If the NFA went away, what would you get?

A typewriter, specifically, a Chicago typewriter.

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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So we’re theoretically smart enough to find a way to somehow get rid of the entire NFA, but forget about that provision in the FOPA?

So tell me, how does a law saying essentially “the ATF will not approve a transfer for a post-86 machine gun” (closing the registry) matter when the registry no longer exists and the ATF’s approval is not required?

Come on, man. This is a fantasy thread of something that has a snowballs chance in hell of actually happening. Lighten up and have some fun.

If prices went back to pre May '86 prices, I'd get a .45 Mac 10, just because the one I shot induced big grins. I'd probably start building an M60, same reason. I'd start making Ithaca auto Burglar copies. Otherwise, cans on some things, but I want to do that even with the hoops to jump through.

Interesting, didn't realize cans were tracked at all across the pond. I was under the impression that they were like buying hearing protection or something, just another accessory. How prevalent are shotgun suppressors? This is the first I've heard of one outside of a videogame.

In lieu of abolishing the NFA, just return it to the way it was pre-1986.

About the only MG’s that really interests me would be a MP5SD,a M2, a m134, and a m249. You all can have the rest they don’t interest me over semi auto with the nice triggers and ammo costs we have.

It would be lots of suppressors, integral suppressors, a few SBS’s lots of SBR’s.

A big interest would be collecting some war firearms that were otherwise restricted, especially if import laws were removed as well.

Everything.
Just gotta dump those pesky regulations and get mountains of money and my dream could be a reality !

Current ammo cost and availability may be a greater restriction than the NFA ever was,

AlexanderA said:

In lieu of abolishing the NFA, just return it to the way it was pre-1986.

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How about return it to the way the 2A says.

I'm thinking no infringements are the best infringements

Odd Job said:

I have discussed these cans with people who hunt and they tell me that the ASE Utra center fire cans are very good.

How much would one of those cost you? About £270-£400 retail. Those are steel.

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That actually puts them in roughly the same $400-$600 US range for all (or nearly all) 17-4 stainless cans like the Rex Silentium and YHM Turbo & Resonator, the latter having an inconel diffuser and equipped with a QD system.

I would guess most of the options over there are direct thread as well, since the ability to install or remove a silencer in 300 milliseconds or less seems to be a uniquely American preoccupation. We want these things which contain thousands of PSI of superheated gasses to be as modular and intuitive as Legos, and those intricate, idiot-proof QD mounts and muzzle devices are significantly more expensive to design & manufacture than direct thread mounts. TBAC spent 3 years developing & testing the SR mount.

The really expensive cans here are made from pretty exotic alloys, titanium being one of the cheapest in that group. A piece of Inconel 718 bar stock from which a baffle stack can be machined for an 8" can is a $150- $200 (or more) worth of raw material that is an SOB to cut and a very involved heat treatment process. Stellite is even worse on all fronts. But people expect these "full auto rated" cans to survive a lifetime of mag dumps with short 5.56mm rifles, so they have to be built that way.

In addition to wanting QD mounting and an expectation of being nearly indestructible, US consumers also demand minimal weight. If your 6" long 5.56 cal model weighs more than about 15-16 ounces including mount, you're a chunky monkey and people will look elsewhere first for most purposes.

Hunting cans here? It had better produce shooter's ear dB levels in the 120s on a .30-06 and weigh under 12 ounces.

So we've kind of done it to ourselves with the extreme performance expectations that force the use of more expensive and more difficult to machine high strength alloys which can withstand the heat & pressure at minimal mass & dimensions. Thus the mantra in the US silencer buying world tends to be "buy once, cry once".

Nearly all US suppressors also carry a lifetime warranty, so that factors into cost. As a small mfr, I cover materials and workmanship for life but not abuse or stupidity. Some bigger outfits have a no questions asked type warranty. And many of us will even cover a new stamp in if the tube is not salvageable, depending on circumstances.

So, yeah, if NFA disappeared (or silencers were deregulated), we'd see cheaper options become more popular, but the premium stuff would still be spendy and still sell well. As it were, silencer prices are looked at in a "total package price" view that includes the $200 stamp and $50-$125 transfer, so it makes more sense to most people to spend proportionately more on the can itself to make sure that $250-$300+ cost of getting it is worth it. I have many, many customers who have spent around the cost of a new mid range can to improve performance and reduce weight of an old critter via recore rather than pay the stamp & transfer fees again.

I’d get an original BAR. That’s it. Nuttin else.

Zerodefect said:

F4 Phantom

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Nothing in NFA barring a person from having an F-4.
The 20mm Vulcan on the D model, yes.
The expense of a working pair of J79s, and the fuel for same might be a bit daunting. (You'd want to have both wing tanks and a centerline tank to get anywhere, though.)
You'd need an IFR license to go sit for the multi-engine pilot's license, would be the only regulatory thing.

Not having to double tag SBR with integral suppressors would be very nice.
Crew served equipment would not likely be high on my list, though.

Depends on whether NRA, IDPA, and USPSA changed their rules to accommodate previously restricted guns and equipment.

What would I get?


Take a gander at my avatar, and take a wild guess!!!!!

(The one in the photo is a non-functional dummy.)

Easy, I would form 1 my own minigun, right after I made the select fire parts for a glock 17c also on a form 1.

For whatever reason it’s one of the funnest machineguns for me to play with. I don’t find it hard to control and while rate of fire is fast, it’s still cheaper to shoot than lots of others. A 5 gallon bucket of 9mm has more rounds at a lower cost than a 5 gallon bucket of .223 or 308.

33 rounds of 9mm


or 30 of .223.


Just different ways of turning money into noise.

jmorris said:

Easy, I would form 1 my own minigun, right after I made the select fire parts for a glock 17c also on a form 1.

For whatever reason it’s one of the funnest machineguns for me to play with. I don’t find it hard to control and while rate of fire is fast, it’s still cheaper to shoot than lots of others. A 5 gallon bucket of 9mm has more rounds at a lower cost than a 5 gallon bucket of .223 or 308.

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^^^^^^^
Someone who really wants to turn ammunition into noise!

Don't get me wrong, miniguns are a whole different breed of fun.............as long as they're being fed on someone else's dime!

Lemme see, current bulk .308 prices + links + 3,000+ RPM ROF= ~$50 per SECOND! One hour of continuous fire would cost around $175,000. Heck, even a .22 LR minigun at pre-panic .22 LR prices, you're talking $200/minute.

CapnMac said:

Crew served equipment would not likely be high on my list, though.

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Aww, C'mon........you wouldn't want a Long Tom? How about an M110?

If money were no object, I think some of the larger artillery would be really cool. As it were on a working man's budget, something like a 155 howitzer would be a fire it once a year kind of thing.

Mauser 712?

MachIVshooter said:

Aww, C'mon........you wouldn't want a Long Tom?

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Not so much the Long Tom, as the 7.5ton 6x6 prime mover (or the M8A1 High Speed Tractor) and a 5ton 6x6 for the ammo. (Needing a 25km range fan could be an issue, too.)

I have a redleg bro who is all keen to get a 75mm of almost any sort (from M-1895 to M-1 Pack) just because it would be "cool."

But having owned a semi M-1919A4, lugging it to the range solo kind of finds up being a fun vacuum.

earlthegoat2 said:

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

What I want, is short barrels.

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Yeah same here. I remember having to run laps around the barracks as punishment for using the burst mode. I also don't understand the love for SBRs, either, but to each their own.

Several suppressors and an M4 style rifle

Game Getter.




Maybe after that a short barreled AR upper. Probably a suppressor or three.

No real interest in auto or select fire.