Receiver (firearms)

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A disassembled Mauser action showing a partially disassembled receiver and bolt Disassembled mauser long action.jpg
A disassembled Mauser action showing a partially disassembled receiver and bolt

In firearms terminology and at law, the firearm frame or receiver is the part of a firearm which integrates other components by providing housing for internal action components such as the hammer, bolt or breechblock, firing pin and extractor, and has threaded interfaces for externally attaching ("receiving") components such as the barrel, stock, trigger mechanism and iron/optical sights. [1] Various firearm receivers often come with 1 or 2 sections, the upper receiver which houses the barrel/trunnion, bolt components etc and the lower receiver (Trigger Mechanism Housing in some cases) that holds the fire control group, pistol grip, selector, stock etc. [2]

Contents

The receiver is often made of forged, machined, or stamped steel or aluminium. Apart from these traditional materials, modern techniques have introduced polymer and sintered metal powder receivers to the market. [3]

Mounting

A barrel may typically be affixed to a firearm receiver using barrel and receiver action threads or similar methods.

In US law

AR-15 rifles showing their configurations with different upper receivers. The lower receiver is visible at the bottom Stag2wi.jpg
AR-15 rifles showing their configurations with different upper receivers. The lower receiver is visible at the bottom

For the purposes of United States law, the receiver or frame is legally the firearm, [4] and as such it is the controlled part. The definition of which assembly is the legal receiver varies from firearm to firearm, under US law. Generally, the law requires licensed manufacturers and importers to mark the designated receiver with a serial number, the manufacturer or importer, the model and caliber. Makers of receivers are restricted by International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Thus, in the case of a firearm that has multiple receiver parts, such as the AR-15, which has an upper and a lower receiver, the legally controlled part is the one that is serialized. [5]

For the AR-15 rifle, the lower receiver assembly is legally considered the actual receiver, [5] although it is functionally a chassis that also houses the separate trigger group. In the FN-FAL rifle, it is the upper assembly that is serialized and legally considered the receiver. [6] [7] This has led to prosecutors dropping charges against illegal manufacturing of AR-type firearms to avoid court precedents establishing that neither the upper nor the lower receiver individually contain all the components to be legally classified as a firearm. [8]

Unfinished receivers

"Unfinished receivers", also called "80 percent receivers" or "blanks", are partially completed receivers with no serial numbers. Purchasers must perform their own finishing work in order to make the receiver usable. The finishing of receivers for sale or distribution by unlicensed persons is against US law. [9] Because an unfinished 80% receiver is not a firearm, purchasers do not need to pass a background check. [9] The resulting firearm is known as a "ghost gun". [10]

During the Biden Administration, the ATF imposed regulations on the sale and marketing of unfinished receivers and kits containing them by revising the legal definition of receivers to include "a partially complete, disassembled, or nonfunctional frame or receiver, including a frame or receiver parts kit, that is designed to or may readily be completed, assembled, restored, or otherwise converted to function as a frame or receiver". (The term "receiver" was also redefined as referring to non-handgun firearms, while "frame" was redefined as referring to handguns exclusively.) The new definitions went into effect on August 24, 2022. [11] In the case VanDerStok v. Garland, filed on June 30, 2023, a federal court in Texas ruled that the new ATF regulations exceeded the agency's statutory authority, and struck them down. [12] However, on August 8, 2023, the Texas court's nationwide vacatur was temporarily placed on hold by the Supreme Court of the United States, leaving the new ATF regulations on unfinished receivers in place. [13]

Zero Percent Receiver

A Zero Percent Receiver is a rectangular billet of metal of the appropriate size to make a finished receiver, but without any machining whatsoever. In California it is unlawful to possess an unserialized zero percent receiver, and it is unlawful to ship one into the state [14]

3D printed receivers

As of 2015, two designs for 3D printable polymer lower unfinished receivers for the AR-15 have been released: the AR Lower V5 and the Charon. 3D printed designs may also be used to produce privately made firearms. [15]

In Canadian law

The receiver or frame is legally the firearm, and as such it is the part that requires a manufacturer's serial number and valid Possession and Acquisition Licence to acquire and own. And it is the part that requires registration in the case of a handgun frame.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Firearms Act</span> 1934 US law regulating firearms including machine guns

