“Let’s call it what it is: It’s the largest executive branch firearms ban or registration scheme in American history,” he said. Creamer provided his team’s initial reaction to the ATF’s NPRM. Known as the originator of the forearm pistol stabilizing brace, SB Tactical is firmly entrenched in this segment - which has grown into a formidable economic force with dozens of companies involved in the production and deployment of pistol stabilizing braces, to the tune of over $1 billion a year. To gain additional insights, SI sat down with Jeff Creamer, president and CEO of SB Tactical - who argued this move represents a blatant attack on the industry and called on industry companies and gun owners to get involved and make their opinions known. Additionally, it would have significant implications for the industry as a whole. “When a purported ‘stabilizing brace’ and an attached weapon’s objective design features indicate that the firearm is actually designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder, such weapon may fall within the scope of the NFA, requiring registration and payment of tax,” the proposed rule reads.Īs currently written, millions of law-abiding consumers would suddenly find themselves felons overnight if this rule advances. In short, the NPRM proposes amending the definition of “rifle” to clarify it includes “any weapon with a rifled barrel and equipped with an attached ‘stabilizing brace’ that has objective design features and characteristics that indicate the firearm is designed to be fired from the shoulder, as indicated on ATF Worksheet 4999.”Īdditionally, ATF explains the purpose of the amendments would be to target attachments to pistols the agency contends are designed to evade restrictions imposed by the Gun Control Act (GCA) and National Firearms Act (NFA). The ruling comes during a period of heightened tensions between the firearms industry and ATF, with President Biden’s pick to lead the bureau (anti-gun lobbyist David Chipman) facing a close, hyper-partisan confirmation battle in the U.S. Well, June 7, ATF announced a renewed effort to regulate stabilizing braces with a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM): “Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached ‘Stabilizing Braces.’” Unlike the December Guidance, this ruling has a 90-day comment period - which ends Sept. 2021 issue the Proposed Rule served as a “warning sign of things to come in 2021.” While the industry celebrated the quick about-face, we wrote in our coverage in the Feb. However, thanks to more than 70,000 public comments and pushback from industry manufacturers and associations, ATF announced its withdrawal of the Proposed Rule Guidance just days later on Dec. The timing of this announcement and the shortened window for comments were widely panned as a not-so-subtle attempt to legislate during what’s normally a quiet time of the year. In addition to the M240 and its variants, FN America currently holds contracts for the FN M249 lightweight machine gun the FN MK 46, MK 48, MK 17 and MK 20 SSR for USSOCOM and various other contracts.ĪTF Renews Attempt To Regulate Stabilizing BracesĪt the close of 2020, ATF published a Proposed Rule Guidance in the Federal Register to classify firearms with stabilizing braces (“Notice on the Objective Factors for Classifying Weapons with ‘Stabilizing Braces’”) - inviting public comment from Dec. military, and the company continues to develop innovative technology. Throughout its history, FN has been one of the largest suppliers of small arms to the U.S. “We’re incredibly honored to continue our relationship with the Army, supporting them with high-quality and reliable weapon systems for our servicemen and women.” Army contract for the M240 machine gun was the first military contract FN was awarded, and the first to be produced from our production facility in South Carolina,” said Mark Cherpes, president and CEO of FN America. This contract provides a procurement vehicle for the Army to purchase multiple variants of the M240 machine gun, including the M240 coaxial, the M240B, M240L, M240D and M240H models. military in the late 1970s, and has been in continual service since being introduced. The M240 general-purpose machine gun, derived from the FN MAG 58, was adopted by the U.S. The contract, awarded through 2026, is multi-faceted, and will support both the U.S. Army with M240 series machine gun variants and spare receivers. Army Contract For M240 Machine Guns, ReceiversįN America announced the awarding of a firm-fixed-price contract to supply the U.S.
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