NFA question

[CoRoMo]

Barrel still needs to be 16".

Not on a machine gun. And not on a SBR.

As Sam posted,

Having determined that the weapon was manufactured this way (or at least you have reason to think that it probably was) there is a pretty good chance that the paperwork WAS done. Manufacturers only send out guns to dealers. Manufacturers only send out NFA guns to Class 02 dealers. Class 02 dealers don't sell NFA guns without a Form 4 -- it isn't worth the risk.

By all indications it is either a machine gun or an SBR made in 1980. Like Sam states, it would have been made, distributed, and dealt according to law in 1980. Unless the grandpa stole the gun or cut the barrel, it is quite likely registered in the NFRTR to him. I'd operate under that assumption until the ATF responded to the attorney's letter. I'd also want that Thompson at the Florida residence rather than Illinois.

I know that not everyone would, but I'd hold off screwing up what might be an extremely valuable item until I knew what it was.

 

[Sam1911]

Barrel still needs to be 16". You can have miles and miles of receiver behind it, but that tube still needs to be 16". Otherwise, regardless of overall length, a VFG or AFG on a handgun makes it an AOW.

This is complicated. IF a weapon is a Title I "Other Firearm," like a PGO shotgun or a belt-fed semi-auto that has no shoulder stock, then barrel length actually doesn't matter. All that matters is the 26" OAL. There are a few shotguns with receivers and pistol grips (especially the "birds-head" style grip) that will let you run a barrel under 18" and still make 26" overall. That's still a legal Title I weapon. (Though it isn't a very common thing to see.) Any hand-held (no shoulder stock) weapon that is greater than 26" overall would transfer as an "Other," not a handgun.

As well, unless they've issued a different interpretation very recently, you cannot convert back and forth between handgun configuration and rifle configuration unless the gun was sold as a carbine kit (Like the Beretta Neos or Thompson Encore kits).

Yes, they actually DID reverse that ruling and now as long as the gun started as a handgun or an "Other Firearm" you may shift back and forth between Title I handgun and Title I long gun at will.

Unless you have put it on a form 1 and SBR'd it, if you get found with a handgun that was originally sold as a rifle, they can put your butt in a sling. Going the other way is allowed, though.

This is still true. If your gun started as a rifle, or a shotgun then it MUST be put on a Form 1 in order to go below either the 16"/18" barrel length rules or the 26" OAL limit. As said before, however, if it started out as a handgun or "other" that is not the case any more.