Chris
09-27-2008, 08:09 PM
Categories of Weapons Regulated
The Act defines a number of categories of regulated weapons. These weapons are collectively known as "Title II" weapons and include the following:
Machine guns - this includes any firearm which can fire more than 1 cartridge per trigger pull. Both continuous fully-automatic fire and "burst fire" (ie, weapons with a 3-round burst feature) are considered machine gun features.
Short barreled rifles (SBRs) - this category includes any weapon with a buttstock and either a rifled barrel under 16" long or an overall length under 26". The overall length is measured with any folding or collapsing stocks in the extended position. The category also includes weapons which came from the factory with a buttstock that was later removed by a third party.
Short barreled shotguns (SBSs) - this category is defined similarly to SBRs, but the length limit for the barrel is 18" instead of 16", and the barrel must be a smoothbore. The overall length limit remains 26".
Suppressors - this includes any portable device designed to muffle or disguise the report of a portable firearm. This category does not include non-portable devices, such as sound traps used by gunsmiths in their shops which are large and usually bolted to the floor.
Destructive Devices (DDs) - there are two broad classes of destructive devices. The first class contains devices such as grenades, bombs, poison gas weapons, etc. The second class contains any non-sporting firearm with a bore over 0.50" (many firearms with bores over 0.50", such as 12-gauge shotguns, which are exempted from the law because they have been determined to have a legitimate sporting use).
Any Other Weapons (AOWs) - this is a broad "catch-all" category used to regulate any number of weapons which the ATF deems deserving of registration and taxation. Examples include smooth-bore pistols, pen guns and cane guns, short-barreled weapons with both rifled and smooth bores, etc.
“Any Other Weapons” (AOWs) also include disguised firearms and firearms that can be fired from within a wallet holster or a briefcase. A short-barreled shotgun which came from the factory with a pistol grip is categorized as an AOW rather than a SBS, because the Gun Control Act describes a shotgun as “…designed or redesigned to be fired from the shoulder…” The AOW classification also includes handguns with a forward vertical grip. It is therefore illegal to place an aftermarket foregrip on any pistol without first registering it as an AOW and paying the "making tax" imposed by the Act.
In general, even some components that make up an NFA item are considered regulated. For example, each baffle inside a silencer, if removed from the tube, is considered a silencer. Thus, individuals cannot legally own any part of a silencer without registering it with the BATFE and paying NFA taxes. Silencers and machine guns are the most heavily regulated. For example, in Ruling 81-4, BATFE declared that any AR-15 drop-in Auto-Sears made after November 1, 1981 is itself a machine gun, and is therefore subject to regulation. While this might seem to mean that pre-1981 sears are legal to possess without registration, BATFE closes this loophole in other publications, stating, "Regardless of the date of manufacture of a drop in auto sear, possession of such a sear and certain M-16 fire control parts is possession of a machinegun as defined by the NFA. Specifically, these parts are a combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun and are a machinegun as defined in the NFA."
Owning the parts needed to assemble other NFA weapons is generally prohibited. A person cannot own machine gun trigger components unless he owns a registered machine gun. The M2-Carbine trigger pack is such an example of a “combination of parts” that is a machinegun in and of its own. Most of these have been registered as they were pulled from surplus rifles in the early 1960’s.
Most current fully-automatic trigger groups will not fit their semi-automatic firearm look-alike counterparts – the semi-automatic version is specifically constructed to reject the fully-automatic trigger group by adding metal in critical places. This addition is required by the ATF to prevent easy conversion of Title I weapons into machine guns. Additionally, the fully-automatic trigger group is also permanently modified in such a way that it cannot be made to function as a fully-automatic fire control device. The ATF has listed required manufacturing procedures for modifying these fully-automatic trigger groups to make them into legal semi-automatic trigger-groups for civilian sales.
Owning both a short barrel and a legal-length rifle could be construed as intent to build an illegal, unregistered SBR. This is referred to as 'Constructive Possession'.[citation needed] This possibility was contested in the U.S. Supreme Court case of United States v. Thompson-Center Arms Company. BATFE lost the case, and was unable to prove that possession of a short barrel for the specific pistol configuration of a Thompson Contender is not illegal. However, some experts have warned that the ruling applies only to the specific brand of firearm mentioned in the court case, and BATFE still warns against possession of a short barrel for a rifle not registered as a SBR.
Muzzle-loading weapons are exempt from the Act. Thus, though common muzzle-loading hunting rifles are available in calibers over 0.50", they are not regulated as destructive devices. Muzzle-loading cannons are similarly exempt since the law draws no distinction between the size of the muzzle-loading weapons; thus it is legal for a civilian to build muzzle-loading cannons and mortars with no paperwork. Individuals or companies seeking to market large-bore weapons may apply to the ATF for a "Sporting Clause Exception." If granted, the ATF acknowledges that the weapon has a legitimate sporting use and is therefore not a destructive device. Many large safari rifle calibers, such as .585 Nyati and .577 Tyrannosaur, have such exceptions.