The National Firearms Act (NFA), 73rd Congress, Sess. 2, ch. 757, 48 Stat. 1236 was enacted on June 26, 1934, and currently codified and amended as I.R.C. ch. 53. The law is an Act of Congress in the United States that, in general, imposes an excise tax on the manufacture and transfer of certain firearms and mandates the registration of those firearms. The NFA is also referred to as Title II of the federal firearms laws, with the Gun Control Act of 1968 ("GCA") as Title I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breechblock</span> Part of the firearm action

A breechblock is the part of the firearm action that closes the breech of a breech loading weapon before or at the moment of firing. It seals the breech and contains the pressure generated by the ignited propellant. Retracting the breechblock allows the chamber to be loaded with a cartridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firearm Owners Protection Act</span> 1986 United States federal gun control law

The Firearm Owners' Protection Act (FOPA) of 1986 is a United States federal law that revised many provisions of the Gun Control Act of 1968.

A Federal Firearms License (FFL) is a license in the United States that enables an individual or a company to engage in a business pertaining to the manufacture or importation of firearms and ammunition, or the interstate and intrastate sale of firearms. Holding an FFL to engage in certain such activities has been a legal requirement within the United States since the enactment of the Gun Control Act of 1968. The FFL is issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

Thompson/Center Arms is an American firearms company based in Rochester, New Hampshire. The company was best known for its line of interchangeable-barrel, single-shot pistols and rifles. Thompson/Center also manufactures muzzle-loading rifles and was credited with creating the resurgence of their use in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short-barreled rifle</span> Weapon

Short-barreled rifle broadly refers to any rifle with an unusually short barrel. The term carbine describes a production rifle with a reduced barrel length for easier handling in confined spaces. Concern about concealment for illegal purposes has encouraged regulations specifying minimum barrel lengths and overall lengths.

In the United States, the right to keep and bear arms is modulated by a variety of state and federal statutes. These laws generally regulate the manufacture, trade, possession, transfer, record keeping, transport, and destruction of firearms, ammunition, and firearms accessories. They are enforced by state, local and the federal agencies which include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Title II weapons</span> Class of weapons under the National Firearms Act

Title II weapons, or NFA firearms, are designations of certain weapons under the United States National Firearms Act (NFA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gun laws in California</span>

Gun laws in California regulate the sale, possession, and use of firearms and ammunition in the state of California in the United States.

The Roberti–Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 (AWCA) is a California law that bans the ownership and transfer of over 50 specific brands and models of firearms, which were classified as assault weapons. Most were rifles, but some were pistols and shotguns. The law was amended in 1999 to classify assault weapons by features of the firearm. Firearms that were legally owned at the time the law was passed were grandfathered if they were registered with the California Department of Justice. The law was overturned in June 2021 in Miller v. Bonta; the ruling is stayed pending appeal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smith & Wesson M&P15</span> AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle

The Smith & Wesson M&P15 is an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle by Smith & Wesson. Introduced in 2006, the firearm is designed for police use and consumer markets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gun laws in Pennsylvania</span>

Gun laws in Pennsylvania regulate the sale, possession, and use of firearms and ammunition in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AR-15–style rifle</span> Class of semi-automatic rifles

An AR-15–style rifle is a lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on or similar to the Colt AR-15 design. The Colt model removed the selective fire feature of its predecessor, the original ArmaLite AR-15, which is a scaled-down derivative of the AR-10 design. It is closely related to the military M16 rifle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3D printed firearm</span> Firearm created using 3D printing

A 3D printed firearm is a firearm that is partially or primarily produced with a 3D printer. While plastic printed firearms are associated with improvised firearms, or the politics of gun control, digitally-produced metal firearms are more associated with commercial manufacturing or experiments in traditional firearms design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SIG MCX</span> 2010s multi-configuration firearm family by SIG

The SIG MCX is a family of firearms designed and manufactured by SIG Sauer, produced in both selective fire and semi-automatic only models, and features a short-stroke gas piston system, which is inherited from the earlier SIG MPX submachine gun. The MCX is available in rifle, carbine, short-barreled rifle, and pistol configurations.

