r/Firearms 2d ago

Question What are you building, buying, or shooting this month? - September 2026

1 Upvotes

Welcome to the monthly /r/Firearms thread about what you are building, buying, or shooting this month.

Use it to discuss or ask any questions you may have.

We have a /r/firearms wiki! Check it out here https://old.reddit.com/r/Firearms/wiki/index. If you have any ideas of what content should be added, please message the mods and let us know.

Looking for deals? /r/GunDeals

New to firearms? Check out this Forgotten Weapons series: How Does It Work? Gun Mechanics Explained Simply.

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Looking for firearms YouTubers or video content? Check out the YouTubers section in our wiki.


r/Firearms May 03 '25

Law Open letter regarding posts such as “I was in a mental hospital can I own a gun”

159 Upvotes

I am posting this because the question keeps getting asked. Every single time it is asked, the wrong information gets out.

I've seen way too many posts on here and related subs around the subject of the law prohibiting the possession of firearms by any person who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution, 18 USC § 922 (g)(4). There is way too much misinformation out there. First of all, if you have any reason to believe that you are a prohibited person, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PURCHASE A FIREARM AS MAKING A FALSE STATEMENT ON THE FORM 4473 IS A FELONY. Second of all, please do not give advice on topics that you are not qualified to answer on. Third, you should consult with a qualified firearms rights attorney if you are unsure of your legal status.

The law:

18 USC § 922(g)(4)

(g)It shall be unlawful for any person—

(4)who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or who has been committed to a mental institution;

to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affecting commerce, anyfirearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearm orammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.

What are the definitions of these terms?

27 CFR 478.11

Adjudicated as a mental defective. (a) A determination by a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority that a person, as a result of marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease: (1) Is a danger to himself or to others; or (2) Lacks the mental capacity to contract or manage his own affairs. (b) The term shall include— (1) A finding of insanity by a court in a criminal case; and (2) Those persons found incompetent to stand trial or found not guilty by reason of lack of mental responsibility pursuant to articles 50a and 72b of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10U.S.C. 850a, 876b.

Committed to a mental institution. A formal commitment of a person to a mental institution by a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority. The term includes a commitment to a mental institution involuntarily. The term includes commitment for mental defectiveness or mental illness. It also includes commitments for other reasons, such as for drug use. The term does not include a person in a mental institutionfor observation or a voluntary admission to a mental institution.

Mine happened when I was under 18. Isn’t that exempted?

Unfortunately no. A mental health adjudication or commitment at less than 18 years of age is counted for 922(g)(4). I experienced this personally and had to restore my rights.

What about HIPAA?

The Obama administration amended the HIPAA privacy rule in 2016 to make it clear that reporting mental health commitments and adjudications to NICS does not violate HIPAA

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/01/06/2015-33181/health-insurance-portability-and-accountability-act-hipaa-privacy-rule-and-the-national-instant

Is there a way to restore my rights after being adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution?

If you were committed by a department or agency of the federal government, the agency is required to have a relief from disabilities program under the NICS improvements amendments act of 2007.

If you were adjudicated or committed in a state proceeding, whether you can obtain relief is dependent on whether your state has implemented a relief from disabilities program under the NICS improvements amendments act of 2007. The list of states that have can be found here:

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/guide/nicsactlist7-7-210pdf/download

If you are in a state that does not have a relief from disabilities program, your only avenue of relief is writing a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and asking her to restore your rights under 18 USC § 925(c) now that she has withdrawn the delegation from ATF.

Between October 6th 1992 and March 20th 2025 in the states that did not have a relief program, there was no avenue of relief at all

With that out of the way.

I created this privacy act request form for a friend of mine who was legitimately unsure if his commitments landed in the FBI database or if they qualified as “committed to a mental institution” under 18 USC § 922(g)(4) and as defined at 27 CFR 478.11. I can report that it worked; as in, the FBI processed the request and reported that no such records were found in the NICS indices.

