Registered by barrel length?

[fatelk]

Here's a funny one I found. I happened to be looking around at info on a Rough Rider .22 revolver, and came across their FAQ page on their site:

7. Can I change my Rough Rider barrel to a different size barrel?

No, because your Rough Rider was registered to you with a certain barrel length and serial number. BATF maintains this information and it cannot be altered. If a barrel length is changed, then a new serial number and new registration must follow. This is a lengthy and costly procedure. We do not sell Barrels and Frames to consumers or dealers.

I thought this was odd. I personally don't have any guns "registered" to myself, per se, let alone registered by barrel length. Am I missing something here, or are they just full of it? Since when and in what locale does one need to re-serialize and register a handgun when they change a barrel length?

[sureYnot]

Might be true in places like California. In most states, a serial number is only required if you transfer a firearm. See 80% lower.

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

[walnut1704]

I think this applies only to manufacturers. By "registered" they just mean their records. There records show that serial number shipped equipped in X manner and this is reported to the ATF. There is no easy procedure to change the records with the ATF. It's all about what they have to do under the law, and doesn't apply to anyone else other than them.

Ruger won't fit a spare cylinder to create convertibles on guns that didn't ship that way for the same reason. I assume they would not alter the barrel length either.

[GhostHawk]

I'm with Walnut.

I think that they have no way of altering BATF records, so rather than get in trouble they just refuse.

After all, if a customer really wants that barrel longer/shorter all they have to do is buy one with a different barrel. They are not expensive guns. I value mine, but expensive they are not.

[fatelk]

I see what you all are saying, perhaps from a manufacturing perspective, and personally I think it would be foolish to consider that kind of gunsmithing work on a $130 revolver. Just buy another one in the barrel length you want. This isn't a practical question; I just saw something that seemed ridiculous and thought I'd see what you all thought.

What caught my eye was the fact that they say you, the consumer, cannot alter the barrel length of your personally owned revolver, because it's registered to you with the ATF, and to legally do so you would have to re-serialize and register it with the ATF. This is just about the silliest thing I've ever seen on a manufacturer's website, completely bogus. I just wondered if I was missing something. If they wanted to be honest, they should just say that they will not sell or change barrels and that you should contact a gunsmith instead.

I have a feeling that if one were to call up the AFT and tell them that you want to swap out your 4" revolver barrel for a new 6" barrel, and that you want to start the process of getting a new serial number and re-registering it; they would ask you what you were smoking and why you thought that was necessary.

[tradbear55]

So does this mean that a Dan Wesson revolver must have separate serial numbers and registration for the switch barrels they offer on some revolvers. Sounds funny to me.

[Soundguy]

It just goes to show you how little most know about gun laws.... including the people making the guns and selling them...

[fatelk]

Want to hear something funny, that is almost completely off topic? (Can I do that since I started the thread?)

The reason I was looking up info on these is because I bought one over the weekend. I've been selling a bunch of my stuff to pay a hospital bill and I've been feeling like I have a little money I can spend. I saw a Rough Rider .22lr at a gun show for $130 and it's really not bad at all for the price.

For $35 extra I could have bought the convertible with the magnum cylinder, but I figured I'd never use it so I went cheap. I was second guessing myself thinking I should have just spent the extra, then I got remembering that I had a .22 cylinder floating around in my piles of old gun junk. I think it came in a random pile off odds and ends I picked up somewhere for little or nothing. I could never figure out what it fit. I looked around and finally dug it out. On the side it's stamped 22 MAG and it looks identical except for no fluting. Lo and behold it fits and functions perfectly. What are the odds?

An odd thing I noticed about this gun is that the forcing cone is huge, a giant funnel about .4" deep. Cylinder gap is more than I'm used to also. As long as it works it's fine I guess. Sure can't expect S&W precision for this price. It's feels good and solid. I think it will be fine, for what it is.

