NFA question

[Caliper_Mi]

OK, I was thinking about the irony of rifled slug barrels on shotguns today and it got me thinking... I believe the NFA specifies an under 18" smooth bore for a SBS and an under 16" rifled bore for a SBR.

Sooooo, would a 16" rifled barrel be legal on a 12ga? Doesn't that rifling make it a rifle under the letter of the NFA? The ultimate home defense carbine? This is assuming that such a weapon would still be over 26" long overall, of course.

Just think of the muzzle flash!

 

[dogtown tom]

BluEyes:...would a 16" rifled barrel be legal on a 12ga?

Yes, with a $200 tax stamp for a short barreled shotgun.

BluEyes:...Doesn't that rifling make it a rifle under the letter of the NFA?..

Nope. As it fires a SHOTGUN shell, it is considered a shotgun, whether it is rifled or not.
If it was classified as a rifle it would still be NFA (Destructive Device) as the projectile has a diameter of more than .50 caliber.

If 16" were non NFA every shotgun maker would offer at least one model. They don't because it isn't.



.

 

[nalioth]

If it was classified as a rifle it would [strike]still[/strike] most likely be NFA (Destructive Device) as the projectile has a diameter of more than .50 caliber.

There exists the chance it might fall under "sporting purposes".

Very slim chance. . .

 

[Caliper_Mi]

Nope. As it fires a SHOTGUN shell, it is considered a shotgun, whether it is rifled or not.

What about .22 rifles and 9mm carbines then? Both can fire shotshells. Geez, laws can get ridiculous.

No argument on a .73 caliber rifle being a "destructive device" though. Guess I'll keep my mouth shut lest some lawmaker try to ban slug guns...

 

[kingpin008]

What about .22 rifles and 9mm carbines then? Both can fire shotshells.

The difference is design. They can fire shotshells, but they weren't designed specifically to do so. Shotguns were.

 

[TexasRifleman]

From NFA:

2.1.1 Shotgun A shotgun is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder and designed to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of projectiles or a single projectile for each pull of the trigger.10 A shotgun subject to the NFA has a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches in length.

2.1.3 Rifle. A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder and designed to use the energy of an explosive in a fixed cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled barrel for each single pull of the trigger.11 A rifle subject to the NFA has a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length.

Doesn't say modified to use, says designed.

http://www.atf.gov/publications/download/p/atf-p-5320-8/atf-p-5320-8-chapter-2.pdf

 

[Caliper_Mi]

2.1.1 also says smooth bore. A slug gun (if Remington sells it with a rifled barrel, isn't it designed that way?) does not have that. The rifle definition does not specify what kind of cartridge either. Pretty easy to argue that a rifled barrel is not designed to fire multiple projectiles because they do so very poorly.

But, as I said, let's not make a fuss, lest slug guns be classified as a destructive device due to their bore size if they were regarded as rifles. It seems like this could easily be made a grey area if an irritated BATFE agent wanted to make it so. I'd rather accept a minimum barrel length of 18" for a HD slug gun than a $200 tax stamp. We'll save the rest for when we go for repealing the NFA

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

It also says "fixed shotgun shell" versus "fixed cartridge". There are probably plenty of loopholes but I wouldn't want to start calling attention to them before there is some sort of oversight for that agency or we could really be hosed. Don't want someone on the Brady's A-list going through the NFA with a marker and bottle of white-out.

slug guns be classified as a destructive device due to their bore size if they were regarded as rifles

2.1.8.2 - "...This portion of the definition specifically excludes a shotgun or shotgun shell which the Attorney General finds is generally recognized as particularly suitable for sporting purposes"

So Street Sweeper and Spas-12 = Not very sporting
Remington 870 Slug gun = sporting
Not so sure "sporting" was the criteria the founding fathers intended seeing as how overthrowing government was fresh in their minds...but that's what it's been morped into.

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

the spas 12 isn't regulated other than it can't be imported, your probably thinking of the USAS 12.

 

[EOD Guy]

What about .22 rifles and 9mm carbines then? Both can fire shotshells. Geez, laws can get ridiculous.

Yes, but they can't fire shotgun shells. There's a difference.

 

[kanook]

I've used my Street Sweeper for Sporting Clays.

 

[CleverNickname]

It's a circular argument that a long gun chambered in 9mm or .22 couldn't be considered a shotgun because they don't fire shotgun shells. What's a shotgun but a gun that can shoot shotshells, and a shotshell is ammo that's designed to be shot from a shotgun.

The best answer is that Congress writes stupid laws that make certain types of firearms difficult to classify (see the whole "is a pistol with a foregrip an AOW or not" debate).