Tag Archives: SBR

SBRs To Get X’d Out of NFA?

What’s not to like about an SBR? (Photo: Battle Arms Development )

Legislation announced Tuesday would remove short-barreled rifles from regulation under the National Firearm Act and treat them like regular firearms.

Under current law, as regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, SBRs are classified as a rifle with an overall length of fewer than 26-inches and/or a barrel of fewer than 16-inches in length. Marshall’s bill would remove such limits from NFA enforcement, regulating SBRs in the future under the same rules as other rifles.

According to statistics from the ATF, some 413,167 SBRs were listed on the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) as of May 2019. Such figures have steadily risen through the years as these firearms become more popular and gun owners elect, for example, to legally convert AR and AK-style pistols to SBRs after processing a Form 1 and paying a $200 tax stamp. In 2014– just a half-decade ago– there were only 137,201 SBRs on the books.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Springfield Armory drops 2 shorty carbines on the market

Springer is now jumping into the pool largely owned by companies like Daniel Defense and Sig by debuting a pair of factory SBRs.

Announced last week were their Saint SBR and Saint Edge SBR, with the former using a forged lower receiver, and the latter a lightened billet lower. Each has a free-float M-Lok compatible handguard and 7075 T6 aluminum flat top upper with a forward assist and M4 feed ramps as well as Bravo Company Gunfighter buttstocks and pistol grips. Overall length, due to the adjustable stock, runs between 27.5 and 30.75-inches while weight goes just over 5.5-pounds.

Prices, even with stamps included, run less than $1500, and I will definitely check them out in Dallas this week.

More in my column at Guns.com.

SHOT Show hits and misses

Made it back alive (though the flight back from Vegas was full of walking wounded) so you neither have to avenge me nor get the opportunity to split up my gear.

Here are some of the more interesting developments, though I will circle back around later in the week with a couple of tales of interesting people I met on the way.

Franklin Armory’s BFS III-equipped Revelation “firearm” seems like it would be an SBR, but it only seems that way. (Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

So I got to check out the Reformation by Franklin Armory, and like I called it, it uses a non-rifled barrel (straight lands and grooves) with rifle ammo (.300BLK/5.56mm) to give you a non-NFA short barreled rifle (because, duh, it’s not legally a rifle!). I made contact on the range with it at close distances and it shot well but is billed with an accuracy of just 4 MOA at 100 yards, which is better than the old Brown Bess– or your typical SKS for that matter– but sill is generating a lot of hate as something as a Stormtrooper rifle. More on that in my column at Guns.com here.

Would you like to know more? (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Then there was the new Tavor TS12 shotgun, which looks like low-effort Starship Troopers cosplay but brings 15 shells of 12 to the party in a bullpup design that is just 29-inches overall (and 10 high!). Recoil impulse was…different. Meh, bullpups. More here.

Mossberg points out that their new 590M series, shown with a 20-round mag inserted above, allows for quick reloading in a smaller package than the other guys’ single-stacks. A pair of 10-round mags, standard to the shotgun, is seen to the left (Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The surprise of the party was Mossberg’s HUGE double stack 12 gauge mags for a dedicated series of 590 shotguns. Sure they are expensive ($100) and giant (like a loaf of french bread for the 20-rounder big) but they are still smaller than comparable single stacks from Remington and Black Aces while being similar in price to Saiga mags. More on that here.

So I’m in Las Vegas for SHOT Show

Found this on the range and, despite it’s odd recoil impulse and sometimes confusing weapon manipulation, is very interesting in a 1960s High Standard HS10 kinda way. I give you the IWI Tavor TS12, a bullpup semi-auto shotgun with a 15-shot capacity.

The Israeli shotgun uses a trio of 5-shot (using 2.75-inch shells) tubular magazines that automatically loads the next round in the 3-inch chamber when the mag is rotated into place. When using 3-inch shells, the capacity drops by one shell in each mag. The 18.5-inch barrel is threaded for Benelli or Beretta chokes and one is included. Weight empty is advertised as being 8 pounds. The shotgun includes a one-piece Picatinny top rail and M-Lok slots on the forward handguard. The ambi design allows the user to swap out for left or right controls and ejection.

And there is also this thing, which shoots very well, but they still aren’t letting on how it is done. I am still on record that it uses a form of rifling that isn’t considered such by BATFE. We shall see.

Franklin Armory promises 11.5-inch barreled non-NFA firearm, with a stock

Also, no Warship Wednesday tomorrow. Sorry gang. Will rejoin WW already in progress next week. The past two weeks have been swamped. If I don’t make it back alive, you know the drill: avenge my death.

What black magic is this?

