Comments on: Neat

By: Stormy Dragon

Stormy Dragon — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 03:32:18 +0000

Short answer: a weapon is anything the BATFE says is a weapon.

The government doesn’t have to make sense.

By: SayUncle

SayUncle — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 02:14:57 +0000

Actually, there’s a 16inch version too. I find that odd because, iirc, a machine gun with an integral suppressor is considered to be a machine gun. I don’t really see how a turret can be a weapon but i’d have to research more.

By: Stormy Dragon

Stormy Dragon — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 00:35:34 +0000

1. Yes, there are semi-auto P90′s, althought they’d still be considered SBR’s (short barreled rifles).
2. In general, a particular weapon can be covered by more than one category of the NFA. In this case, a fully assembled P90-turret would be a machine gun, an SBR, and an AOW all at once.

By: Stormy Dragon

Stormy Dragon — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 00:28:34 +0000

I should note that when I was talking about the BATFE rulings above, the rulings were related AOW’s in general (e.g. the infamous MP5K briefcase), not specifically turrets. But the main point is that it’s possible for a device to be an AOW even if it’s not a firearm as long as it would become one when coupled with a firearm.

By: SayUncle

SayUncle — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 00:27:18 +0000

A real P90 would be a machine gun. I assume you mean a semi-auto version? If so, that’s news to me.

By: Stormy Dragon

Stormy Dragon — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 23:55:05 +0000

The turret with a real P90 attached to it would very clearly constitute a Class II AOW “trap gun” and would be prohibited under the NFA without the apropriate license.

The grey area is whether the turret alone is one. In this case, the BATFE has issued contradictory rulings. In some, it’s only an AOW if the firearm is actually attached to the turret. In others, mere possesion of both the turret and a firearm that works with it makes the turret an AOW, even if the gun is never attached to it. In others, the turret alone would be an AOW even if you don’t have the appropriate firearm for it, just because it COULD become an AOW at some point in the future.

I’m not saying the BATFE rulings are proper, but that complaint is unlikely to save you from prosecution if they decide to go after you. So anyone contemplating something like this turret should be aware they’re on rather thin ice from a legal standpoint.

By: SayUncle

SayUncle — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 22:50:20 +0000

I don’t think so. It’s just a turret. Only a gun can be classified as a gun.

By: Stormy Dragon

Stormy Dragon — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 21:15:36 +0000

The legality of this thing is a real legal grey area. Even though they only used an Airsoft BB gun, the fact that their device COULD accept a real firearm could make this a Class II AOW, depending on how cranky the first BATFE agent to come across it is.