I contacted the BATF and asked this question with-in the specific context of mounting a Marbles tang sight to a Marlin Carbine that has the serial number running down the tang. The mounting of the sight would remove one of the numbers.

I just got off the phone with the BATF feild office in Richmond VA. Inspector Dickey did not know off the top of his head so he contacted Washington and got right back to me.

His paraphrased reply:
The original serial number may not be destroyed or altered in any way. If you (the gunsmith) restamp the serial number on the action somewhere else, that is fine, but the original number must remain as is and unaltered.

If the firearm were returned to the factory, the factory is allowed to remark the reciever with a duplicate number in another location so that a tang sight can be installed.

opinion: PITA but so be it, my customer will now be happy.

Rusty, if you call back enough you can get the opposite answer. I have heard it can be removed, as in surface grinding but must be put back. And surface grinding will remove it and is done on Mauser 98's on a regular basis.

You should also be aware that some states have requirements that may be more stringent than the feds, so its best to check with them also.

Whatever answers you get from either the state or the feds be sure to ask for it in writing over someones signature...because like Chic said you can get really different answers depending upon whom you are talking to.

quote:

Originally posted by Customstox:
Rusty, if you call back enough you can get the opposite answer. I have heard it can be removed, as in surface grinding but must be put back. And surface grinding will remove it and is done on Mauser 98's on a regular basis.

Chic, I think what you and Rusty are saying is the same thing.....I believe the number can be removed and replaced somewhere on the action as long as the number itself has not changed...that is...it's the same number.

Read as "the original placement of the number can be changed but the original number can not be."

quote:

The original serial number may not be destroyed or altered in any way. If you (the gunsmith) restamp the serial number on the action somewhere else, that is fine, but the original number must remain as is and unaltered.

vapodog, I guess you and I read the above differently. I added the bold for emphasis. I have been told that you can remove the serial # and put it back but that is not what was stated by the ATF. The important part is once you hear what you want to hear, tell the agent you are documenting it regarding his name and time and he will do the same and if anything comes of it, they will back you up (hopefully not against a wall).

vapodog, that's not what I was told. The interpretation I was given is that the original impression can not be altered unless the serial number is moved to a new location by the original manufacturer.
I asked about a ATTD Revenue Ruling that allows the defacing of original serial number and the subsiquent replacment of the same number elsewhere on the reciever.
(I do not have the number so it was of limited use except to perk the investigators interest in finding the ATTD.)
His interpretation was that it would cover the "accidental" removal of the serial number due to refinishing an old rusty reciever. Not the deliberate defacing of a perfectly good serial number and subsiquently restamping it elsewere on the reciever.

Does anybody have the ADDT document in question? It would help greatly to have that document's number so I could call Investigator Dickey back and ask about it. He sounded genuenly interested in helping me find the correct interpretation.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:

quote:

Originally posted by Customstox:
Rusty, if you call back enough you can get the opposite answer. I have heard it can be removed, as in surface grinding but must be put back. And surface grinding will remove it and is done on Mauser 98's on a regular basis.

Chic, I think what you and Rusty are saying is the same thing.....I believe the number can be removed and replaced somewhere on the action as long as the number itself has not changed...that is...it's the same number.

Read as "the original placement of the number can be changed but the original number can not be."

You are correct...as are they! As long as the serial number isn’t changed (good idea to take before and after pictures) and is visible without having to remove the barreled action from the stock, then the BATF&E is okay with it.

About the only time anyone would ever have to worry about this is if the rifle is in your shop inventory and you get inspected...or if the weapon was involved in a crime or accident.

Not a big deal, but better safe than sorry!