If the NFA went away, what would you get?

Not at current pricing...........

Not that I could pay for them, but my first three would be a Thompson sub gun, an MP5 in 10mm, and an M60.

If the NFA disappeared overnight, that should mean pricing would (eventually) come down to a more market equilibrium - at least on new guns (historical guns would probably always carry some premium). A full auto gun likely wouldn’t be too much more expensive than its semi auto counterpart.

By today’s definition of what constitutes a machine gun, pretty much all of my semi auto rifles would qualify because they would all get a safety sear, even if I never planned on firing it in full auto, just so that I would have an extra protection against out of battery discharges.

As far as the wish list, I think a PKM would be a lot of fun while also being a bit less expensive to feed compared to something like a .308 belt fed.

And everything would have a suppressor, because why not?

Thompson, FA 10-22, m4, stinger pen, M32a1 grenade launcher, ppsh41, and with any spare cash I might start saving for a self propelled howitzer.

And there would be impulse buys of recoilless rifle, glock 18, and a pineapple grenade for good measure. The g18 would call for a micro roni.

M3 grease gun is top of that list.

I'd become poor.
No NFA would mean no limits on mortars, rocket launchers, RCR, and the like. Would not need ammo per se, but the displays would take up some room []
Would need an M3 and an M2 Carbine.
And, naturally, an M16A2, and an M4.
Deregulation would allow for using M-14 in National Matches, which would then make those CM-elligible, too.

P90

M16

F4 Phantom

The big thing for me is that it would open up a class of competition that would thrive. Gangster era competition with Thompson’s, whippets, 1911, and side matches with a Colt 1908.

It seems many want full auto firearms. Never really appealed to me even while in uniform.

What I want, is short barrels.

Sbr's are kinda overrated to me. But suppress all the things:

I would build a lot of integrated barrel suppressors! And a few more SBR's. And at least 2 ar lowers would become m16 lowers. And an m203 for the fun of it.

If I was rich, an A10 warthog....

I'd buy a mill and a lathe, with the associated tooling.

Then I'd buy a lot of raw stock.

Then I'd buy a few 3 round burst fire control groups to cover all my AR's... except those pesky large-pin colts.

Then a full-auto 10/22 trigger pack.

After that... I'd be making a whole lot of chips building integral cans, a few FA glock selector plates... that sort of thing.

bernie said:

I know that in the current political climate, this will not happen, but if the NFA ceased to exist what would you want. The top of the list for me would probably be an RPD. I don't know why, but I just think that they are cool. An MP-5 would be nice as well.

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I would not be so sure. Gun control is used as a wedge issue by both sides. Suppose the enemy decided that it was more advantageous for them if that wedge issue no longer existed.

Zerodefect said:

suppress all the things:

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That's my motto!

Suppressors are definitely the most worthwhile NFA item, followed by SBR.

DD's are cool, but expensive independent of NFA. The disappearance of NFA would only mean that the explosive projectiles don't carry a stamp. But if you've looked at the price of 30mm, 40mm, etc., not to mention the bigger stuff, it's a wealthy person's game.

SBS, eh. I can F2 anything with no tax and no wait, still don't have one.

As for machine guns, they're fun for a minute, but the novelty wears off quickly, especially if you're paying for the ammo. I have several post samples, and aside from testing cans or entertaining people, really don't use them.

I don't think MGs should be restricted, but I also know that full auto only bullet hoses would be safe queens, and select fires would be used almost exclusively in semi-auto. Full auto fire is quite literally turning money into noise.

Telekinesis said:

If the NFA disappeared overnight, that should mean pricing would (eventually) come down to a more market equilibrium - at least on new guns (historical guns would probably always carry some premium). A full auto gun likely wouldn’t be too much more expensive than its semi auto counterpart.

By today’s definition of what constitutes a machine gun, pretty much all of my semi auto rifles would qualify because they would all get a safety sear, even if I never planned on firing it in full auto, just so that I would have an extra protection against out of battery discharges.

As far as the wish list, I think a PKM would be a lot of fun while also being a bit less expensive to feed compared to something like a .308 belt fed.

And everything would have a suppressor, because why not?

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Do not confuse the NFA with the 86 law closing the registry - the only thing that should get cheaper would be suppressors.

George P said:

Do not confuse the NFA with the 86 law closing the registry - the only thing that should get cheaper would be suppressors.

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Good ones wouldn't.

