What is this classified as?

[eastwood44mag]

A semi-auto version of a sub-machine gun. It is a rifle, a handgun, or does it vary based on the design?

And on that note, is there a semi-auto equivalent of the SMG in 7.62x25 (PPSH, or some such thing) that's legal in the states?

Thanks.

 

[Hypnogator]

Most semi-auto subguns are classified as rifles; but there are now AR-15 "pistols" with short barrels and no stocks. I believe the classification would depend on whether the weapon has a buttstock, either folding or fixed.

A semi-auto PPSH should be just as legal as a semi-auto Thompson.

 

[Ian]

Usually, a carbine, though if you mean the legal classification, that varies. Some would be rifles, some SBRs, and maybe a few pistols.

There's at least one place making semi PPSh carbines: http://alliedarmament.homestead.com/ppsh41.html

 

[matt87]

And don't forget that even a semi-auto open-bolt SMG would normally be classed as a machinegun by your ATF b/c it is apparently easily convertable. Like those 1927 Thompsons. Therefore the modern semi-auto SMG clones are usually closed-bolt.

 

[gezzer]

Way more information is needed to get an appropriate answer. Barrel length, stock no stock etc.

 

[Professor K]

Stock and 16 inch or bigger barrel=rifle.
No stock (or welded in place for just for looks)=pistol, usually regardless of barrel length
Under 16 inch barrel on something with a stock=Short Barreled Rifle, 200 dollar tax and paperwork to ATF

 

[GhostlyKarliion]

Most of the Semi-Auto SMG's would be classified as "carbines" by most people in the gun world.

Legally though they are rifles (I haven’t seen the carbine classification in any law, thought it may be present somewhere).

Legally a Rifle is a shoulder mounted firearm with a barrel 16" or longer, with a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel.

A Pistol is a non-shoulder mounted firearm with a barrel shorter than 16", usually with a helical groove or pattern of grooves.

A Shotgun is a shoulder mounted or non-shoulder mounted firearm with a barrel longer than 18" and a smoothbore barrel.

Generally, a carbine to most people will be a shoulder-mounted firearm with an overall length less than 26", but because there isn't a specific US Code defining the term, this can vary by location or person.

 

[The Real Wyatt]

Let me add to what Ghostly said that to be calssified as such a rifle must have an overall length of 26 inches and a shotgun must have an 18 inch barrel and also must have an overall length of 26 inches.

A sholder fired weapon of less than 26 inches in overall length gets classified as AOW; Any Other Weapon, unless it meets the criteria for a Destructive Device.

 

[CypherNinja]

A sholder fired weapon of less than 26 inches in overall length gets classified as AOW; Any Other Weapon, unless it meets the criteria for a Destructive Device.

Sorry, but your misinformed there.

A rifle must have a buttstock, a 16" barrel, and an overall length of 26". If either of the those dimensions is shorter, it's a Short Barreled Rifle (SBR).

A shotgun must have a 18" barrel and a 26" overall length. If either of the those dimensions is shorter, it's a Short Barreled Shotgun (SBS).

Any Other Weapons (AOWs) include pistols with vertical forward grips and guns-which-do-not-look-like-guns. Caneguns, (most) penguns, and cellphone guns are examples.

 

[Eightball]

It is a rifle, a handgun, or does it vary based on the design?

It varies by what the talking heads have said it varies by--namely, technicalities on the books that define a "rifle" or "Pistol" as something having X number of Y features in Z proportions, or somesuch like that.

That's as simple as it can possibly get without you having a headache.

 

[OEF_VET]

Allow me to clarify things a bit further.

A shotgun is a shoulder-fired, smooth-bore weapon, with an overall length of 26" or greater, with a barrel length of 18" or greater.

A short-barrel shotgun (SBS) is a shoulder-fired, smooth-bore weapon with an overall length less than 26" OR a barrel length less than 18".

A rifle is a shoulder-fired weapon with a rifled barrel, with an overall length of 26" or greater, with a barrel length of 16" or greater.

A short-barrel rifle (SBR) is a shoulder-fired weapon with a rifled barrel, with an overall length less than 26" OR a barrel less than 16".

An Any Other Weapon (AOW) is a loop-hole category in the National Firearms Act of 1934. It is a catch-all for weapons that don't fit the descriptions of either a rifle, shotgun, handgun, machinegun, Destructive Device, SBR, SBS, or suppressor. It can include a litany of things, to include (but not limited to):

pen guns, cane guns, firearms with both rifle AND shotgun barrels between 12-14", smooth-bore handguns, handguns with a forward grip that extends below the bore axis.

For instance, my company manufactures an AOW based on the Remington 870 reciever. The recievers have never had a shoulder stock attached to them, meaning they have never been intended to be fired from the shoulder. The reciever is mated to an 11 7/8" barrel, and rear pistol grip. Since they are built as a smooth-bore, hand-fired weapon, they are categorized as AOW's.