The Act defines a number of categories of regulated weapons. These weapons are collectively known as "Title II" weapons and include the following:
Machine guns - this includes any firearm which can fire more than 1 cartridge per trigger pull. Both continuous fully-automatic fire and "burst fire" (ie, weapons with a 3-round burst feature) are considered machine gun features.
Short barreled rifles (SBRs) - this category includes any weapon with a buttstock and either a rifled barrel under 16" long or an overall length under 26". The overall length is measured with any folding or collapsing stocks in the extended position. The category also includes weapons which came from the factory with a buttstock that was later removed by a third party.
Short barreled shotguns (SBSs) - this category is defined similarly to SBRs, but the length limit for the barrel is 18" instead of 16", and the barrel must be a smoothbore. The overall length limit remains 26".
Suppressors - this includes any portable device designed to muffle or disguise the report of a portable firearm. This category does not include non-portable devices, such as sound traps used by gunsmiths in their shops which are large and usually bolted to the floor.
Destructive Devices (DDs) - there are two broad classes of destructive devices. The first class contains devices such as grenades, bombs, poison gas weapons, etc. The second class contains any non-sporting firearm with a bore over 0.50" (many firearms with bores over 0.50", such as 12-gauge shotguns, which are exempted from the law because they have been determined to have a legitimate sporting use).
Any Other Weapons (AOWs) - this is a broad "catch-all" category used to regulate any number of weapons which the ATF deems deserving of registration and taxation. Examples include smooth-bore pistols, pen guns and cane guns, short-barreled weapons with both rifled and smooth bores, etc.
“Any Other Weapons” (AOWs) also include disguised firearms and firearms that can be fired from within a wallet holster or a briefcase. A short-barreled shotgun which came from the factory with a pistol grip is categorized as an AOW rather than a SBS, because the Gun Control Act describes a shotgun as “…designed or redesigned to be fired from the shoulder…” The AOW classification also includes handguns with a forward vertical grip. It is therefore illegal to place an aftermarket foregrip on any pistol without first registering it as an AOW and paying the "making tax" imposed by the Act.
In general, even some components that make up an NFA item are considered regulated. For example, each baffle inside a silencer, if removed from the tube, is considered a silencer. Thus, individuals cannot legally own any part of a silencer without registering it with the BATFE and paying NFA taxes. Silencers and machine guns are the most heavily regulated. For example, in Ruling 81-4, BATFE declared that any AR-15 drop-in Auto-Sears made after November 1, 1981 is itself a machine gun, and is therefore subject to regulation. While this might seem to mean that pre-1981 sears are legal to possess without registration, BATFE closes this loophole in other publications, stating, "Regardless of the date of manufacture of a drop in auto sear, possession of such a sear and certain M-16 fire control parts is possession of a machinegun as defined by the NFA. Specifically, these parts are a combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun and are a machinegun as defined in the NFA."
Owning the parts needed to assemble other NFA weapons is generally prohibited. A person cannot own machine gun trigger components unless he owns a registered machine gun. The M2-Carbine trigger pack is such an example of a “combination of parts” that is a machinegun in and of its own. Most of these have been registered as they were pulled from surplus rifles in the early 1960’s.
Most current fully-automatic trigger groups will not fit their semi-automatic firearm look-alike counterparts – the semi-automatic version is specifically constructed to reject the fully-automatic trigger group by adding metal in critical places. This addition is required by the ATF to prevent easy conversion of Title I weapons into machine guns. Additionally, the fully-automatic trigger group is also permanently modified in such a way that it cannot be made to function as a fully-automatic fire control device. The ATF has listed required manufacturing procedures for modifying these fully-automatic trigger groups to make them into legal semi-automatic trigger-groups for civilian sales.
Owning both a short barrel and a legal-length rifle could be construed as intent to build an illegal, unregistered SBR. This is referred to as 'Constructive Possession'.[citation needed] This possibility was contested in the U.S. Supreme Court case of United States v. Thompson-Center Arms Company. BATFE lost the case, and was unable to prove that possession of a short barrel for the specific pistol configuration of a Thompson Contender is not illegal. However, some experts have warned that the ruling applies only to the specific brand of firearm mentioned in the court case, and BATFE still warns against possession of a short barrel for a rifle not registered as a SBR.
Muzzle-loading weapons are exempt from the Act. Thus, though common muzzle-loading hunting rifles are available in calibers over 0.50", they are not regulated as destructive devices. Muzzle-loading cannons are similarly exempt since the law draws no distinction between the size of the muzzle-loading weapons; thus it is legal for a civilian to build muzzle-loading cannons and mortars with no paperwork. Individuals or companies seeking to market large-bore weapons may apply to the ATF for a "Sporting Clause Exception." If granted, the ATF acknowledges that the weapon has a legitimate sporting use and is therefore not a destructive device. Many large safari rifle calibers, such as .585 Nyati and .577 Tyrannosaur, have such exceptions.