[eurohacker]

Do NFA rules for machineguns apply to blackpowder Gatling guns?

[Third_Rail]

Nope! Even smokeless powder is okay - that's not the part that the ATF cares about.


What matters is that it is hand cranked, not electrical nor winded spring operated. This matters because as far as the ATF cares, a hand crank is a trigger which you turn again and again. No limit on the number of rounds per turn, as long as one single movement doesn't cycle the action more than once.

[eurohacker]

Dude! So you're saying there are modern machine guns based on the crank design?

Hehe, I guess it wouldn't be half difficult to attach an electric motor thingie :evil:

[Jim K]

Attaching an electric drive to a Gatling gun would make it a machinegun under the law, even if it were an antique.

Most BP Gatlings would not only not be machineguns, but would be antiques (made prior to 1 Jan 1899), with no transfer problems or even paperwork.

Of course, finding one...

Jim

[unspellable]

Hanging a motor on it is where you will begin to draw unwelcome attention from the BATF.

As a type, the Gatling is alive and well. There are many motor driven designs in use by the various military organizations around the world. Probably the best know examples are used in aircraft.

For the comsumer there is a currently (Or at least the last time I looked.) manufactured model of a 19th Century Gatling that fires the 22 LR.

[Cap n Ball]

Cleaning it would be a real job.:barf: How many rounds could be fired before the fouling would jam it up?

[Jim Watson]

There is an outfit making a repro Civil War Gatling that takes "chargers" individually loaded with powder, ball, and percussion cap. That one is legally equivalent to a muzzleloader, availble by mailorder. $4000-$5000 for the gun, $3000 for a field carriage. There was one at a recent CAS match here but I didn't get to go. Word was they shot it a lot with no trouble.

[Chawbaccer]

http://www.backyardartillery.com/machinegun/darkbg1b.jpg

Expensive for a rubberband gun in my opinion.

[TMM]

hmm, so where can one of these .22lr versions be had? :evil:

[Third_Rail]

You don't have the money, Mad. :neener:


Last I checked the company had gone under and the kits are about $7k. The assembled guns are $9-10k.


I'd just build my own, it would be easier. It's not too hard to scale something down properly for .22lr from the drawings. Heck, there are even books out there with the properly scaled drawings.

[4v50 Gary]

Hook it up to a stationary bicycle. Faster honey, the zombies are getting closer. :p

[Trebor]

I know a guy who built his own Gatling. I don't know what he did for plans and I don't know what caliber it is. It does function and fire. Btw, he's a machinest and from what I understand it was a pretty straightforward job.

His gun was in G Gordon Liddy's "Stacked and Packed" calender a few years back. They flipped the image so it looks like the the worlds only left handed Gatling gun.

[rodinal220]

As covered by several folks above,manually operated(hand crank) Gatling guns are perfectly legal.Putting an electric motor on it and as stated before gets you a free trip to club FED.Here are some links on the subject.


http://www.gatlingguns.net/

http://www.atf.treas.gov/firearms/rules/2004-5.htm

http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/usr/wbardwel/public/nfalist/atf_letter14.txt

[Jim K]

When I first saw a Minigun at an AOA convention, I suggested to the GE rep that they put a hand crank on it and sell it through the home appliance division. I don't think he took me very seriously, or at least I never saw one at the local GE dealer.

Jim

[4v50 Gary]

Nice try Jim. Hook up the home gatling to the washer or dryer motor and the lighter the load, the faster it'll spin and the faster the gatling will fire.