The cover of the October issue of the American Rifleman has a great picture of the Springfield Armory's offering of their "Echelon" pistol.
I did a triple-take on it when I realized the serial number appeared in three places: The receiver (the "handle"), the slide, and the barrel.
Is this something new of the ATF's pseudorules, or is Springfield accommodating some Shtoopit Law somewhere (perhaps California?), or is Springfield just anticipating a new pseudorule on what constitutes a "receiver"?
Also, what happens if you shoot out or otherwise ruin the serialized barrel on your "Echelon?" Can you mount a factory-new barrel in it with a different serial number? Does the factory have to freshly serialize a new barrel with the same number for you? Will a 4473 be required for you to obtain a new barrel with a different serial number? Et cetera.
I see they refer to the "receiver" as the chassis, or "Central Operating Group." Is this a new legal term? I scanned the article pretty thoroughly, but might have missed any discussion of these issues.
I'm not necessarily "up" on the latest law and lore, so if a discussion of this appears elsewhere in this forum please link me to it.
As a side note, I have been objecting to the use of the term "upper receiver" on AR (etc.) style rifles for years on the theory that sooner or later, serial numbers on the "upper receiver" might be required, which (I guess) would require the separate 4473 rigamarole if you just wanted to buy a different "upper" for your AR (etc.) firearm. (After all, it's still just one firearm --you can't mount two uppers on one lower and call it two firearms.)
So, as the saying goes, "Whazzup wid dat?"
Terry, 230RN