You don't buy a "gun", what you are buying is parts with an unfinished receiver. Unfinished receivers don't have a serial number because they are unfinished! If you have the skills and tools to mill and drill that 80% AR 15 lower you can end up with a privately made "ghost gun" and then go on a murderous rampage because MOAR GUNZ!

If you are looking for a real loophole, go buy yourself a mail order black powder cap and ball revolver. The serial number is on the receiver. Then go buy yourself a replacement conversion cylinder that uses centerfire ammunition. No serial number on the cylinder. Instant mail order single action cartridge revolver.

What hyperbole? I posted the article with its original title as per DU rules.

And my questions was a genuine request for information, since the article was vague on how exactly a receiver can legally be unserialized.

Sorry for the confusion. Until a receiver is finally finished it is a lump of metal. An 80% AR receiver is missing some critical holes and channels it needs to function, so it is not yet technically a receiver. You also can buy flat, cut sheets of metal that you can bend, weld, and have your own MAC 10 machine pistol. No serial numbers. So, yes, if being legally able to build your own firearm for your own private use qualifies as a "loophole", then NBC has a point.

http://www.theflatspot.net/mac10---45-lower-receiver-flat.html

See this Northeast shooter's forum epic post about making an AK receiver out of a shovel:

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/threads/179192-DIY-Shovel-AK-photo-tsunami-warning!

Be warned, the discussion has homophobic jokes and much other crass humor throughout. If the word 'libtard' is completely unacceptable to you, maybe just take my word that this guy makes a working Kalashnikov from a kit, an old shovel, and some other random bits. I'm the type who can can get called a 'libtard' and give back as good as I'm getting, saying things like "My grandfather knew how to deal with Nazis like you: he shot them." With a sense of humor like that and a respect for ingenuity, I enjoyed the thread. But again, it's not for everyone.

-app

too funny

It can not be legally sold
given away
inherited

Without a serial number

It can only be destroyed

The ATFE can and does issue serial numbers for these rifles.

If you ask for one.

are easy to make. all you need is some pipe, a nail and a shotgun shell