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johnwilliamson062 · May 19, 2008, 07:29 PM

Well my letter below I am sending to ATF pretty much sums it up. Someone else I was talking to on here said it is absolutely impossible to manufacture your own SMG. I was under the impression that if I paid a the tax to buy one, and possibly a ?$500? fee for licensing a small scale manufacturer I could. Anyone want to weigh in on this.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Office of Public and Governmental Affairs
99 New York Ave. NE
Mail Stop 5S144
Washington, DC 20226

Dear ATFE representative,
I am a soon to graduate economics major and in a recent class I looked at mass production and how it affected different countries war machines in World War Two. As a result I have decided I would like to try to produce a Sten SMG. Obviously there are some legal concerns I would like to cover before I start.
1.What forms do I need to have approved? What are the related taxes for these forms? I have talked to my local Sheriff and he agreed to sign whatever is required for the LEO. I have also passed several FBI checks lately for insurance and security licenses.
2.I would not intend on making it in 9X19 Parabellum due to the increasing price of this cartridge. Someone indicated I would have to be careful to use a pistol cartridge as limitations on machine guns were much tighter than for SMGs. Is this true? I find it hard to believe I would have more trouble making what was technically a machine gun in .22LR, as opposed to say, a sub-machine gun in .357 magnum.
3.Does it matter where I do the machining? I am beginning to build a machine shop, but have access to several relatively advanced facilities through clients. Is there a problem if I do work at their facilities?

May 19, 2008, 07:29 PM	#1
johnwilliamson062 Junior member Join Date: May 16, 2008 Posts: 9,995	Building Sten Well my letter below I am sending to ATF pretty much sums it up. Someone else I was talking to on here said it is absolutely impossible to manufacture your own SMG. I was under the impression that if I paid a the tax to buy one, and possibly a ?$500? fee for licensing a small scale manufacturer I could. Anyone want to weigh in on this. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Office of Public and Governmental Affairs 99 New York Ave. NE Mail Stop 5S144 Washington, DC 20226 Dear ATFE representative, I am a soon to graduate economics major and in a recent class I looked at mass production and how it affected different countries war machines in World War Two. As a result I have decided I would like to try to produce a Sten SMG. Obviously there are some legal concerns I would like to cover before I start. 1.What forms do I need to have approved? What are the related taxes for these forms? I have talked to my local Sheriff and he agreed to sign whatever is required for the LEO. I have also passed several FBI checks lately for insurance and security licenses. 2.I would not intend on making it in 9X19 Parabellum due to the increasing price of this cartridge. Someone indicated I would have to be careful to use a pistol cartridge as limitations on machine guns were much tighter than for SMGs. Is this true? I find it hard to believe I would have more trouble making what was technically a machine gun in .22LR, as opposed to say, a sub-machine gun in .357 magnum. 3.Does it matter where I do the machining? I am beginning to build a machine shop, but have access to several relatively advanced facilities through clients. Is there a problem if I do work at their facilities?