TennesseeTaylor95 Posted December 7, 2018 Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 Hello everyone! I am a new member that stumbled across this forum while trying to decide if I should SBR my West Hurley 1927a1 (I hear that these guns are hit or miss, but mine seems to run just fine with liberal amounts of oil). I find that I never take my thompson out to the range and I feel that SBRing it would make me enjoy it more and take it out to shoot more often. My big thing is that I have absolutely no idea where to start this process as well as find out a ball park figure this entire thing would set me back by hearing from you guys that have SBRed their thompsons, what you had done, how much did it cost, what you would have done differently, did you do an eForm or send everything in by paper, etc. I have been searching the forum for most of these answers, but I didn't really get any ball park figures for some items and services, so I apologize in advance if this gets asked all the time. Any advice or "do's and don't" about SBRing a thompson would be much appreciated. Here is a picture of what I have to work with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldtrooper Posted December 7, 2018 Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 It's not as complicated as it is tedious ... I cannot answer for today but in 2016 it took 9 months for my tax stamp to arrive. If you take the plunge, I would suggest contacting a good Thompson smith to do the work of rebarreling ... Dan Block (deerslayer) on this forum put the barrel on my weapon ... Price was very reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elbow Posted December 7, 2018 Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 Try these links. They should help you. https://www.atf.gov/file/11281/download Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted December 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 Thank you guys for the quick responses. I will send Dan Block a message this weekend about the services he provides. If the wait time to get a tax stamp is still that long, that will give me enough time to save up as much money as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giantpune Posted December 7, 2018 Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 With the efile system, its currently a dice roll. Either you get a stamp back in 2-3 weeks or you get stuck in the FBI background check line and have to wait that 7-13 months. With the thompson, you can either have your original barrel cut and the sight pushed back or you can have the barrel swapped for a shorter one. If you go with the first option, its cheaper and you can have it threaded for a silencer. The second option looks more historically correct and you don't hack up the original parts. Its whichever one you prefer. You need to have the gun engraved, too, with your name and city. The thompson is on the heavy side, so shipping it may add up. I found a local shop and just drive my NFA items to him like 5 at a time to get engraved. If you're going with a full barrel swap, you can actually send the barrel off to get engraved which will be a lot cheaper than sending off the barreled receiver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted December 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 Very interesting and good to know since it would be easier and cheaper to ship a barrel instead of barreled receiver. However, I will look around to see if anyone within 1 or 2 hours of me can do the engraving for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brassmagnet Posted December 8, 2018 Report Share Posted December 8, 2018 Pretty sure he meant with the barrel "off" - receiver is easier to ship. The receiver gets the engraving..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted December 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2018 (edited) Are you sure brassmagnet? In chapter 7 titled Manufacturing NFA Firearms, 7.4.1 and 7.4.2 under the section titled The Identification of Firearms, only the serial number has to be on the receiver or frame (the serial number that would be used for the form 1 is the factory serial number that is already on the receiver). The other information can be put on the receiver, frame, or barrel (i.e. model, caliber, manufacturer's name, city and state of manufacturing). Unless I have read or understood the ATF's information incorrectly, the barrel should be able to be sent off by itself to get my form 1 information engraved on it since I will not have any information engraved that can only be placed on the receiver. However, my ATF Federal Firearms Regulations Reference Guide is from 2014 and things could have been updated since then, so if I am incorrect, please let me know with references to the most recent information from the ATF. Edited December 8, 2018 by TennesseeTaylor95 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speeddemon02 Posted December 8, 2018 Report Share Posted December 8, 2018 You are correct that the additional required info can be put on the barrel itself. I prefer this method for SBR/SBS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted December 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2018 Good to know Speeddemon02, I have been wanting to dip into the NFA world for a few years now, but I have been a little apprehensive about getting the ball rolling on the paperwork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giantpune Posted December 8, 2018 Report Share Posted December 8, 2018 (edited) Pretty sure he meant with the barrel "off" - receiver is easier to ship. The receiver gets the engraving.....I was talking about engraving his new barrel and then having it installed. Doing the barrel is common for AR-15 short upper receivers and glock SBRs. In the case of AR-15 and a thompson with quick-swappable barrels, every time you have the short barrel installed on the gun, the gun has the proper markings. But when you take the short barrel off, the gun is untouched and back to its original condition. Edited December 8, 2018 by giantpune Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anticus Posted December 8, 2018 Report Share Posted December 8, 2018 A note on timeframes. i sent my latest Form 1 paperwork in on 4 September. It was approved on 30 November and I got my stamp yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldtrooper Posted December 8, 2018 Report Share Posted December 8, 2018 I had mine engraved on the frame next to the grip mount ... If a barrel ever needs to be swapped out it would eliminate the need to engrave the new barrel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted December 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2018 Anticus, was your timeframe with the eForm system or by sending in paper forms? Engraving the frame does sound pretty good as well, especially since it might be easier to engrave a flat spot of metal over the rounded surfaces of a barrel. There is a place about 1.5 hours away that does NFA engravings for $35 so I will try to schedule an appointment with them for the next time I am in that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anticus Posted December 8, 2018 Report Share Posted December 8, 2018 Paper all the way. I have the frames engraved on my other SBRs, but I'm doing the barrel on the Uzi since it's so easy to swap out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted December 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2018 Wow, that's a short wait time for paper. I was