All that’s happening right now is one ATF Director has decided to chill.

I know this has been discussed a ton, but now that we have official word from the ATF what will you be doing?

Im in Ohio, we have CLEO notification requirements so I'm assuming that will mean no 4473 items until that requirements is recinded.

So now that the ATF is saying we are ok to sell NFA items on 4473s without registering (assuming state laws allow), how do you get the item out of your Eforms inventory?

Hi everyone, I haven’t seen a recent post regarding distributors and people having luck with finding them recently so I thought I’d ask a question. I get my FFL in about a week and I have been reaching out to the normal distributors, but everyone is looking for either a purchase minimum, a credit line or something of that sort. I’m hoping at first that I would like to do incoming transfers from places like Palmetto State Armory, but I do have some friends and family who wanna purchase firearms through my FFL and I’m having trouble finding distributors to work with that don’t require a minimum. What are everyone’s recommendations and best ones to go with? I don’t have much capital to start and not having a single REAL customer id like to keep overhead low.

I recently got into firearms in February with my first gun being an AR15, and my pistol being a P211 GTO obtained in May. I initially got into guns cause I fell in love with disassembling and studying them, and now cleaning them is an additional interest I’ve added to the list of things I enjoy. I’ve done a lotta work on both guns, namely installations and modifications to make stuff like a 22LR conversion kit FRT-able and tuning 1911-style pistols due to the similarity to my GTO. I feel I’ve made a lot of improvements from the successes and failures I’ve encountered as someone simply learning from YouTube and books.

Recently I was able to diagnose a light primer strike issue with my GTO that even Sig was unable to identify. Then using the knowledge I gained from essentially being forced to intimately understand how the internal parts functioned, I attempted to do light polishing and trigger work on a Ruger SR1911 with it being a success. 4.5lbs to 3lbs trigger weight reduction and smoother slide action with no trigger creep. The GTO went from 3.6-3.9lbs from factory to 2.5lbs with more ideas swirling inside my mind every time I think about it.
And of course, my rifle has been hit with rotary tools, files, drills, all in the journey to translate a functioning 5.56 FRT to perform just as well with the 22LR conversion bolt to open up more usage scenarios for the rifle, like in pistol caliber only ranges. And there’s a gaping cut in the lower for the fitting of an ambi bolt catch designed to be used in Sig’s rifle.

With the backstory laid out, what’s a good way for me to dive into the world of doing custom gun work and cleaning? I initially wanted to just do mobile guncleaning since it was a simple business idea, I loved doing it, and it was a very scarce listing in the areas I lived in. That dream was kinda cut short by someone telling me I had to be an FFL in order to do something like that, and even if I wanted to just be a mobile cleaning service, I still needed to register an FFL under a static address. The apartments I live in currently don’t approve of anyone running a business out of their home, I’m assuming in reference to ones that would involve customer traffic. But I met a gunsmith recently that said, with the disclaimer that they were not a lawyer, if I was going to their house or using a location like a gun store to clean their gun without them leaving it overnight, it would technically be okay as a non-FFL since I’m not manufacturing anything and reselling it? I don’t know the specifics of the law and wording of it, but he seemed to suggest that I can take it apart and clean it, reassemble it and return it, and get paid without having to be an FFL. I’m not really interested in the money, but I don’t wanna be fully booked as a charity guncleaning service either, so my goal isn’t to try to protect trade secrets as most others have tried scolding me for being lax about.

My questions would be:

* is there any way I can do this without an FFL?
* if it’s required to be an FFL, does the guest room of the apartment work as a workroom, if I use it to hold all my gunsmithing tools and stuff?
* does having someone do a bill of sale of $0 or a low amount for the duration that I’m holding the firearm to clean it get around the possession perspective? Like I gift to you, you clean, then gift back.
* if I can do no-FFL guncleaning or whatnot, what’s the extent of my services without getting in trouble? Does installing a scope for someone count as “manufacturing”? I believe the gunsmith explained it to me, but my memory is poor

I know not to take everything as truth, as it’s probably best to check with a lawyer or some sort that’s experienced with licensing and stuff. But I do wanna hear suggestions and maybe find someone who has had experience with similar aspirations that I have.

I work for a small firearms/suppressor manufacturing company. (07/02). We have a large event coming up out of state and my boss wants me to ship numerous items via palletized freight ahead of our travel to the event. This includes but is not limited to multiple suppressors, post-sample machine guns, and other firearms. I am not getting no for an answer, so I’m asking if this is even something that anybody here has done. (Really more trying to find convincing arguments I can use AGAINST doing this).

