to get one of these pistols:

draco_logo_1_.jpg


And yes, pls MYOB.
 
In this case I would of minded my own business, he could of been a under cover agent who knows? I have learned to keep my nose out of others business in cases like this, you cant fix stupid.
 
It happens fairly often at the gun shop/range where I work. People buy a short upper and slap it on their rifle-configured lower and don't realize they just committed a felony. And in that case it very much is our business, we don't want people commiting blatant felonies on our property.

I once had a guy try to check in an SBR for some gunsmithing work and when I asked for a copy of his Form 4 he just gave me a blank look. The funny thing is that he knew about the NFA process because he had picked up a silencer recently, but apparently he didn't know about SBRs.

He claimed he bought the SBR from Troy and they sent it to his house, he kept claiming it was legal since he bought it like that. I noticed that the upper was Troy but the lower was Aero, and so I told him that it was legal to purchase the upper and have it sent to your house, but putting it on that lower was a felony. He kept arguing that it wasn't illegal since he bought all the parts legally. I kept politely asking him to take the illegal SBR out of our store, and he kept arguing with me about it. Finally, I raised my voice a little, told him he was in possession of an illegal SBR which is a federal felony, and told him if he didn't remove it from my store right now I'd be forced to call the police and notify the ATF. It got all quiet, and all the nearby customers looked at the guy. He finally got the hint and took it out of the store.

I didn't feel proud of calling him out like that and threatening him, but that was the only way I could think of to get it through his head that I needed him to take his illegal SBR out of my store. That was a first for me: Every other time I've had a customer unknowingly bring an illegal NFA item into the store (usually a sub-26" AR pistol with a VFG), I quietly tell them about it, and they quickly take it to their car and take it apart. They always appreciate that I'm the one who noticed it and told them as opposed to a hostile police officer. I've never had anyone argue with me like that guy did.
 
In this case I would of minded my own business, he could of been a under cover agent who knows? I have learned to keep my nose out of others business in cases like this, you cant fix stupid.
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He may well have been an agent. What's he going to do? Arrest you for telling him that he is probably committing a felony? Now... I would not take such a suspected illegal weapon in my hands for any reason.

And I would not discuss the issue if the owner were a wannabe hardboy or meth-billy. But by the description this owner was just a normal family guy who was under a misconception (possibly willfully as was the gunshop customer above).

Stupid actually can be fixed...with knowledge. Willful ignorance will be much harder to cure, usually requiring imminent consequences. That is someone else's job.

Either way, I would not push the issue but would kindly say something in this case. A word to the wise is sufficient. I respect that others here would not want to involve themselves at all.
 
There seems to be an abundance of folks out there without any knowledge of the laws.
I was in a local store awhile back and a guy comes in, with his girlfriend in tow, to buy a "sawed off shotgun" (his exact words).
He hadn't even a notion of a clue about why the store owner refused his request, even after being told the facts of life in great detail.
No doubt he saw one being used in a movie or tv show and decided he wanted one.
 
DaveP
Try one before you buy it. I've had one, balance is terrible and the short barrel doesn't help accuracy. At night the flash is cool if you are away but is blinding if shooting it.
 
" At night the flash is cool if you are away but is blinding if shooting it."

Roger that! My friend has one, and it is fun to shoot sometimes.

If it were mine, I would make some custom handloads for it, to minimize the flash.
 
Are you sure they were stocks and not pistol braces? They appear quite similar sometimes.
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IIRC but a pistol brace used as a stock without the relevant stamps is illegal. I could be wrong as I don't own a Mattel Gun of any sort.* ;)


*Mainly because I'm cheap and my eyesight limits any shooting over 25m to requiring glass sufficient to see any low orbiting satellites.
 
The MYOB principle is definitely a good principle to live by. If I see someone shooting an SBR at the range I'm going to mind my own business and presume he has the required paperwork.

However, if we're shooting next to each other and get to talking and it comes up that he doesn't seem to know the legal requirements, I'll probably give him a heads up as non confrontationally as possible. If he doesn't want to hear it then I walk away.
 
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