Mythbusters NFA Violation

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rcmodel

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Anyone else see the Mythbusters smoothbore 1911 conversion done on national TV last night?

Bet the AFT was there when they unlocked the door this morning!

What a shame they broke the law on national television without so much as mentioning the NFA law prohibiting it without a tax stamp.

Hope no Mythbuster wannabe's get in trouble following their lead!

rc
 
I've suspected that show must have an SOT on the payroll somewhere given some of the things they have done.

Don't know that to be a fact, but it wouldn't surprise me.
 
What a shame they broke the law on national television without so much as mentioning the NFA law prohibiting it without a tax stamp.
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I didn't watch this episode, but how do you know they didn't pay the tax? I'm sure a lot of their stunts on the show require them to get all sorts of licensing, permission, etc. and they don't bother to fill in the viewers because nobody cares about that crap. I wouldn't be so quick to assume that they don't have all their i's dotted and t's crossed for every action they take on the show.
 
What, exactly, is the violation??

Unregistered AOW???

The legal definition of an AOW is as follows:



TITLE 26 > Subtitle E > CHAPTER 53 > Subchapter B > PART I > § 5845Prev | Next
§ 5845. Definitions
(e) Any other weapon
The term “any other weapon” means any weapon or device capable of being concealed on the person from which a shot can be discharged through the energy of an explosive, a pistol or revolver having a barrel with a smooth bore designed or redesigned to fire a fixed shotgun shell, weapons with combination shotgun and rifle barrels 12 inches or more, less than 18 inches in length, from which only a single discharge can be made from either barrel without manual reloading, and shall include any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire. Such term shall not include a pistol or a revolver having a rifled bore, or rifled bores, or weapons designed, made, or intended to be fired from the shoulder and not capable of firing fixed ammunition.
Click to expand...

Since the 45 auto barrel they modified was not "designed or redesigned to fire a fixed shotgun shell", I doubt the charge would hold up in court.........but I don't want to be the test case either!!
 
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Notice they add "Don't try this at home" so they are not held responsible for what people do that they see on their show.
 
No, but if you ream out the rifling it would be illegal.

I have no doubt that the Mythbusters producers obtain what ever licenses or tax stamps are necessary for what they want to do, and that they have the clout to get quick action. They also get cooperation from the military and the police, so the work could have been done under the auspices of someone in authority.

(Can you imagine the hoops I would have to jump through if I wanted to pack a ton of explosives into a car and blow it to kingdom come?)

Jim
 
Who is the AFT? Why would the American Federation of Teachers or the American Farmland Trust care about a Mythbusters show?
 
They reside in the elite category, of which the ATF has no interest in embarrassing.

They've often used a Dillon Aero M134 mini-gun, which is out-of-the-question illegal in Cali.

Nobody at the ATF cares about them.
 
Legalities aside, what did they do with it?
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Some stupid Bradgalena movie shows "throwing" a gun around in a sweeping circle in front of you to cause the bullet to "curve" around someone between you and the target as it is fired.

They couldn't do it with a rifled barrel, (surprise!) so they tried it with a smooth-bore barrel. (Keyholes, but no fast pitch curve balls. Surprise again!)

Anyway, I was wondering if California law even allows an AOW to be manufactured in the state, tax stamp or not?

Dillon mini-gun--- which is out-of-the-question illegal in Cali.
Nobody at the ATF cares about them.
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Dillon Aero is a licensed military MG manufacture, located in Arizona.
That's also were they go to film the mini-gun shoots for Mythbusters.


rc
 
Nope, no AOW's at all here in CA. But they probably made it in Arizona. And for a TV show a $200 tax stamp is pocket change.
 
NO, Keri made it on the lathe in the MB shop, which I assume in in California?

I know $200 is pocket change for a TV show.

I just don't believe anyone bothered to get one or they would have surely said so.

I still think they should have said it was against Federal Law to drill out a pistol barrel without a blessing from the BATmen if they had a lick of sense, or knowledge of the requirement.

rc
 
Actually, you CAN own evil things in California provided that you have the proper state licenses. I don't know the exact wording of the law but it basically is an exemption for film/production companies.
 
I've always wondered about the Dillon shoots I've seen because they never seemed to disclose the location, and in fact, snickered about the illegality of the act inside California. I had guessed Nevada, but Arizona works too.

I still say that they won't hear from the ATF, ever.
 
I remember when the BATF raided the set of the Bounty Hunter TV show because of Steve McQueens sawed-off Mair's Leg Winchester.

They got in a heap a trouble.

rc
 
As a movie special effects place, I would rather suspect that they have just about every firearm/pyrotechnic license, seal, banner, approval, yadda yadda yadda known to man just so they can go about their daily business.

Just like the Theatre group in DC that has an FFL, so that they can receive and ship prop firearms.
 
They have permission to do such things.

Many shows have illegal weapons. Stargate used P90's. There are special laws in effect for Hollywierd.

I'd imagine that if a gun has its bore destoyed so that it can fire blanks, then maybe thats the loophole that allows them to do what they do.

The .gov deosn't have the right to make any gun illegal anyway, but as long as the sheep are cool with it...........
 
I think most of you must not realize that getting by with anything questionable is accomplished in one of three ways.

Knowing someone high up,
Hollywood, government or God. Usually in that order.


In all seriousness, do you think the production studio employs any lawyers? :rolleyes:
 
Anyway, I was wondering if California law even allows an AOW to be manufactured in the state, tax stamp or not?
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California DOES make exception to their NFA related laws for filmmaking.

Someone has posted the exact statutes before but there is an exception for the entertainment industry.

ETA: Found it. If one holds an "Entertainment Firearms Permit" there are no NFA restrictions in California.

No idea how you get one of those, but having and using machineguns inside California is not a problem for the entertainment industry.

It's done all the time for TV and movies.
 
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So did anyone who watched this catch the Time Warp afterwards? Super-slow-mo bullets versus watermelons, kevlar helmets, blocks of ice, tracers vs. cans of gas.... good TV! :D
 
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