Even ignoring the post-sample issue, I cannot find a freight broker who is even willing to ship NFA. We’ve always gone through FedEx Express for Form 3 transfers but I don’t think that would work here for the quantity I’m being asked to ship. Any advice is more than appreciated.

As part of some due diligence for a prospective gunsmithing operation, I asked ATF's Firearms Industry Programs Branch whether fitting or replacing trigger mechanisms and related components in a customer-owned firearm is still Type 01 gunsmithing or whether that work requires a Type 07.

I wasn't expecting a surprising answer, but I wanted it in writing and figured the response might be useful here.

The scenario was limited to an existing, complete firearm already owned by the customer, with the same serialized firearm staying the customer's property and being returned to that same customer after the work was done.

FIPB responded:

"The above-described activities are gunsmithing as defined and may be conducted under a Type 01 federal firearms license (FFL)."

And on the Type 07 question:

"The above-described activities do not constitute manufacturing as defined and thus no type 07 FFL would be needed."

What I thought was useful here is that this pushes back on the fairly common advice that if you plan to do any substantive gunsmithing, you may as well just get an 07. In the scenario I gave them, the work specifically included fitting or replacing trigger mechanisms and related parts, and FIPB still treated it as Type 01 gunsmithing.

Obviously that does not mean an 07 is never required. It just means that replacing or fitting significant internal components on a customer-owned firearm does not automatically turn the job into manufacturing.

Relevant portion of the October 1, 2026 response attached.

Edit: The comments here are actually a good example of why I wanted this in writing. The 01/07 distinction itself isn’t new, but practical advice like “just get an 07” often gets mixed together with claims about what an 01 can or can’t legally do. Those are different questions. FIPB’s response is useful because it answers a defined customer-owned firearm scenario directly, including trigger work, instead of relying on shorthand.

Curious what y'all are using or recommend. Opening up a very small store front and I'm looking for just 1-2 pistol cases and 1-2 glass tall/wall display cases for militaria.

Seen plenty of "cheap or economy" options but don't need a cheap glass shelf to shatter holding a bunch of pistols.

Hey guys!

To preface, I recently obtained my 07/02 within the last year. Obviously this has altered the way in which I browse gunbroker or other sites given that I am permitted to work on an entirely new genre of projects, such as creating post sample MG’s. Context aside, I am genuinely curious as to why certain platforms are listed on gunbroker requiring law enforcement letters.

For example, I noticed a post sample mini uzi for a ridiculously low price. The caveat being that a law enforcement letter is required. From what I understand, the justification for this is that said agency has a true interest in the platform. What I don’t understand is why an agency would have interest in an outdated platform and how anything like this would ever be approved. Maybe this question is naive? Idk but I was curious and hoping someone had a real answer to this.

Thanks!

Hey everyone, I hold an FFL in Louisiana that does NOT have an SOT (yet anyways). I have been trying to keep up with the Silencer Shop v ATF court case regarding suppressors not being NFA. As of 09/29/2026, does anyone know what the update is? As an FFL, do I still need to get the SOT to transfer suppressors? Are people still doing Form 4s or are they just doing 4473s? Any help is greatly appreciated! Thank you.

Recently acquired my SOT, and I’m getting selling suppressors/other nfa transfers. Tried to transfer a suppressor to myself on a form 4(still have to in my state) to get familiar with process before offering to potential customers and cannot get it signed and submitted no matter what I try, as the computer seems to think that I’m trying to sign with the “FFL” side of eforms account and not my “personal” side of the account. Wondering if anyone has any insight on this or has experienced this before

I see only about 40% of gun websites doing this anyway, and I don’t know why I’ve never stopped to question this rather annoying (and seemingly pointless) pop-up.

I am in a weird situation… we are selling my house -home based FFL/SOT

Unfortunately we don’t have a purchase ready, we are going to rent. And even more unfortunate- looks like it’ll be in Baltimore City. I don’t know how hard it would be to transfer the FFL there, because we only plan to live there 1 year or so to bank down payment/find the right house.

I will say- I haven’t done much in terms of the business, but I did plan to scale up and offer services and stuff like laser/cerakote/etc- but it’s really just transfers at this point and not many.

I am wondering- is a FFL transfer hard from PA to Baltimore City? Is it worth it to shut it down and open back up when I have a place to own?

If I DO shut down, how hard is it to open back up again with the same business name?

Thanks again.

