Offered an Illegal SBR on trade. What to do?

[Expat]

I would just move along. It's a dumb law anyway.

 

[rockhopper46038]

I wouldn't turn him in, I'd just move on.

 

[HeadlessRoland]

Wouldn't concealing this be considered misprision of felony?
Here's what I wouldn't do, for sure: post about it on the internet.

 

[Titanium_Frost]

Wouldn't concealing this be considered misprision of felony?
Here's what I wouldn't do, for sure: post about it on the internet.

But he has pictures!​

 

[Que]

If it's an internet deal, just let the site admin know. Maybe he will trust them and remove it.

 

[femurphy77]

Isn't the OP and perhaps all of us, now an accessory?

 

[LarryC]

If it's an internet deal, just let the site admin know. Maybe he will trust them and remove it.

In my opinion this is the best answer you have received. Unless you are a "wannabe" cop or BATF agent, I would inform the gentleman he needs to modify the assembly and what he needs to do to comply with the laws. Then I would go on my way!

 

[Hoosierman]

Wouldn't concealing this be considered misprision of felony?
Here's what I wouldn't do, for sure: post about it on the internet.

According to U.S.C. 38 F. 2d 515, 517; 18, you have to not only know about a felony, and fail to disclose information about it, one has to take an affirmative step to conceal the felony to be convicted of misprison of felony. I'm good to go, but thanks for your concern.

 

[88GT]

Unless the BATF is really good at acting dumb (insert anti government joke here... ba-dum tsh) then it wasn't a government sting of any sort.

Not as unlikely as you think. The Feds are quite fond of "testing." HUD does it quite regularly to test real estate practitioners on fair housing laws. I can't say for sure since they never reveal, but I believe I have encountered (translated: been tested) at least two of these testers. Mostly because the scenario they fabricate to test is so ridiculously out of the ordinary that it can't be real.

 

[Hornett]

Tell him that there are lots of buyers for just that sort of thing at the 1500.
Then look for him in the headlines.

 

[HeadlessRoland]

You mean like posting on an internet site seeking advice about how to avoid notifying authorities? I wish this entire thread didn't exist.

 

[Hoosierman]

Headless Roland, leaving me negative rep and then NOT READING. Nowhere in this thread did I ask how to avoid notifying the authorities. Also, I posted the US Code dealing with misprison of felony, nothing wrong is happening here. Or are you one of those types that doesn't like something so wishes it doesn't exist?

​

 

[Tyler-The-Piker]

 

[T.Lex]

I think some people are missing the bigger question that Hoosierman is getting at - does he have any obligation to others who might get (innocently) trapped by this guy. Sure, there is a limit to how much we should self-regulate - turning the guy in is a really bad idea for several reasons.

But, as I'm sure we can all relate, not all gun owners out there are as informed as INGOers are. (Purple as necessary.) Let's say the SBR-trader gets a deal from guy who is more into hunting guns and this is his first EBR. He's out at the range at some point and BATF dude next to him gets interested and asks about the paperwork. All of sudden, Joe Hunter is Joe Felon.

That's the crux of the moral dilemma. How much effort should we put into making sure more people don't get hurt by these irrational laws?

 

[HeadlessRoland]

Headless Roland, leaving me negative rep and then NOT READING. Nowhere in this thread did I ask how to avoid notifying the authorities. Also, I posted the US Code dealing with misprison of felony, nothing wrong is happening here. Or are you one of those types that doesn't like something so wishes it doesn't exist?

​

It should have been neutral rep. Confirmed via my user panel, it was neutral rep. And next time I won't bother to keep an eye out for you. Simpler for the both of us.

 

[VUPDblue]

The guy is an idiot and should be avoided. If it were me, I'd just tell him he was an idiot and move on.

 

[4sarge]

Unless the BATF is really good at acting dumb (insert anti government joke here... ba-dum tsh) then it wasn't a government sting of any sort.

ATF does Not need to act.

 

[shibumiseeker]

I think some people are missing the bigger question that Hoosierman is getting at - does he have any obligation to others who might get (innocently) trapped by this guy. Sure, there is a limit to how much we should self-regulate - turning the guy in is a really bad idea for several reasons.

But, as I'm sure we can all relate, not all gun owners out there are as informed as INGOers are. (Purple as necessary.) Let's say the SBR-trader gets a deal from guy who is more into hunting guns and this is his first EBR. He's out at the range at some point and BATF dude next to him gets interested and asks about the paperwork. All of sudden, Joe Hunter is Joe Felon.

That's the crux of the moral dilemma. How much effort should we put into making sure more people don't get hurt by these irrational laws?

This is an issue. I have had people argue with me in PM up and down that I, private Indiana citizen, cannot sell one of my handguns to someone 18-20 years old. They were very concerned that I would get in trouble for doing so (a concern I appreciate). A few of them backed off and thanked me for clarifying for them when I pointed to relevant threads here on INGO, and some of them continued to insist I and the collective knowledge here were wrong. Those types of people are the sorts of people who don't really care about being factually correct so much as making sure someone else acknowledges them as being right (regardless of whether they are or not).

In the case of the OP, the seller doesn't know the OP from Adam and given how much BS we all get from self appointed experts, there's no real reason for him to believe the OP. It exists and the guy he got it from didn't act like it was illegal, therefore it must be legal is enough justification for most people.

Note: I am not saying the seller wasn't shady or a trap, but there is also equally plausible explanations.

As far as a course of action, contacting the site hosting the selling, and attempting to inform the seller is all the OP should do. We as gun owners should NOT be the snitches for laws and regulations that violate our core belief that the 2A recognizes these rights and limits the government's ability to restrict them. While most of us will attempt to stay within the law as best as we can understand it, the agencies that set these unconstitutional and arbitrary restrictions do not need our help in infringing upon them.

Of course, I have always said that the first people who will sell us out when the next arbitrary ban comes into play will be our fellow gun owners.

 

[throttletony]

Did you tell him to order himself one of the Sig AR pistol shooting aids?

It would probably surprise people of how many guys really just do not know the NFA laws. They see guns on the internet, movies ect. and decide they like them. They order the barrel or whatever and put the thing together never thinking a thing about it. Some guys think that because you can buy it then it is not illegal. IMO those kind of guys should be informed of the law so that they can correct the problem. I don't think hardly anyone would want to see a guy like that get in any sort of trouble.

I'll add that it is shocking how many sales people/clerks that work at gun counters don't know the laws either. (obviously, they are for the most part well-informed, but there are some who don't have a clue).
I was at rural king and they had a sig AR pistol with the sig brace, and the clerk said that they sell it as a pistol (correct). The customer asked if he could put a regular stock on it and the clerk said he wasn't sure... that's a recipe for disaster. THe clerk also said that he had heard since it was a pistol, you couldn't use a 30 rd mag with it... really people? come on...
Luckily the customer looked at, and was mor enticed by, a regular 16" rifle setup.

 

[edporch]

You've informed him and he blew you off.

Just walk away.