Makes and Models Not Serviced
Please read this page before you drop off or ship a firearm. It lists makes, models, and types of work we do not accept, along with our policy on gray area items, automatic weapons, and NFA items. For what to bring, test fire ammo, and loaded-gun rules, see Visit. For hours, directions, and appointments, see Contact. Other items we do not accept are listed in our Terms and Conditions.
Gray Area Items
We try not to ride the line on items whose legal status is unclear or unresolved, or that we believe have a high likelihood of becoming prohibited in the near future. We do not install or service these items.
We will not work on:
- Bump stocks
- Binary triggers, forced reset triggers (FRT), forced-reset clones, and other devices marketed as legal full-auto alternatives, including any mechanism intended to simulate fully automatic fire
- Gatling gun conversions
- Solvent traps and incomplete suppressor kits that would finish as silencers without a Form 1 or tax stamp
- Unregistered NFA items that originate from states that are not currently enforcing the NFA on short-barreled rifles (SBRs), short-barreled shotguns (SBSs), and suppressors
- Unfinished or “80%” receivers that you want us to finish without proper serialization. See Ghost Guns / Unserialized Firearms.
For example, if you are a Virginia resident and you obtained a suppressor without a tax stamp, that suppressor may currently be legal under that state’s approach. We still decline to accept the suppressor for service if you do not possess a federal tax stamp.
Automatic Weapons and NFA Items
We work on legal automatic weapons that are correctly registered under an SOT or with a tax stamp. We will not work on:
- Illegal or incorrectly registered items, or guns not brought in by the registered owner
- Unregistered automatic weapons, or any firearm that shows an attempt to convert to automatic (even if unfinished)
- Open-bolt weapons with a fixed firing pin, firearms that contain an auto sear, and AR receivers with a third hole for an auto sear—except when the firearm is a correctly registered automatic
- NFA items that are not engraved, or that have been modified from the tax stamp specifications without proper ATF notification
If you believe the item is grandfathered under the NFA, contact the ATF National Firearms Act Division and ask about an exception letter. We do not decide grandfather status. You must obtain that documentation from the ATF.
ATF National Firearms Act (NFA) Division
244 Needy Road, Martinsburg, WV 25405
Phone: (304) 616-4500
National Firearms Act Division
Licensing and other services
Makes and Models We Do Not Service
Please be advised that we do not offer service on the following makes and/or models:
- Stevens Model 70 (“Visible Loader”)
- Stevens Model 73Y
- RG / Rohm
- Bryco
- Jimenez
- Hi-Point
- Raven
- Lorcin
- Jennings
Failure to Eject and Failure to Extract
We do not offer repairs for failure to eject or failure to extract for any of the following firearm models:
- Savage/Stevens/Springfield Models 87, 87A, 51 (or any of the variants)
- Remington 740, 742, 7400, Model Four (semi-auto)
- J.C. Higgins Model 31 (.22 caliber)
Ghost Guns / Unserialized Firearms
If we work on a ghost gun or other unserialized firearm, we are required to add a serial number and list ourselves as the manufacturer. You are required to complete a background check when you pick the firearm up. That defeats the purpose of a ghost gun. Ghost guns are also generally more expensive than equivalent serialized receivers. For those reasons, we decline this service.
Previously deactivated or destroyed firearms, and firearms with effaced or stolen serial numbers
We decline work on firearms that were previously deactivated or destroyed, and on firearms whose serial numbers have been effaced, altered, or removed, or that are marked as stolen.
Deactivated and cut-up guns often cannot be returned to a safe, lawful, serviceable condition without creating compliance problems we will not take on. A missing, defaced, or stolen-marked serial number also prevents normal identification and transfer paperwork. In both cases we will not accept the firearm for service.
Tomato Stakes
In shop jargon, a tomato stake is a firearm that is so far gone it is only good for staking a tomato plant. That usually means the gun is not safe to return to service, or a proper repair would cost far more than the firearm is worth.
Common identifiers for a tomato stake include the following. These are examples, not a complete list. A firearm that does not show one of these signs can still be a tomato stake.
- Extreme rust
- Flood damage
- Direct contact with fire
- Held together with wire
- Held together with duct tape, electrical tape, or nails
- Heavy pitting in the chamber or bore
- Obsolete or completely unavailable parts, on a firearm whose top market value is $300 or less
- Heavy stock damage on these low-value firearms, such as oil rot or split stocks
- Poor repairs completed previously
- Firearms that have been filed on
- Parts replaced with improvised parts
- Rib separation on low-value shotguns
- Catastrophic failures resulting in a barrel or receiver blowout
- Cracked receivers
- Dangerously out-of-spec headspace, when the repair would cost more than the firearm is worth
- Sprung, stretched, or peened actions or locks that will not stay in time
We decline work on tomato stakes. After we inspect a firearm, we may refuse the job even if you still want the repair done. When that happens, we will tell you plainly why we will not take the work.