Nevada-based Franklin Armory said last week they are debuting their no-stamp-required Reformation “firearm” that includes both a Magpul MOE SL carbine stock and an 11.5-inch shorty barrel. The Reformation is a non-rifle that, according to Franklin Armory President Jay Jacobson, has recently been approved by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to be compliant with National Firearms Act regs.

Since they say it is neither rifle nor shotgun, I am guessing the way they are keeping north of the NFA is by using a funky way to stabilize the bullet rather than traditional rifling, perhaps something akin to the Lancaster oval-bore Colindian non-rifled rifles of the 19th Century. Either way, I think this will be my first stop at Media Day on the Range next Monday at SHOT Show. Watch this space!

More in my column at Guns.com.

There are now over 5 million NFA items on the books, including 1.3 million suppressors

The number of National Firearm Act items saw a huge jump in the past year — including a 50 percent increase in suppressor registration and 39 percent bump in short-barreled rifles registered — according to new data released by federal regulators.

The report provides an overview of the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, which is the federal list of all items, such as suppressors, SBRs, short-barreled shotguns, destructive devices and any other weapons logged under the NFA as of April, and updates figures released in February 2016.

In the 14-month period between reports, the total number of NFA items of all kinds has climbed to 5,203,489 — an overall increase of more than 800,000 items.

While the numbers of AOW’s, machine guns and SBSs all saw negligible increases, the biggest jumps in the 14-month interlude came in the numbers of registered SBRs and suppressors.

More in my column at Guns.com

Always wanted a suppressed HK53-based SBR?

The Heckler & Koch HK53 was designed in the 1970s as an ultra-compact version of their 5.56mm HK33, basically, the German answer to the Warsaw Pact AKS-74U Krinkov or Colt’s various Vietnam-era Commando models. They saw some export success, and in the U.S. the pre-Homeland Security Border Patrol adopted them for some tactical teams (hey, Customs had the Steyr-AUG at the same time, so you can see the need for competition).

Well, SilencerCo teamed up with Canton, Michigan’s Dakota Tactical Firearms to craft a limited run of just ten (10) roller-locked semi-auto HK53s SBRs in .300 BLK, equipped with matching Omega suppressors.

Termed the D300 by DTAC, these guns usually run bigfoot on a unicorn rare on the market. Each uses an 8.3-inch free-floated fluted barrel and a “sear-ready” tungsten-filled bolt group. The DTAC hand guard is freckled with M-Lok (because what isn’t these days?) while the receiver runs a 1913 Pic rail for your optic needs that go beyond the standard HK drum/post sights. A collapsible A3 stock, tools and 30-round mag complete the package.

How mucho do they run? Check out my column at Guns.com for that stocking sticker, along with some more sweet pics.

ATF’s NFA branch moving on up

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives has split its National Firearms Act branch into a separate division in hopes of providing more oversight and efficiency.

The new NFA Division will consist of an Industry Processing Branch, focusing on processing forms from the private sector, and a Government Support Branch centered on law enforcement.

The IPB will see the regulatory body dedicate an entire branch to handling the processing of consumer-directed documents including Form 1 and Form 4 applications for the making and transfer of NFA items such as suppressors, and short-barreled rifles and shotguns.

But what does this mean? I talked to the experts to find out…

More in my column at Guns.com

Now that is a Scorpion with a subtle sting

The classic Skorpion machine pistol dates back to the Cold War and CZ redefined that .32ACP room broom into a polymer framed 9mm a couple years back with the semi-auto blowback-operated CZ-USA Scorpion EVO.

Last year, the Czech Republic-based company added to the line with the Scorpion EVO 3 S1 carbine, which sports a 16.2-inch barrel and is offered with a faux suppressor built specifically for CZ-USA by SilencerCo.

However, 16.2-inches can seem so long on an otherwise handy pistol caliber carbine so SilencerCo has come to the rescue and converted a limited run of 35 Scorpions to short barreled rifles, complete with side-folding stocks and an  Omega 9K suppressor (delivers 131.5 dB reduction on 9mm) with a direct thread 18×1 mount.

How sweet it is.

cz-skorp

More in my column at Guns.com

A veritable NFA buffett

The NFA Review Channel carefully crafted what they call their “Case of Mayhem” that includes select-fire, SBR, SBS, suppressors and more.

nfa mg glock 17c sbs sbr class 3 title ii
Contents, LtoR: MK18 MOD0 with AAC M42K, SEA Bears Bark 20G SBS, Glock17c with JNC select fire sear, and a Dakota Tactical D54R-N with select fire trigger pack and Silencerco Omega 9K, if you are curious.

The case is a Pelican 1750 with customized B&W Kaizen foam.

Stencil on the outside could be Krylon, color chit unknown.

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