A fellow was telling me that one had to have a Federal FFL license in order to do gunsmithing on someone elses gun. I said I thought that one needed to receive the gun through an FFL license, but that no FFL license was required to do work on the gun. Is that correct.

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Originally posted by 22WRF:
A fellow was telling me that one had to have a Federal FFL license in order to do gunsmithing on someone elses gun. I said I thought that one needed to receive the gun through an FFL license, but that no FFL license was required to do work on the gun. Is that correct.

If the weapon is kept overnight by the person doing the work then the person doing the work must have an FFL.

Technically a gunsmith working for a company that has an FFL does not need to have his own FFL because he is in the employ of the FFL holder and he is personally not holding the weapon overnight and keeping the records the business is.

So, does this mean if I have a customer's gun overnight while working up an accurate handload, I should have my FFL?

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Originally posted by dustoffer:
So, does this mean if I have a customer's gun overnight while working up an accurate handload, I should have my FFL?

Working up handloads is not the same thing as working on the rifle...but to be safe I would check with the BATF&E just to see what their interpretation is. Better safe than sorry!

if you are materially gaining from working up loads for some one's rifle, then you need an FFL. If they give you something (money, trade you soemthing, etc.) for oyu to call them a "customer" then you are performing a service on a gun. EVen gun writers and photographers need an FFL. And any gunsmithing 100% needs an FFL to be legal, wheather it be kept overnight or not. THe "overnight" part of it is that you only have to record it in your bound book if you keep it over night. If it is something you fix while they are waiting at your bench, then the ATF says the gun does not have to be logged in. A simple rule is to just log everything and then there is no cause for worry.

Just call the ATF. I have called and emailed them many times and they have to a person been very friendly and professional. Don't cop an attitude or try to tell them you are right and they are wrong and you will be fine. You can go to their web site right now and email a question. They will likely have an answer for you by the end of the workday on Monday.

FWIW, I NEVER have understood why people ask FFL questions on gun boards. THe typical person on a gun board knows as little as I do, and you are going to get a lot of divergaent opinions and editorial son "how it should be." Gun board opions mean exactly zero if anything ever happens to you. In the time it took you to type the question here, you could have sent an email to the ATF and gotten a meaningful response. OK, rant is over!!!

Actually, the law says if you make your primary income from working on guns you need an FFL. If you don't have a license, no one from out of state can send a gun to you to work on.

ACTUALLY what the law says, and I am quoting directly from it: An FFL is required to engage in the business (primary or otherwise) of engraving, customizing, refinishing, or repairing firearms. *Parenthetical text is mine not theirs.

If you’re charging for your work that is considered to be a business.

There have been a few court cases that found that “barter deals†equate to “business deals.†So if you work on your neighbors gun in return for him mowing your lawn or washing your car you are engaged in the firearms business.

If you engage in the business of selling or distributing reloaded ammunition you also have to have a manufacturers license.

If you take a picture of someones rifle and charge him for a nice framed picture . You need a FFL??

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Originally posted by GSP7:
If you take a picture of someones rifle and charge him for a nice framed picture . You need a FFL??

I’m sure that’s not too far off in the future!

From this discussion it would then appear that mounting scopes and sighting in rifles for friends for a few bucks requires an FFL. Guess I have to get a license.

Basicly, by taking a firearm and keeping it for a period of time you are accepting custodialship of the firearm. Without the FFL you are not cleared to do that. There are also record keeping requirements to be met too.

Don

You can legally take physical possession of any firearms that you are legally allowed to possess all you want to, as long as you are not engaging in any of the activities described by the BATF&E as engaging in business.

Obviously, if I loan you one of my rifles to use for a period of time neither of us has to have an FFL...at least not YET!