This form will allow you to request your own records directly from the FBI.

In this post I will not be addressing the subject of my own journey regarding rights restoration related to mental health (you can ask me that privately). Nor am I an attorney licensed to practice law. Finally, I am not a mental health professional and cannot make the decision as to whether firearms ownership is right for you.

Onto the form. Please follow the instructions sheet very carefully, fill out every applicable box, print the form, have the request notarized, and mail it to the address indicated on the form.

The first response you receive will indicate that the FBI central records system does not maintain those records and your request has been forwarded to the Criminal Justice Information Services division. CJIS will respond a few weeks later. In my friend's case it took eight weeks for a final response from the FBI CJIS NICS section.

Link to form (Adobe Acrobat PDF) https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:US:d342b025-6fb2-4126-b0e2-ad6f1c3fbbe7


r/Firearms 16h ago

General Discussion I made a LEGO 1911

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343 Upvotes

Designed this life-size replica of the M1911A1 using standard LEGO pieces; what do you think?


r/Firearms 17h ago

Do NOT work for Smith and Wesson

305 Upvotes

Monday morning S&W laid off a high number of employees (I don’t know the number exactly but it’s a LOT) without any sort of warning or explanation at the Maryville TN plant. They sent the lay off order to hiring agencies the previous Friday while the 2nd shift employees were working. Shift leads, managers, and HR gave no warning to any of the employees as they were leaving and only informed the affected employees Monday as they were getting ready for work. This move left all the employees without any time to look for a new job or save any money for the time without a job. This, in my humble opinion, is completely unacceptable behavior and completely disrespectful to the employees that made this company money along with leaving the current employees an absolute mess on top of production being behind for a while before the lay offs. If you care about reliable work and fair business practices do NOT work for this company. If this post reaches anyone looking to have a career at this company please reconsider

EDIT:

Yes I’m aware this is common practice among many manufacturing companies and corporations in general but it doesnt mean it’s not a completely scumbag move. Even if I got a days notice I wouldn’t be nearly as frustrated as I am currently

another important note is that this came 2 weeks after a 2 week UNPAID shutdown. I had to go thru a lot of what little I’ve saved those 2 weeks and the layoff gave everyone affected zero time to recover from it


r/Firearms 15h ago

Identify This What is this, an A2 with a telescoping stock?

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211 Upvotes

If it is, it certainly offends my sensibilities. I've never seen an A2 with a telescoping stock before... it almost seems wrong.


r/Firearms 18h ago

Double-Holster Dessert Monster

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292 Upvotes

2A at a Golden Corral buffet. Brought two guns to a fork and knife fight.


r/Firearms 12h ago

Video Gun Registration requirements, including NY ones, will one day be ruled Unconstitutional

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60 Upvotes

r/Firearms 4h ago

Help! Modern 1903 clone? Anybody make one?

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13 Upvotes

I have a original 1903 but I would love to get a more modern clone or new age make of the model so I can load more modern/powerful loads without fearing of blowing up a beautiful piece of history..Does anybody out there make one?


r/Firearms 2h ago

Does anyone knows what gun Shawn Ryan uses in this video (well picture)?

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7 Upvotes

r/Firearms 10h ago

Study Anybody know any neat history for the sphinx at380 pistols? Got this for 100 beans

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31 Upvotes

r/Firearms 11h ago

New grip installed tonight but Grim didn’t want y’all to see

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36 Upvotes

r/Firearms 8h ago

Finding a magazine for ruger 22 lr

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19 Upvotes

Inherited this gun and would love some help pointing me in the right direction to find a magazine.


r/Firearms 8h ago

Law The theoretical national reciprocity (Revised)

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16 Upvotes

So far with a little help I’ve worked the list down to 13 states + NYC + DC + Puerto Rico. You can add Guam and the US Virgin Islands to that as well.

