The 922R is a law that states that an imported rifle or shotgun shall not have more than 10 imported parts from a list of 20. The list itself doesn’t have parts that just apply to the SKS, or even rifles in general, but is a complete list designed to attempt to fulfill any and all needs of rifle and shotgun importers.
922R is an insanely arbitrary law that acts to restrict the sale and import of foreign made rifles. Unfortunately, the law is not designed to make the rifles safer, but simply to burden owners, importers, and sellers of foreign rifles and shotguns.
The lists of the 20 parts that matter are as follows,
- Frames, receivers, receiver castings, forgings, or stampings
- Barrels
- Barrel extensions
- Mounting blocks
- Muzzle attachments
- Bolts
- Bolt carriers
- Operating rods
- Gas pistons
- Trigger housings
- Triggers
- Hammers
- Sears
- Disconnectors
- Buttstocks
- Pistol grips
- Forearms, handguards
- Magazine bodies
- Followers
- Floorplates
The magic rule of ten states that you cannot have more than ten of these parts be foreign made on your rifle. These rules only apply to semi automatic rifles and shotguns, which the SKS falls into. The SKS is also a curio and relic firearm, meaning it can be imported in its original, all foreign made parts. This allows you to have collector’s grade Russian SKS rifles without running afoul of 922R. However, if you modify even a single part on this all numbers matching SKS you are running afoul of 922R. If you swap out one part on your SKS you have to swap enough that only ten foreign parts are in the rifle.
One thing to remember is that the law does not state you need 1 American made part, but that you have to have fewer than 10 foreign made parts. There is a big difference here when you start modifying your rifle.
Of the important parts list you may be wondering which parts apply to the SKS rifle, well an unmodified SKS anyway. The parts that fall under the SKS are the receiver, the barrel, muzzle attachments, the bolt and bolt carrier, the gas piston, the trigger housing, trigger, hammer, sear, disconnector, buttstock, forearms, magazine body, follower, and magazine floor plates. This is sixteen parts. So when you modify your rifle you’ll have to replace at least six pieces on an SKS with American made pieces. An American magazine for the SKS would take up three total parts itself.
What’s interesting about the SKS is the fact that several aftermarket stocks can add parts that weren’t original SKS parts. For example, if you add a tactical stock by Tapco you add a pistol grip. This addition of a pistol grip does not change the fact you have to ensure that the weapon has 10 or fewer foreign parts. If you add a foreign made aftermarket stock with a pistol grip you’ve actually added a part against your total count. Keep this in mind, especially when adding muzzle brakes, and different magazines.
922R sounds a lot more confusing than it is, and it is certainly a useless law. It is one that is wise to follow. I’ll go ahead and say, as far as I can find no one has ever been convicted or even charged under this law. However, do you really want to be the first case to test the law? The most important rule to thing to remember is that you cannot have more than 10 foreign made parts. This is regardless of how many American made parts you have on hand.
