NFA Basics WTF ?

[tombogan03884]

NFA refers to the National Firearms Act of 1934 that began the regulation of automatic weapons, suppressors, and Short barreled long guns among other things.
Could some one please lay out the basics of how to go about purchasing such items, and explain the different classes.
Machine gun is pretty plain , but wth is a destructive device ?
Or an AOW ?

 While many people assume such items are "illegal" the truth is that about the only things impossible to legally own are weapons of mass destruction that are prohibited to most Nations.
Anything else , with proper paperwork and tax payments can be purchased or manufactured.

[mauler]

www.georgianfatrust.com


Destructive Devices (DD)- there are two broad classes of destructive devices:

 Devices such as Grenades, bombs, explosive Missiles, Poison Gas weapons, and similar items and any non-sporting firearm with a bore over 0.50", such as a 40mm Grenade Launcher often used in conjunction with rifles. (Many firearms with bores over 0.50", such as 12-gauge shotguns, are exempted from the law because they have been determined to have a legitimate sporting use.)

Any Other Weapons (AOWs) - this is a broad "catch-all" category used to regulate any number of firearms which the ATF deems deserving of registration and taxation. Examples include, among others:
 Smooth-bore pistols
 Pen guns and Cane guns
 Short-barreled firearms with both rifled and smooth bores, etc.
 Disguised firearms
 Firearms that can be fired from within a wallet holster or a briefcase
 A short-barreled shotgun which came from the factory with a pistol grip is categorized as an AOW rather than a SBS, because the Gun Control Act describes a shotgun as “…designed or redesigned to be fired from the shoulder…”
 Handguns with a forward vertical grip. It is therefore illegal to place an after-market fore grip on any pistol without first registering it as an AOW and paying the $200.00 "making tax" imposed by the Act.

AOWs have the $5 tax stamp rather than the $200 tax stamp.

[Magoo541]

Simple answer- ATF is a way to outlaw certain items by placing a tax on them, and ATF is a tax collecting agency.  They need a job to justify their existance so they enforce the laws as they seem fit.   With time the laws have lost their meaning so that ATF can arrest someone if they deem something to be a NFA item, like a rubber washer that may be a wipe for a suppressor.  Know the laws and make sure you keep very good records (certified copies even?).

I have never had an NFA item but my buddy did what Mauler does for people and set up a trust for his NFA items.  Due your homework and don't rely on anything anyone here tells you, including me 

[mauler]

To be very clear:  In a perfect world neither I, nor anybody else, would be drafting NFA trusts, because there would be no NFA nor a BATFE.  If the second amendment means what it says, I, or anybody else, should be able to buy anything that the US military has.  I mean, tanks, aircraft carriers, F-15's, ICBM's.  The spirit of the 2A is that the commoner should be able to compete with the government on an equal footing.  RON PAUL 2012!!!

[tombogan03884]

I know about the NFA inflicting a $200 tax on suppressors that had been sold for $3.
What I'm looking for is people like Rastus, or MB who have gone through the various processes for different items to explain the steps involved in a basic purchase.
For example how most items require a $200 tax, but some items the tax is only $5.

[Sponsor]