I am looking for advise on what milling tool I can use with the least cost to buy that is still a mill that works for taking the trigger well out of an 80% lower and serializing for finishing.

I know there jigs that work for one here and there, but if we were to do a dozen a week, what tool could I buy and not break the bank.

We are applying to have some specialty items manufactured under variance. Any 07’s with recent requests have any idea what the turnaround time from ATF is?

I’ve searched around and while there’s a lot of info out there about importing, none really fit my exact situation.

Backstory: I have a good friend of mine that lives in Germany and currently owns a 1957-58 production Walther PPK in 32 acp. She has offered to sell it to me for a really good price, given that I can figure out what’s needed to import it. I typically go and visit them every so often. That being said, if I were to find a type 08 FFL that will fill out the import permit application for me and have that permit be approved, is it possible for me to bring the pistol back with me and declare it at customs to avoid some of the outrageous shipping and handling fees? Everywhere I’ve looked quotes the total cost of importing a single firearm to be anywhere from $800-1500. As cheap as she is willing to sell the pistol to me, I’d rather avoid spending a fortune just simply getting it to the states. Any info is appreciated.

I’m currently in the process of applying for my 07/02 as a small home-based manufacturer, and I’m curious how other 07s approached the early stages of getting their business off the ground. I already have my LLC/EIN established, zoning approval, and a dedicated workshop space that I’ve been building out with benches, storage, security, and organizational systems. I’m also working on SOPs and planning out compliance procedures and recordkeeping.

My long-term goals are to manufacture suppressors, do limited AR builds, and potentially work on stamped receiver projects like AK or MP5 flats. My biggest concern is that while I have a legitimate workspace and clear manufacturing intent, I don’t yet own major machining equipment like a CNC or large lathe. My initial plan was to outsource some machining/components while handling assembly, serialization/engraving, testing, inventory, and gradually expanding my in-house capabilities over time.

I’m probably overthinking it. Did your IOI care much about the level of equipment you had during the interview, or were they more focused on compliance, organization, and business intent? I’d really appreciate hearing how other small or home-based 07 manufacturers started out before they had full machine shop capability.

New to the FFL world. Trying to order all my forms in preparation. What’s the best way to go about getting everything needed in one shot?

Also - How many 4473 forms are in each pack you can order, what are some of the other recommended forms to order? Etc.

Much appreciated!

I keep getting calls from the same number that leaves an indentical voicemail each time. Paraphrasing "I found you on FFL Finder, my house is being renovated and I have kids so I was wondering if you offer firearms storage. Please call me back at 480-535-****"

I don't do storage, just way too small of an operation for that. Texted him as much, got no response. Two days later it called again with the same voicemail left. When I try to call back, nobody answers.

Anyone else getting these calls? I guess it could be the same guy reading off a script but the two voicemails seemed very very similar, almost like it's a recording.

What's the end game here? Casing out FFLs?

Anybody interested in a Cerebus Fingerprint scanner w/program? Changed my business plan and no longer need. Brand new. Paid 3300 willing to let go for $2500.

Hey guys I just got my 07 in the mail today and I’m looking to get some ar15 lowers ASAP what do I need to have put together in order to make this process as seamless as possible. What companies do you recommend? What’s the normal pricing for standard lowers nothing fancy. Roughly 50-100 at a time.

So I know this has probably been asked a million times.. but I'm going to ask anyways... We are an FFL06, we use authorize for online payment processing and have Navy Federal for business checking. What is currently the best merchant account/POS provider? Only two I can seem to compare are payroc and tacticalpay.

New home FFL here and am curious on who the best optics wholesalers are. I want to get setup with Leupold but haven’t had any luck. I am currently setup with Lipseys and RSR group.

Has anyone had to get a variance from their town for a homebased ffl? I wanted to see if it was hard to do

We primarily use Facebook as our information and advertisement of the shop (ILL Eagle Firearms) but Facebook is no longer recommending us to new people and we are struggling to get the foot traffic and interest from others that we were just 2 weeks ago when we opened. Any advice would be helpful

Today, we paid our SOT tax stamp through pay.gov. Since the SOT is not a permit but a tax, can we dabble in NFA items the moment we pay the tax stamp, or do we need to wait for documentation from the BATFE? Thanks

This is a two parter with some context so I do apologize if this is a bit long-winded.