The reason they cost what they do is because they're built to be lifetime investments. The materials, manufacturing processes & tolerances are orders of magnitude above inexpensive things people like to compare them to. Car mufflers, even good ones that sell for north of $200 each, are made with cheap sheet metal, are much simpler inside, only have to contain a few PSI, no heat treatment, little concern over finish durability, and have tolerances in fractional inch.

There are already some very cheap options; people don't buy them because they're garbage. I'm sure a lot more of those would sell without NFA, but I don't think it would put a dent in quality suppressor sales, because the people buying them in droves would be the people not buying anything presently.

Couldn't afford anything full auto or selective fire but some shorter barrels on a couple of rifles would make life a little more interesting, along with a few suppressors to go with them!

Sbr’s sbs’s and cans for everything!!!!

MachIVshooter said:

Good ones wouldn't.

The reason they cost what they do is because they're built to be lifetime investments. The materials, manufacturing processes & tolerances are orders of magnitude above inexpensive things people like to compare them to. Car mufflers, even good ones that sell for north of $200 each, are made with cheap sheet metal, are much simpler inside, only have to contain a few PSI, no heat treatment, little concern over finish durability, and have tolerances in fractional inch.

There are already some very cheap options; people don't buy them because they're garbage. I'm sure a lot more of those would sell without NFA, but I don't think it would put a dent in quality suppressor sales, because the people buying them in droves would be the people not buying anything presently.

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And yet these same ones sold OTC overseas are a LOT cheaper than here, even with a typical 22% VAT

More suppressors.

HK trigger pack, likely an MP5 clone sometime as they are fun.

Replace my (now I know) sorta-lame SBR lower with a quality one since no paperwork.

Small stock of rifle grenades, but mostly practice, smoke, illum.

60 mm mortar. Also, likely only a couple HE to have, mostly PT, smoke, illum.

Ultimax if they imported them (or made here... so let's get rid of all the protectionist import crap also please) again. Otherwise, something auto-rifle/LMG dedicated but ideally not belt fed to avoid that extra silliness.

George P said:

And yet these same ones sold OTC overseas are a LOT cheaper than here, even with a typical 22% VAT

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They're most certainly not the same ones. Silencers are not exportable except to governments.

There are some good quality cans in Europe, but they are overwhelmingly built more as a consumable than US made cans because that is how they're viewed there. Also, semi-auto centerfires are quite rare and machine guns completely verboten, so building them tough enough to handle high rates of fire is not a priority and a lot of them use materials similar to the $150-$300 rifle cans here. Aluminum, 300 series stainless, mild carbon steel.

Cans need to be viewed in the same light as tools. You can buy the "same" compound miter saw or wrench set at Harbor freight for 1/10th or 1/20th the price of professional grade tools. They basically do the same thing, but there's a huge difference in the quality & durability. You can get a set of digital calipers on Amazon or eBay for ten bucks, but there's a reason I paid nearly $300 for my Mitutoyos.

@Odd Job can weigh in more on what's actually available in the UK, because it's not something I've spent much time investigating since they're also not importable except to government agencies.

First off if the NFA was gone and assuming prices went more towards affordable the only firearms on that list number 3. A glock 18 and a mp5sd. Possibly a ma-duce to mount on my balcony.

Whiskeyhotel2020 said:

First off if the NFA was gone and assuming prices went more towards affordable the only firearms on that list number 3. A glock 18 and a mp5sd. Possibly a ma-duce to mount on my balcony.

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Glock 18s (and other machine pistols) truly exemplify the mostly useless nature of full auto. You can't hit anything with round # 2 and subsequent, and they ROF empties your magazine in under 1 second. Again, could throw a selector on a Glock and file F2 tax free any time I want. Never have, don't plan to.

The Beretta 93R with 3 round burst and a built-in folding foregrip is really the only one that makes any sense at all. And they're still pretty useless.

MP5SD? Buy a clone and do an integral build. You'll get the same enjoyment out of it. Really.

M2? A very expensive to feed range toy that you would end up taking out only on rare occasion to entertain people. Just the logistics of transport would preclude taking it out much.

I get it, it's the forbidden fruit, and everyone is super excited the first time they fire a machine gun. I was. But you'll chase that "high" for the rest of your life and never attain it again. That's why SOTs and registered MG owners are usually pretty "meh" about the MGs we have.

Short barrel rifles for lightweight hunting trips. Suppressors or integrally suppressed barrels where possible so I an protect my hearing and safely communicate with other hunters. Besides that maybe a SBS for home defense. Probably a P90 for a giggle but even that I'm mainly going for the short barrel and nothing else.