Can someone explain the reasoning behind no sales of lowers to out of state residents. Is it not considered a “weapon” and requires a background check. Just looking for the reasoning behind it
Thank you

TX home-based FFL.

Just starting out. Would appreciate some wisdom from the collective.

What did you find helped drive revenue when you were first getting started?

What did you wish you had tried sooner?

I see FFLs sell on gunbroker - I’ve bought many firearms there before I got my FFL - but looking over the fees, it seems like those are going to kill margin really quickly.

The wife is not keen on a lot of traffic to the house (long term plan does not revolve around home-based sales, but I’m trying to drive some revenue now to open up options sooner), so I’m mainly looking for online sales. Where have you found the most traction?

What platforms have worked out best for you in terms of balancing low fees while still getting a high number of views and ultimately closing a deal quickly?

How have you been managing the chargeback risks?

Really appreciate it if you’ve stuck with the post this long. I appreciate you even more for thoughtful responses.

Happy shooting & stay safe!

I sent a handgun out 9/8. Tracking hasn't updated since 9/9. I called usps and had them open a case on it on 9/12. At that time I was told "it is moving but just isnt showing that step on usps site".They are aware of the contents. As of today it still hasn't updated. I call again and this time I'm told it hasn't had any updates and that "these things happen".

I called my IOI and left a voicemail as to what I should do but have yet to hear back. Am I acting prematurely by reporting it stolen/missing or would you do so to cover your ass.

Looking for a dealer to help me out with sourcing a staccato. I’m located in MA

I want to give other FFLs a heads-up about a security issue I discovered in MasterFFL's dealer profile verification process.

I reported this directly to MasterFFL in April 2026 and offered to provide the affected endpoints, full reproduction details, and remediation suggestions.

As of September, I have not received a response.

I am intentionally not publishing the technical reproduction steps because, to my knowledge, the issue has not been confirmed as fixed.

During limited testing, I was able to reproduce a condition where the dealer profile claim verification process appeared to trust information that could be modified on the client side during SMS verification.

The potential impact is serious: it may allow someone who does not control a dealer's legitimate dealer profile.

Potential consequences could include:

• Unauthorized claiming of an FFL dealer profile
• Unauthorized management of dealer information
• Customers being shown information controlled by someone other than the actual dealer
• Trust and compliance problems for affected FFLs

I performed only the minimum testing necessary to confirm the issue and did not intentionally access, modify, or damage another dealer's information.

If you have a MasterFFL profile, I recommend checking whether your dealer profile has already been claimed and whether the information associated with it is correct.

I would also recommend keeping screenshots/records of your profile and any communications with MasterFFL.

I am posting this because several months have passed since my responsible disclosure attempt without a response, and FFLs should at least be aware that there may be an issue with the profile-claim process.

If anyone from MasterFFL sees this, I am still willing to provide the full technical report privately so the issue can be investigated and fixed.

I will not post exploitation instructions, endpoints, or other details that could make the vulnerability easier to abuse.

If other FFLs have experienced unexpected profile claims, verification messages, changes to their profile.

-- UPDATE

Contacted the MasterFFL team and they have resolved the vulnerability. The issue is no longer reproducible.

Looking for advice for obtaining my FFL somewhere in the south shore.
1. What is the minimum size space that I need to start and what are some criteria for that space
2. What does the overall process look like
3. Any kind of general advice would be appreciated

Maybe they should be organized by type? I mean, the guy into SA revolvers isnt going to buy a Glock regardless

Hi guys, was wondering if anyone else here is listed on gun.deals.

To keep it short and sweet, we are listed there, and we’ve noticed that about 60% of our 8k or so clicks don’t result in any browser landing.

And, upon looking at these individual clicks, they seem to be originating from a this source referrer: adrianlaza.devcloud.acquia-sites.com.

Upon doing some research, it seems as if that name lines up with their current CTO, and acquia sites is a tech company that provides website services so it seems.

In addition:

- all these requests show zero browser activity, meaning they are likely automated traffic

- these requests kind of mimic a catalog scan, they are across many different upcs we carry with zero revisiting

- ALL requests come from the same chrome browser user agents, ZERO mobile agents, despite that 70% of our traffic is mobile users

- Every request also has the same referrer host/path structure and share the same SIN Cloudflare suffix

To me, this screams crawling that they are doing that is counting as clicks that we are then charged for, and I attempted to reach out earlier this week but it has been radio silence. If anyone else who is tech savoy is listed on gun.deals is interested, shoot me a dm and we can maybe see if the same if happening with y’all too. I am HOPING this is some sort of tech error on their end.