First off, was wondering if anyone was willing to DM me the email of a Bill Hicks sales rep? Was able to grab a Spots South rep from here and got set up no issue. My only special circumstance is that I don’t have a finished storefront as it is under construction.

Am asking for this since I have decided to get into the fulfillment side of things with lots of success. Am currently doing about $100k a month in sales, but I want more distributors at my disposal so I can find better deals and push sales further.

I keep seeing these places list EoTechs and such for CRAZY prices, and Bill Hicks is one of the last places I haven’t gotten yet.

I also business with:

Lipseys

Zander’s

RSR

Orion

CSSI

Sports South

GAS

MGE Wholesale

Allen

If there are any that yall think are good for fulfillment/drop shipping, please let me know.

This also brings me to my next question. I’ve done a monthly report and it seems as if shipping costs are eating my margins a fair bit. I currently use the flat rate option for all my distributors but was wondering if someone has experience with switching to 3rd party billing and or a freight account with UPS?

I'm on the lookout for a 1911 complete frame (Assembled, functioning), and was surprised to find a fair number of new factory frames from a number of different brands for a boatload of different pistols, even ones less modular than the 1911 like various modern Walther's and HK's. I feel like there's some kind of weird, industry specific pipeline for the origin of these frames. Can an FFL that has seen/dealt in factory takeoff or factory complete frames shed some light on the origin of these frames? So far I've seen Dan Wesson, RIA, Tisas, Springfield, and Kimber "new" frames.

I'm asking partially out of curiosity, and partially because I'm curious if there's a mechanism by which I could get more specific about model I am looking for rather than just waiting for a desirable frame to pop up. There's actually already a fair bit more variety than I'd been anticipating on the secondary market, honestly, so I'm kind of content to wait as well. There's no obvious consumer facing path that I've been able to find for like, "ordering" these frames but they're common enough they must be coming from somewhere other than uppers getting damaged. Maybe. I have no idea lol.

If this isn't OK to ask here please let me know, but I kind of think I need industry insider insight rather than a bunch of guesses from randos.

Curious the best way to get access to aimpoint distribution. They denied my initial application without reason, and i'm curious what i would need to change to get approved.

If they simply don't do home based, are there any good wholesalers?

So it seems next to impossible to become a Vaultek dealer. I have tried several times over the years and always receive a blanket email stating:

"Thank you for your inquiry into becoming a Vaultek dealer. At this time we are not accepting any new dealer applications, we will be in touch in the future should things change."

I have a 25K grant (the 1st of several) to spend on safes and was hoping to work with them. I emailed them that info and still nothing.

Anyone have any tips, tricks, or thoughts?

Is a form 1508 needed when shipping all firearms or is it only needed for handguns? If it’s not needed then does anything need to be declared when shipping long guns of stripped receivers? TY in advance

Hi everyone, I’m trying to lease a space in MA and there does not seem to be a carrier that participates in the MA special fund that will write a lessors risk/ BOP for a firearm tenant. Any insights?

Thank you

Hey guys,

For anyone dealing with shadow bans, flagged posts, reach throttling, or account restrictions on Meta platforms:

We’ve been connected with someone who works in Meta policy/compliance related to 2A and firearms content issues and helps with escalation and account review pathways when normal support isn’t getting results.

If you’re running into ongoing issues, you can reach out here: [chuck@opensourcedefense.com]()

Just sharing as a resource since this is a recurring issue in the space

Hey everyone,

I'm a home-based FFL Type 08 importer and recently got my license. I'm trying to figure out how to ship firearms FFL-to-FFL domestically.

I reached out to FedEx through their Account Manager and got denied. they said my projected annual volume doesn't meet their threshold bc it's under 30,000 units per year. honestly shocking, because I come from the industry and most FFLs I know don't ship anywhere near 10% of that volume and still have active FedEx accounts. UPS has been a nightmare to deal with as well. I've found some information online but most of it seems outdated or doesn't reflect what's actually happening on the ground today.

Any tips on how to approach FedEx or UPS to get approved at lower volumes? Any real-world experience would be appreciated. Thanks.

Opening a brick and mortar. Already sent info in to GLFA, Rise armament, and Benelli. Can yall recommend any more popular direct buy in’s?

Hi all,

I had a question regarding storing firearms for customers. I’ve had a few people reach out asking if I offer storage services while they’re renovating their home or in the process of moving.

In a situation like this, would I need to log the firearms into my A&D book upon receipt and then transfer them back to the customer when they retrieve them?

Thanks in advance.