So to match HR218 it seems you need to live in either NV or ID or have dual residency in one of these two places and collect 17/18 pistol carry licenses to carry nationwide including territories where the territories allow for CCW. 17 if you get NYC non-resident which limits your permit to 1 firearm and 18 if you get a NY resident + NYC Special Carry permit and can pair that with a NV or ID dual residency.

TLDR; this is insane.


r/Firearms 5h ago

Can anyone help identify this pistol?

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4 Upvotes

r/Firearms 18h ago

PSA sold me a new FN 509 CC Edge in this condition, then issued a blem credit after I declined it

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49 Upvotes

r/Firearms 10h ago

Question What does "wearing a gun down" actually mean?

7 Upvotes

Since slides, barrels, springs, and other parts can usually be found online somewhere, is a gun technically "worn down" or "worn out" when its frame/receiver/FCU is damaged to the point where it requires being sent to the manufacturer? Like when even a complete parts kit isn't enough to make it functional again?


r/Firearms 13h ago

MArms Aion

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10 Upvotes

This week I added an absolute HEATER of a firearm to my collection that I am honored to have been able to broker a deal for. An MArms Aion, the first and currently only one in the US as of right now. Unfortunately during its import approval inspection by the ATF this guns sister gun was destroyed during reassembly by the incompetent ATF workers. This thing is costly, but its absolutely STUNNING to look at, a DREAM to handle, and is a sewing machine shooting. It uses Tanfoglio Large Frame 9mm mags, so its mags are fairly wallet friendly. Mine has the solid brass grip panels and magwell so its a heavy girl, but that weight is both balanced well and keeps it super flat for a non-ported/non-compensated handgun. I was also tasked by the importer, as apart of the deal of me being able to buy this from them, to take marketing photos of the firearm for them to use.


r/Firearms 1d ago

General Discussion Nevery making fun of shitty storm troopers aim again.

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227 Upvotes

I just bought my first gun today and I am never making fun of storm troopers shitty aim again. I shot 250 rounds today to break in the gun and I dont think a single one went exactly where I intended it to go. I really gotta work on my grip and aim. Here are a couple of the targets I was shooting. Also my new gun its a Smith and Wesson Shield X.


r/Firearms 46m ago

Help! Molot Krink (vpo-165) folding latch replacement.

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Upvotes

This is a shot from the hip, i need a folding latch for my Molot Krink VPO-165

Is there some Angel in northern PAKISTAN that can help me get a replacement ,or have one fabricated
As my research tells that the one from saiga wont fit
on the RPK receiver
Help me my Pashtun brothers.
Love from Karachi.

P.s
Arranging from Russia will take months


r/Firearms 8h ago

Question How many of you actually dry fire practice at home? Any benefit?

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4 Upvotes

I just purchased a new firearm and decided to get some dry fire rounds to get a feel for the gun. However, I'm wondering how often I'll actually be using this after hitting the range a few times. Anything to practice with these as well besides pulling the trigger and finding the right grip?

Thanks!


r/Firearms 13h ago

Here I come Iron Monkey!

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6 Upvotes

Next is plating!


r/Firearms 3h ago

What firearm is this?

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1 Upvotes

r/Firearms 4h ago

Question Looking for a recommendation for small .32auto

1 Upvotes

Looking for a small .32 with threaded barrel.

I know they are fairly uncommon these days, but find the platform interesting for a ladies pocket gun and general history. I handload, so ammo availability shouldn't be too much of an issue.


r/Firearms 10h ago

Question Online Firearm sale Etiquette

3 Upvotes

Hi Everyone,

First time ever buying a firearm online. Can't beat the price by a mile.

That said- what is the etiquette for online buying.

-Is it polite to contact my FFL of choice to see they can accept it as delivery? Better to call or stop by?

Any other tips?

Thanks


r/Firearms 4h ago

Question Jerry Miculek trigger finger

1 Upvotes

Anyone seen or have a link of a slow motion video of JERRY MICULEK'S trigger finger when he's going fast?