manufacturing firearm assesories, and selling them? (as a small business)

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blueflash

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I am an experienced machinist with a home workshop/small machine shop. I have made a several parts for myself with my Lathe, Milling machine, etc, such as scope mounts, muzzle brakes, etc. I guess the parts I made are considered assesories and not firearm parts. I am planning on starting a small business with my machine shop/workshop, and I plan on running everything by the book as a registered small business because I already have work lined up for my mill & lathe that is for a few tool & die shops because I wanted to be sure I had work before I get started with my business.

Although I will be manufacturing a few items that are for the automotive industry, I would like to manufacture a few firearm assesories like scope mounts, muzzle brakes/flash suppressors, and tactical rails for various firearms. I also would like to cut (keeping firearm barrel lengths legal of course) crown, and thread the muzzle of a barrel (to attach a muzzle brake). I know if you manufactured actual firearms or receivers, then a special firearms related permit is required. However if I was to manufacture assesories like muzzle brakes, scope mounts, etc, I thought that all I need is just my small business license in order to sell these parts.

So basically my question is if I have a registered small business, do I need any other permits/licenses to manufacture and sell firearm assesories, and cut/crown/thread the muzzle of a barrel (to the legal length) ???
 
The only thing I can see you needing a firearms business license for is the barrel threading if the barrels are still attached to the receivers. As you will be storing and shipping firearms. But I would talk to your CFO office and see what they say.

Shawn
 
If you take in firearms to do work on them, you need to add the gunsmith registration thing. Also generally a regular business insurance will not cover or want anything to do with guns. You might find that you'd need to thread/crown a few hundred barrels to make it worth the added insurance cost, but look into it anyhow.
No real issue with accessories other than many accessories for guns are already quite cheap/mass produced, very competitive and its often easier to make more $ doing real machine shop work, but making accessories when time allows is kinda fun...
 
Mags and receivers would be the two big things to avoid unless you love paperwork. Aside from that parts and accessories are no big deal.

Barrels though can get tricky. If in any capacity you're getting a complete gun to work on then you need apply for the gunsmith permit. Tbh this question by itself is better
in the legal section than here. I've read a few threads about cutting down 870 barrels that get confusing fast. The same can be said for pistols and rifles. You need to be 110% sure not just about the OAL regs but WHERE you measure from.
 
I don't believe you need a licence to do any gun work unless restricted/prohib and then only to be in possession of the stuff. Gunsmithing is not controlled by the gov like for example automotive work is. Many do car work for money without a licence. As long as your customers know what you are doing and you are not saying you are when you are not I don't believe there is any issue. The CFO is not skilled in gunsmithing so they are not qualified to judge any gunsmith, in ON they profess to do this. Of course the CFO may have different feelings about this but I know a bunch of lawyers that are always up for a fight. Just because they say so doesn't mean it's true or right.

The best way to limit liability is to know what you are doing and don't take work you are not qualified to do (I could just see me taking a big engraving job!!). A real gunsmith can fix/do everything, how many are like that in Canada? The next best way is to incorporate your business. Insurance will run you an easy $15000/year because as soon as you say gun they are confused and don't do any work for the USA because it will double or triple that price. How many barrels do you see without calibre or the smiths name? Always engrave your barrel work with your company name so they know who to see if something goes wrong!
 
"...don't believe you need a licence to..." Absolutely wrong. You are required to have a firearms business licence if you do anything to any firearm. Any employee who does any of the work must have a PAL(if it's non-restricted only. RPAL if any restricted firearm is involved.) as a minimum too. Owners, partners and directors must be eligible for a licence as well. No criminals on the BoD.
What you don't need is any kind of training or experience to call yourself a gunsmith.
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/fs-fd/fab-eaf-eng.htm
 
Gotta add regarding liability.
It's true that by taking on only work that you are able to do properly it limits some risk. But liability insurance usually goes mainly to court costs to prove what you did was not part of the end result, everybody gets dragged in if there's $ and a way for others to wiggle out.

Incorporating/ltd in Canada only offers some protection for financial liability(mainly from investors that will try to get their $ back from you if you go under), its to separate the business for your own personal $/assets. It's not protection for negligence/damage/death and so on, they're 2 very different types of liability and often not differentiated, and when you're a 1 man shop doing all the work... you can't run far.

Last year my broker was able to find me liability insurance for gun work for about 4K.
 
SND said:
Requirements seem to vary a bit with province and many fly under the radar one way or another.
Click to expand...

Requirements in so far as municipal or civic business licenses, yes. The firearms act is nationwide, so the same criteria exists for all provinces.
The CFC/RCMP are pretty straight forward about "if you work on guns or make critical gun parts" you must have a Firearms Business License.

OP
Rings, rails and accessory parts should not require a FBL, but to cut barrels or thread them IS working on a gun, hence a gunsmithing and storage clause on a FBL would likely be required.

I would be careful about throwing the word "manufacturing" around as that clause on the FBL is the EXPENSIVE 1!
It really only applies to the manufacture of firearms but some of the CFO's will smell $$.
 
Requirements on what it takes to get that gunsmith license is what I meant.
There was a few hints that proof of insurance may not be required everywhere.
 
shawn said:
There is no such thing, that is what you are being told.

Go to kinkos and make some business cards that say gunsmith and BAM your a gunsmith

Shawn
Click to expand...
Not in the eyes of the law. To perform work on firearms for others a person or business is required to have a Firearms Business License, there are many different classes and the most common and easily attained is Gunsmithing of NON restricted firearms.
The FBL is really just another form of tax, but to perform work legally a requirement.
 
There's a few options on the form from the CFO, the basic $100 or so one is gunsmith(good 2yrs I think? I forget), but it was maybe $1000+ish if also selling guns/ammo and such, I forgot the exact numbers and details of each. I thought the cost were quire reasonable on that front. Was gonna go through with the rest, had the alarm monitored, etc, then there was that school shooting in the US and insurance company I had found said they weren't touching guns no more, then prices more than doubled with the next cheapest option and on top I was gonna lose some of the current coverage for my main business(not gun related). May give it another go someday, time will tell, for now its easier to make $ making parts and dealing with engineers.
 
alberta tactical rifle said:
Not in the eyes of the law. To perform work on firearms for others a person or business is required to have a Firearms Business License, there are many different classes and the most common and easily attained is Gunsmithing of NON restricted firearms.
The FBL is really just another form of tax, but to perform work legally a requirement.
Click to expand...

FBL =/= gunsmith license

There is no such thing a gunsmith license, that is the issue he is confusing.

Shawn
 
A Firearms Business Licence with an endorsement covering gunsmithing could be considered a gunsmithing licence.
 
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