A parts kit is a collection of weapon parts that, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), "is designed to or may be readily be assembled, completed, converted, or restored to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive." As an example, the kit may not include a receiver or include an incomplete receiver. Under current U.S. law, kits that include finished receivers must be serialized and their buyers must receive a background check, but kits that include "unfinished" receivers are totally unregulated for purchase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homemade firearm</span> Firearm made by a private individual

A homemade firearm, also called a ghost gun or privately made firearm, is a firearm made by a private individual, in contrast to one produced by a corporate or government entity. The term ghost gun is used mostly in the United States by gun control advocates, but it is being adopted by gun rights advocates and the firearm industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gun serial number</span> Unique identifier of a firearm

A gun serial number is a unique identifier assigned to a singular firearm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polymer80</span> American manufacturer of firearm parts kits

Polymer80, Inc. is an American manufacturer of parts kits containing firearm parts including unfinished receivers used for making privately made firearms. The company was founded in 2013 by Loran Kelley Jr. and David Borges and is headquartered in Dayton, Nevada. Polymer80 has received press coverage because of the use of their products in crimes involving so-called "ghost guns", which in specific cases has resulted in lawsuits being brought against the company.

<i>Garland v. VanDerStok</i> United States federal court case

VanDerStok v. Garland is a federal court case brought by several plaintiffs from the firearms parts industry challenging the 2021 Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) regulatory revisions of the Gun Control Act definitions of firearm, firearm frame and receiver. On June 30, 2023, federal district court judge Reed O'Connor granted a motion for summary judgment against the ATF, vacating the receiver rule nationwide on the grounds that the agency had exceeded its statutory authority.

References

  1. ↑ "27 CFR 478.11: Meaning of terms". US Government. 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016. Firearm frame or receiver. That part of a firearm which provides housing for the hammer, bolt or breechblock, and firing mechanism, and which is usually threaded at its forward portion to receive the barrel.
  2. ↑ Royal Air Force Common Core and Deployment Skills Aide-Memoire AP 3242B VOL 5, ABBREVIATIONS
  3. ↑ "HK416 modular assault rifle / carbine / upper receiver assembly (Germany)" . Retrieved 5 Aug 2010.
  4. ↑ "Firearms - Frequently Asked Questions - Firearms Technology | ATF". Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  5. 1 2 Muramatsu, Kevin (2015). "The State of the AR Industry". In Jerry Lee (ed.). Gun Digest 2016. Iola, Wisconsin: F+W Media, Inc. p. 41. ISBN   978-1-4402-4430-8.
  6. ↑ Jenzen-Jones, N.R.; Spleeters, Damien (31 August 2015). Identifying & Tracing the FN Herstal FAL Rifle: Documenting signs of diversion in Syria and beyond. Australia: Armament Research Services Pty. Ltd. p. 16. ISBN   978-0-9924624-6-8.
  7. ↑ "27 CFR 478.11: DEFINITION OF FIREARM FRAME OR RECEIVER". ATF. 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  8. ↑ Scott Glover (11 October 2019). "He sold illegal AR-15s. Feds agreed to let him go free to avoid hurting gun control efforts". CNN. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  9. 1 2 Horwitz, Sari (May 13, 2014). "'Unfinished receivers,' a gun part that is sold separately, lets some get around the law". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  10. ↑ Stanton, Sam; Walsh, Denny (December 19, 2015). "California black market surges for 'ghost guns'". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  11. ↑ 87 FR 24652
  12. ↑ VanDerStok v. Garland (US District Court for the Northern District of Texas2022-08-11)("This case presents the question of whether the federal government may lawfully regulate partially manufactured firearm components, related firearm products, and other tools and materials in keeping with the Gun Control Act of 1968. Because the Court concludes that the government cannot regulate those items without violating federal law, the Court holds that the government’s recently enacted Final Rule, Definition of “Frame or Receiver” and Identification of Firearms, 87 Fed. Reg. 24,652 (codified at 27 C.F.R. pts. 447, 478, and 479), is unlawful agency action taken in excess of the ATF’s statutory jurisdiction. On this basis, the Court vacates the Final Rule."), Text .
  13. ↑ Liptak, Adam (2023-08-08). "By 5-4 Vote, Supreme Court Revives Biden's Regulation of 'Ghost Guns'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2023-08-29. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
  14. ↑ "0% Billet AR-15 Lower Receiver".
  15. ↑ Greenberg, Andy (June 3, 2015). "I Made an Untraceable AR-15 Ghost Gun in My Office And It Was Easy". Wired. Archived from the original on October 20, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
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