thinking that it would probably take 6 months or more. Did you fill the paper work out by yourself or did you need any assistance on filling it out the first time you sent in a form 1? It looks pretty easy and straightforward, but I just don't want to mess it up and get my packet rejected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldtrooper Posted December 8, 2018 Report Share Posted December 8, 2018 Wow, that's a short wait time for paper. I was thinking that it would probably take 6 months or more. Did you fill the paper work out by yourself or did you need any assistance on filling it out the first time you sent in a form 1? It looks pretty easy and straightforward, but I just don't want to mess it up and get my packet rejected.When you complete your paperwork double check to make sure the law enforcement official that has to sign off does so properly ... My sheriff did not and it held my paperwork up 2 weeks to have him correct it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted December 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 Could you specify how your sheriff messed it up? Did he not print his name, put his signature, etc.? I would like to know so I make sure mine doesn't do the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted December 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 Wow, that's a short wait time for paper. I was thinking that it would probably take 6 months or more. Did you fill the paper work out by yourself or did you need any assistance on filling it out the first time you sent in a form 1? It looks pretty easy and straightforward, but I just don't want to mess it up and get my packet rejected.When you complete your paperwork double check to make sure the law enforcement official that has to sign off does so properly ... My sheriff did not and it held my paperwork up 2 weeks to have him correct it. did your sheriff not put the correct address or his name down in box 10? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldtrooper Posted December 9, 2018 Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 Wow, that's a short wait time for paper. I was thinking that it would probably take 6 months or more. Did you fill the paper work out by yourself or did you need any assistance on filling it out the first time you sent in a form 1? It looks pretty easy and straightforward, but I just don't want to mess it up and get my packet rejected.When you complete your paperwork double check to make sure the law enforcement official that has to sign off does so properly ... My sheriff did not and it held my paperwork up 2 weeks to have him correct it.did your sheriff not put the correct address or his name down in box 10?He didn't sign both copies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giantpune Posted December 9, 2018 Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 (edited) There is no CLEO sign off since July 13, 2016 when rule 41f went into effect. Now you send a notification to the CLEO, but thats it.https://www.silencershop.com/blog/post/atf-41f-published-today/ I had mine engraved on the frame next to the grip mount ... If a barrel ever needs to be swapped out it would eliminate the need to engrave the new barrel The way I think about it, by the time you manage to shoot out a barrel (if you ever manage to do it), you've spent $4k on ammo. The cost of engraving your new barrel (about $40) is negligible. Edited December 9, 2018 by giantpune Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted December 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 Ah, good to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anticus Posted December 9, 2018 Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 That's right, no sign off, just notification. I did go to the sheriff's office to get the prints. They do it digitally (no pun intended ). Clean and fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeTaylor95 Posted December 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 Fantastic. I was hoping that it would be like when I had to get fingerprinted for my carry permit. I got the form 1 packet from the ATF, and all of the pages are all together. So my next question is, do I give the CLEO copy when I get my fingerprints done (before the packet gets approved), or do send the entire packet as is to the ATF and once it has been approved and a copy is sent back to me, do I then send it to them? I am sorry that I am asking a million and one questions, so thank you guys again for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giantpune Posted December 9, 2018 Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 (edited) Here's the way I've done it since rule 41f. Its different whether you file individual or with a trust. If you look at the form 1, its a 3 page form and its 3 copies that are similar but different. At the bottom of each page, it tells you which one it is. One for the atf, one that'll get mailed back to you with your stamp on it, and one that you send to your CLEO just to notify them. Form is here https://www.atf.gov/file/11281/download On a computer, you can use adobe acrobat software to fill in the form 1. As you fill in the first one (atf copy), it'll fill in the information for the other two copies. You can't fill it in with some software like chrome because it won't fill in all the copies. I pay with credit card, so I fill in my information right in the form 1. Then print it out. You dont have to print all the instruction pages if you dont want them. Save your paper and ink. For a trust, fill out the necessary RPQ form and a copy of the trust, or the 24-month exemption letter. Using the fingerprint cars and ink I got off amazon, roll your own prints on 2 different cards and fill them in. I took a picture of myself and scanned it and printed out a page of my own "passport" style photos. For individual, you fill out section 11 in the form 1 and tape/staple your photo there. For a trust, you leave section 11 blank and attach your photo to the RPQ. In one envelope, the CLEO copy of the form 1 and RQP and mail that off to the sherrif. In a larger envelope, the first 2 copies of the form 1, RPQ, trust or 24 month exemption, 2 fingerprint cards, and check if you're paying that way and mail all that to the ATF. I put them in the mail the same day. You can have your gun engraved whenever you want. Some people do it before they submit the paperwork, some while they wait, and some only after they have the stamp in their hand. As long as you don't make the SBR without the engraving, then all these options are legal. Its just personal preference. If you're having the sheriff roll your prints, then I don't see why you couldn't drop them off their copy while you were there. In October, the ATF also put the form 1 back up on their e-file website. Its a clunky site and it has some annoying bugs. But it does work. You're filling out all the same forms as with paper filing. The difference is with e-file, you upload a digital copy of your trust and photo and you still mail in your prints to them. E-file forms are the ones that some (but not all) people are getting back in 2-3 weeks. When you use the e-file, you never get a real stamp back. You get a pdf with a picture of a stamp on it. When you paper file, you get one of the forms you sent in and it has a stamp like a postage stamp with your serial number written on it. Edited December 9, 2018 by giantpune Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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