The first revolver I ever shot long ago was a cheap .22lr "Saturday night special", probably an RG or something similar. My great uncle was visiting from out of state and was showing me his new gun that he bought for the trip. He said it was actually the second one he bought because his wife had accidentally thrown out the first one. He had it hidden under the garbage bin in the Cadillac and she dumped it out at a rest stop, so he had to go buy another $50 gun. I remember wishing years afterwards that I could buy a revolver for $50. Well, find an inflation calculator online and type in $50 and the mid 1980's. It comes to right around the price I just paid, and I expect this gun is better made than that old pot metal gun he had. Maybe those cheap prices from the good old days weren't the bargains we think we remember.

I'm taking a couple days off next week to get out of town, take the family on a mini-vacation. It's funny to me that this little revolver cost the same price as a one night stay at Motel 6.

[Drm50]

Converting a rifle to a pistol does take some red tape. The BTAF will issue a serial for it but I don't
know if you can do this without FFL.

[Hogdaddy]

What did you expect from a co. from Miami ; )
H/D

[beagle]

There's no telling. I recall the controversy over the XP-100s and also on the Contenders. Had a 16" .45/70 once and one day at the range, we threw a 10" .30/30 barrel on it which technically made it illegal and plinked a hundred rounds of cast through it. Never could see the advantage.

I've always lusted for an M1A1 Thompson. They finally made them as "pistols" with no provision for the stock. The next iteration was a long barreled semi auto with a stock. Now, I see (and have seen) one with the short barrel and stock in semi auto and was told you have to apply to the BATF for a SBR permit (short barreled rifle) with a transfer tax like class III. Somewhere in all this lies the truth and with the DOJ with it's panties in a wad like they are right now, who knows./beagle

Converting a rifle to a pistol does take some red tape. The BTAF will issue a serial for it but I don't
know if you can do this without FFL.

[fatelk]

Converting a rifle to a pistol does take some red tape. The BTAF will issue a serial for it but I don't
know if you can do this without FFL.

I know there's a legal issue with converting one type of firearm to another, but I think the issue here is just changing one pistol barrel for another, such as replacing the 4" barrel on my revolver with a 6" barrel. I'll bet whoever does their website simply misunderstood an explanation about it from someone else.

Funny thing is, in my searching around online for other info, I found another thread on another forum by someone else talking about the exact same thing. They said that they sent an email to Heritage to set them straight. That thread was from five years ago, so I assume it didn't work.

It doesn't matter to me. I'd swap barrels on this gun as I saw fit, if I had the tooling and it was remotely worth it. Since its not, I guess I just won't worry about it. Five years from now someone else can find this thread and get a laugh.

[bedbugbilly]

I've got no dog in this fight . . . but in Michigan, we DO have to register our handguns. They are listed by the manufacturer, caliber, serial number and "barrel length". Given that . . I have no idea what the legal ramifications would be (if any as far as Michigan goes) if I were to switch out, for example, a 5" barrel for a 4" barrel on a S & W K frame . .. or for that matter, take a hack saw and make a "snub" out of a 4" Model 10 . . . which we all know was a common practice over the years. The pistol has a serial number and will always have that serial number (unless removed which is against the law) regardless of what the barrel length is. As they say . . . "don't make sense".

As far as the Rough Rider goes . . . I bought one a number of years ago for a "knock around" pistol on the farm to take care of critters. Yep . . certainly not a Smith or a Ruger, but, I think it's a good value for the money. Shoots fine and does the job it's supposed to do. I still can't get over the ridiculous safety on them though . . . another great "lawyer idea".

[reddog81]

They don't sell barrels, so they were looking for some excuse to say they couldn't... Kind of dishonest and it shows what they think of their customers, but it would be cost prohibitive to do this. $50 to ship the gun back and forth, $50 for the barrel, and another $50 to do the swap. If they did this they'd have customers complaining about getting ripped off on barrel swaps that cost more than the guns.

[smkummer]

Colt will change barrels and/or calibers on their single action revolvers. It’s a service offered. They would not change a barrel on my trooper mkIII with my supplied border patrol mkIII barrel. They stated by doing so, it would change the model because it’s stamped on the barrel. The person I spoke with said to find a gunsmith that would and that’s what I did. As a owner and not a manufacture, I can pretty much do anything I want with my own gun as long as I don’t deface a serial number or produce something that falls into the NFA act without permission ( filing a form 5320.01 or simply form 1 is the permission slip needed if say I was to attach a stock to my handgun).