In firearms terminology, the firearm frame or receiver is the part of a

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

which integrates other components by providing

housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether it ...

for internal

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

components such as the

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

, bolt or

breechblock A breechblock (or breech block) is the part of the firearm action that closes the breech of a breech loading weapon (whether small arms or artillery) before or at the moment of firing. It seals the breech and contains the pressure generated by th ...

firing pin A firing pin or striker is a part of the firing mechanism of a firearm that impacts the primer in the base of a cartridge and causes it to fire. In firearms terminology, a striker is a particular type of firing pin where a compressed spring ...

and extractor, and has threaded interfaces for externally attaching ("receiving") components such as the

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

, trigger mechanism and

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

optical sight A sight is an aiming device used to assist in visually aligning ranged weapons, surveying instruments or optical illumination equipments with the intended target. Sights can be a simple set or system of physical markers that have to be aligne ...

s. The receiver is often made of

forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to th ...

d, machined, or stamped

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

; in addition to these traditional materials, modern science and engineering have introduced

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

s and

sintered Clinker nodules produced by sintering Sintering or frittage is the process of compacting and forming a solid mass of material by pressure or heat without melting it to the point of liquefaction. Sintering happens as part of a manufacturing ...

metal powders to receiver construction.

Mounting

A barrel can be fixed to the receiver using barrel and receiver

action threads In firearms, barrel threads refer to the screw threads used to attach a barrel. Action threads, also called receiver threads, are situated at the chamber end of the barrel, and can be used for attaching the barrel to the receiver. The receive ...

or similar methods.

In US law

For the purposes of

United States law The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as v ...

, the receiver or frame is legally the firearm, and as such it is the controlled part. The definition of which assembly is the legal receiver varies from firearm to firearm, under US law. Generally, the law requires licensed manufacturers and importers to mark the designated receiver with a

serial number A serial number is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it. Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist enti ...

, the manufacturer or importer, the model and caliber. In addition, makers of receivers are restricted by

International Traffic in Arms Regulations International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) is a United States regulatory regime to restrict and control the export of defense and military related Military technology, technologies to safeguard National security of the United States, U.S. ...

. Thus, in the case of a firearm that has multiple receiver parts (such as the

AR-15 An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation d ...

, which has an upper and a lower receiver), the legally controlled part is the one that is serialized. For the AR-15 rifle, the lower receiver assembly is legally considered the actual receiver (although it is functionally a

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

that also houses the separate

trigger Trigger may refer to: Notable animals and people ;Mononym * Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers ;Nickname * Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist * "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster ;Surname * Bru ...

group); while in the

FN-FAL The FAL (a French acronym for (English: "Light Automatic Rifle")), is a battle rifle designed in Belgium by Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal (simply known as FN). During the Cold War the FAL was adopted by many countries of th ...

rifle, it is the upper assembly that is serialized and legally considered the receiver. This has led to prosecutors dropping charges against illegal manufacturing of AR-type firearms to avoid court precedents establishing that neither the upper nor the lower receiver individually contain all the components to be legally classified as a firearm.

Unfinished receivers

"Unfinished receivers", also called "80 percent receivers" or "blanks", are partially completed receivers with no serial numbers. Purchasers must perform their own finishing work in order to make the receiver usable. The finishing of receivers for sale or distribution by unlicensed persons is against US law. Because an unfinished 80% receiver is not a firearm, purchasers do not need to pass a background check. The resulting firearm is sometimes called a "

ghost gun A privately made firearm (''also referred to as a ghost gun, homemade firearm, or eighty-percenter)'' is a firearm that is produced by a private individual rather than a corporate or government entity. The term is used mostly in the United State ...

3D printed receivers

, two designs for 3D printable polymer lower receivers for the AR-15 have been released: the

AR Lower V5 The AR Lower V5 is a 3D printed lower receiver for the AR-15 rifle. It was created in March 2013 Defense Distributed printed using the Stratasys Dimension SST 3-D printer

and the

Charon In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon (; grc, Χάρων) is a psychopomp, the ferryman of Hades, the Greek underworld. He carries the souls of those who have been given funeral rites across the rivers Acheron and Styx, which separate the wo ...

. Like unfinished receivers, 3D-printed ones can be used to produce ghost guns. (Again under US law, the printed receiver itself is a firearm.)

References

{{Firearm accessories mounting standards Firearm components