ATF Backpedaling on tax stamps for SIG Brace shoulder stocks?
With 2014 almost behind us, the year has seen a huge swing in developments on how the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives regulates so-called stabilizing braces on AR and AK style pistols. Well it seems this roller coaster has a new development that is downright humbug.
What these things are (a crash course)
According to the National Firearms Act of 1934 (the NFA), arms that the government thought to be too dangerous for over the counter sales, such as machine guns, suppressors, and short barreled rifles and shotguns, were regulated with an obscene $200 tax and special requirements to obtain one of these registered devices. When you take into account that $200 in 1934 is some $3500 in today’s dollars, you can see why this was thought so unachievable.
In regulating short-barreled rifles, the NFA states that any modern rifle less than 26-inches overall had to be registered and so regulated. However, as long as a pistol did not have a buttstock, and was made from the beginning as a handgun, it could be shorter than this requirement. That’s where these braces come in at.
ATF at first says it’s cool
Perhaps responsible for the spark of this current trend, Sig’s SB15 Brace, a simple upside-down U-shaped device that could be fitted to the buffer tube of an AR-style pistol and enable the gun to be fired while the SB15 steadied on the forearm of the shooter through use of a Velcro strap.
In 2012 the company submitted their design to the ATF’s Firearm Technology Branch who concluded that the brace was NFA-compliant, saying:
“Based on our evaluation, the FTB finds that the submitted forearm brace, when attached to a firearm, does not convert that weapon to be fired from the shoulder and would not alter the classification of a pistol or other firearm.”
Then in March, just nine months ago, the use of it even as a shoulder stock of sorts was deemed OK by the ATF’s Firearms Technology Branch (FTB) in a letter to the Greenwood Village Police Department in Colorado.
“FTB classifies weapons based on their physical design characteristics. While usage/functionality of the weapon does influence the intended design, it is not the sole criterion for determining the classification of a weapon. Generally speaking, we do not classify weapons based on how an individual uses a weapon. FTB has previously determined that the firing of a weapon from a particular position, such as placing the recover extension of an AR-15 type pistol on the user’s shoulder, does not change the classification of the weapon.”
This news went viral and suddenly AR-15 pistols (and their AK brothers from another mother) became white-hot in popularity. Besides SIG, who introduced an upgraded version of their now uber-popular brace, Thordsen Customs, Phase 5 Tactical and KAK Industries among others raced to produce companion products.
Then in November the ATF sent a letter to Black Aces Tactical that sent cold chills down the spines of those with pistol builds on their mind.
Now, it seems they have gone full-on grinch with a new letter that surfaced this week.
