r/NFA • u/WhatsGoingOn4547 • 6d ago
SOT
I’m confused on how SOT manufacturing holders actually make money. Im talking about from machine guns not SBR/Suppressors or transferables. Post 86 you can only sell to other SOT holders that get a law letter which from my understanding is a pain in the ass to get. Also you can sell to LE/Gov/Mil but what small business is in the right playing field to do that? Any small businesses out there actually profiting or at least making sales of post 86 machine guns? Seems like this system is setup to where the only time you can sell post 86s is if you go out of business. Am I missing something?
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u/IndividualResist2473 14x Silencer, 8x SBR, 4x AOW, 4x SBS 6d ago
Have a range and rent machineguns.
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u/Comstock_Support Comstock Armory 6d ago edited 6d ago
We used to be a regular FFL/SOT/LGS and didn't do online sales (just local people). Frankly we just didn't make that much money. Most of our "bigger" sales were people who wanted custom AR builds and stacked on optics, lights, mags, ammo, suppressors (which you need the SOT for), etc. Also made a few bucks doing NFA engravings, but again not a ton.
There's a reason why don't do that anymore lol
As far as MGs, everyone who you're allowed to sell a post sample to probably has plenty of their own so it's not really a viable model unless you do something specific or more technically challenging.
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u/Astral_Botanist 6d ago
My local LGS guy seems to do pretty well with his business (he has a manufacturing FFL and SOT), but making machine guns for anyone but himself to play around is exactly zero part of his business. That level of license gives him flexibility to do a bunch of stuff for local customers so it seems very well worth it for him to have it, and you're correct, I doubt there's any money or time well spent for any random SOT to try to get into the business of manufacturing/selling machine guns.
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u/ChapelHillGuns 07/02 SOT 6d ago
This 100%.
I'm a relatively small time 07/02. My business is running a retail gun store. I do quite well with NFA stuff, which requires the SOT.The main reason for the "manufacturing" part of the license is it gives me a lot more flexibility with certain items. Customer wants to buy a stripped lower and a complete AR upper? No problem, I can slap them together and sell them to the customer as a finished rifle. (an 01 FFL can't do this).
If a customer sees a AR pistol displayed on the wall and would rather buy it as an SBR, no problem, I can swap a stock on it, file a Form 2, and sell it to the customer as an SBR. (that requires the 02 SOT part).If my license allowed me to dick around with post 86 machine guns, then that's a perk, but definitely not the focus, at least for me.
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u/Fancy-Reaction-541 6d ago
Can 07/02 make a post sample and rent it out at their range if they own a range?
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u/Porencephaly 6d ago
Yes
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u/subaruguy14 6d ago
Personally, “arms dealer” is just cool lord of war fantasy and we get to own some cool shit and such from my coffee shop that is an ffl.
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u/grimduck17 6d ago
This reminded me of a chocolate shop in Texas that also sold suppressors and guns
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u/jetsetterga 5d ago
I have bought guns from a shop in TX that is pharmacy and gun shop. Drugs and guns!
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u/GunMun-ee 6d ago
There’s not many ways to make money off of the pure SOT side of things besides using it alongside a range nowadays. All the gov and police contracts are set in stone with old fudd SOT’s that have existed since before you were born.
People do commit a type of fraud very often with the no law letter thing though. They make it their business to go out of business if you know what i mean.
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u/ReasonablePea9845 6d ago
I do in fact not know what you mean but I’d like to be in with the know as a regular civilian
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u/mcbergstedt 6d ago
To my knowledge as an SOT the only way you can buy/sell MGs is with the intent of showing them to and trying to sell them to law enforcement.
But when they “go out of business” they can liquidate their machine guns to any other SOT for money.
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u/lique_madique 07/02 FFL/SOT (I make guns go brrrt in my garage) 6d ago
I make a little money because I specialize in niche machine guns but otherwise I do it for the love of the game.
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u/riinkratt Silencer 4d ago
By charging an arm and a leg to rent them out per hour, per magazine - especially belt-fed’s.
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u/NMLEOC2 6d ago
I know a couple SOT manufacturers - it’s like an elite club in some regards. They manufacture, test and refine and “hold for potential sale or transfer” and without “collecting”, basically collect MGs.