Articles Posted in ATF / BATFE

In Maryland, a U.S. District Judge sentenced Ronnie Candelario to 41 months in prison for pleadings guilty to the possession of an unregistered fuel filter silencer.  Following his release from prison, the Court sentenced Candelario to three years of supervised release.

Many readers might be wondering what exactly a fuel filter silencer is, I have included a video that shows how it works.  By now many have heard or read about the different types of “do it yourself” suppressors.  Gun owners have learned ways to make oil filter and flashlights suppress firearm noise.  The latest trend is to use fuel filters now.  One company has sold these products on Amazon, and the company even sells the filters as AR-15 suppressors.
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We often get questions regarding muzzle brakes and some of the kit suppressors that can be found on eBay and Facebook.  Our advice is to buy a real suppressor and not fool around with these “kits”.

When ATF arrests individuals for selling these items, they often obtain the shipping and sales records for the transactions.  ATF often contacts the individuals who purchased the “illegal items” in an attempt to remove them from the market.  If you have purchased one of these items, it is best to return it and obtain a shipping confirmation for the return that you can show ATF, if they knock on your door.

If you would like to read about one of the recent arrests by ATF follow this link

We have updated the forms on the website and instructions for completing a

These are the forms to use after July 12th,  Form 1Form 4,   Form 5Form 23

ALL APPLICATIONS POSTMARKED AFTER JULY 12, 2016 MUST BE MAILED TO THE ADDRESS BELOW:

Mailing Address

NFA Branch
P.O. Box 530298
Atlanta, GA 30353-0298

Since the forms change from time to time, we recommend that you download the latest samples of the documents and explanations of what information is required and how to complete a Form 4 or Form 1. These documents are kept up to date and can be found on the NFA Gun Trust Lawyer website at: https://www.guntrustlawyer.com/form4.

Since 41F has been implemented, there are documents that must be sent to the CLEO as well as documents to be sent to the ATF. While there is no CLEO certification anymore, the CLEO does receive a notice that a purchase is being made.

Below are some updated instructions to use with our trusts or those trusts that contain the Gun Trust Lawyer ® trademark


The Following Documents are sent to your CLEO:

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This weekend, I was shocked to read an article on Facebook that was from a popular gun website that instructed people that they did not have to engrave a firearms that they “made” using a Form 1 unless they were going to sell the firearm.  This author claims to have asked ATF a question and received a response from an individual who is associated with the ATF.

This is equivalent to asking a police officer to interpret the law.  Not only do they often make mistakes, but you cannot reply on what they tell you, because they are permitted to lie to you.

The biggest issues seems to be the confusion between the definitions for the words “Make” and “Manufacture” as defined in 27 C.F.R. 479.11

41F was published today in the Federal Register.  Here is a Link to 41F as filed which is similar to the draft that has been circulating.

Our Gun Trusts are fully 41P compliant and ready.  If you have a gun trust from a Gun Trust Lawyer® (with our copyright information on it) your trust is fine to use and will not have problems with 41F.

These are the forms to use after July 12th,  Form 1Form 4,   Form 5Form 23

Recently the ATF updated their final action date from December 2015 to January 2016.  For a complete list of articles and issues on ATF-41P see our 41P update page.

The most significant comments are listed on the 41P page link above.  What does the update mean? We believe that ATF will attempt to move forward with changes sometime within the next few months.  If you are considering forming a Gun Trust for NFA purchases, now may be the time to create your gun trust before changes are made.

Many people have been reporting that 41P will end the opportunity to take advantage of the benefits of a Gun Trust.  This is simply not true, it will not end gun trusts nor do away with many of the advantages of a gun trust.  ATF is talking about making responsible parties provide a modified CLEO authorization and other information, but this proposal was made prior to the ATF stating that the person purchasing an item with a Gun Trust sill needs a NICS check. The new position on the NICS requirement seems to do away with the CLEO certification as it is more comprehensive.

Can_Cannon_Production_2Many of our Gun Trust Clients have purchased a Can Cannon.  Previously the use of a Can Cannon was not regulated by the NFA, but recently the ATF determined that the use of the Can Cannon in conjunction with a receiver or a pistol creates an item regulated by the NFA.  This may be problematic if the NFA item is not legal in your state, but if they are legal there may be a relatively inexpensive way to solve the problem for those who already have an SBS.

X Products warned their customers that the ATF evaluated the Can Cannon and determined that it would be considered an SBR if placed on a rifle receiver, and an AOW if used on a pistol AR. See the ATF letter on the Can Cannon. The ATF has defined the Can Cannon as a shotgun. However, the device by itself is not a firearm and is perfectly legal to own. Attaching it to a firearm is illegal unless the user has the proper federal licenses.

If you have an SBS, you can add the Can Cannon as an additional configuration to your SBS by using this Additional Configuration Form we have prepared for use with our Gun Trusts, SBSs and multiple configurations.  Here is a link to using multiple configurations with a Form 1 for those not familiar with it

We are often asked if you have to be 21 to build an SBR or Suppressor.  If you are manufacturing a firearm under the NFA using an ATF Form 5320.1  you only need to be 18 under federal law.  Likewise, if you are purchasing a firearm using an ATF Form 4 from an individual, trust, or non FFL you only need to be 18 years old.  If you are buying one from an FFL, you must be 21 years old under federal law.  Your state may impose stricter requirements.

Below is an excerpt from the attached letter  from ATF explaining the age requirement.

This is in response to your letter of November 16, 2006, to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) advising that you are 18 years of age, the owner of a AR-15 type receiver, and wish to register it has a short-barreled rifle using an ATF 1 application.You ask whether ATF would approve the application submitted under these circumstances.

In the April 27th issue of Bullet Points, the NSSF wrote the following update

NO IMPLEMENTATION YET SEEN FOR NOTICE 41P AS FINAL RULE . . . NSSF has confirmed with ATF that the bureau is unlikely to publish Notice 41P (NFA Trusts) as a Final Rule for quite some time. This is in part because EPS resources are being diverted to help process the 310,000 public comments received in response to the armor piercing ammunition framework proposal. In addition, it seems ATF has not prepared to revise the NFA database so that it can track “responsible persons” for NFA trusts. The proposed rule would require the responsible person(s) on an NFA Trust be fingerprinted.

This seems consistent with the statements made by the ATF at the Annual Firearms Seminar in Nashville earlier this month when we reported on many of the statements ATF made including poorly written trusts.  Remember, a properly written gun trust should give you and others involved with the trust guidance what you can and can’t do instead of leave it up to the individual to determine what to do.

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