It's Not A Pistol Or A Carbine/Rifle... Franklin Armory's AR-15 No NFA Req'd

[twyacht]

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2011/10/foghorn/franklin-armorys-new-ar-15-is-neither-a-pistol-nor-a-rifle/#more-67263




Franklin Armory’s New AR-15 Is Neither A Pistol Nor A Rifle And No NFA Paperwork Required
Posted on October 6, 2011 by Nick Leghorn

Short Barreled AR-15s are all the rage these days. They’re light, easy to maneuver, and the recoil from a 5.56mm NATO round is still negligible even with the reduction in weight. The only problem is that in order to get one you need to jump through the ATF’s hoops, pay a $200 tax, and tell them every time you travel with it. In short, it’s a pain. Franklin Armory recently announced a new gun that lets you have all the fun of an SBR without any of the paperwork by exploiting an interesting loophole in the law in a frankly genius way.

A rifle, legally speaking, is designed to be fired using a stock. This doesn’t have a stock and so doesn’t meet the definition. A pistol, legally speaking, is a weapon designed to be fired using one hand. Because this gun has a forward grip it was designed to be fired using two hands and doesn’t meet the definition. That allows it to be classified as an AOW or “Any Other Weapon,” but AOWs have to be less than 23 inches in overall length. This weapon is just a hair over 23 inches, and so falls out of that definition as well. Therefore it’s still a firearm, but not subject to the NFA. As long as you don’t carry it concealed, that is.

The ATF, in a letter to Franklin Armory, confirmed all of this legal stuff was true. That paved the way for them to start selling a gun specifically designed to meet those exact criteria, the XO-26b, and you too can own one for the low price of $1,149.99! Each one comes with a copy of the ATF’s letter, just in case your FFL starts giving you that quizzical look.

Or you could build one, I suppose.

Anyone want to take bets on how long it takes the ATF to reverse their decision?

****

Why Yes, what a splendid idea.....

Where's bafsu, I need some tips....

[Big Frank]

FTA "AOWs have to be less than 23 inches in overall length." That's new to me.

[billt]

Is it after the AK Underfolder market?

[twyacht]

I'm likin' it. From their home page,

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety"
COMPANY PROFILE:

Franklin Armory is part of a California corporation that has been in operation for over 20 years.  We specialize in producing legal firearms for restrictive jurisdictions such as California.  We also build full feature firearms for “free” states.  Either way, every firearm produced at our facility in Morgan Hill, California is made with 100% American made parts & materials.

Our craftsmanship is what sets us apart from the companies that mass produce their firearms.  Each rifle, carbine, “other,” and pistol that ships from our facility is hand built with a custom tuned, single stage, Franklin Armory trigger.  To ensure quality and consistency, every firearm is then live fire tested by the company President prior to shipment.  We believe that products of quality have no fear of time, and we want your next purchase to be perfect right out of the box.
"It is God that arms me with strength and makes my way perfect."
Psalm 18:32

Comes in different calibers as well up to 450 Bushmaster.

http://www.franklinarmory.com/index.html

My birthday is coming up next month too.....



http://www.franklinarmory.com/PRODUCTS_XO-26.html

[bafsu92]

Ok, by looking at this the only thing that makes it different than any other AR pistol out there is the VFG. Technically a VFG makes an AR pistol into a AOW and requires a $5.00 stamp. I've been told by different sources, including an acquaintance who's a BATFE agent that the magpul AFG is ok on a pistol since it doesn't have any apparatus to completely wrap your hand around like a true pistol grip. There are so many shades of grey that if the wrong LEO sees you with something, legal or not, there's a good chance you get a free ride and a big hassle to straighten things out.

I've been at ranges before where I've explained the laws to LEO's and if done properly and if you get one who doesn't happen to be a total dick or Barney Fife wanna be then it usually ends fine, no guarantees though. When I take any of my NFA stuff out of the house I put a photocopy of my tax stamp form and appropriate statutes folded up in the storage compartment in the stock. If I owned one of these I'd do the same, less the tax stamp of course. They need to lift the entire GCA and all the NFA crap and start fresh, especially on SBR's, AOW's and suppressors. They should all be free to purchase just like any other firearm. I feel the same way about full auto but there's such a stigma there that it will be more difficult. Bottom line is no one is more likely to commit a crime because their rifle has a 12" barrel rather than a 16" one.

[Sponsor]

[Solus]

yeah..the rules are silly and contradictory.

I assume you can't have a short barreled rifle because it becomes too concealable.

On the other hand, I assume you can't have a long barreled and stocked pistol because it becomes to unconcealable?

[bafsu92]

I believe that's the thinking or at least the original intention but I've never seen a SBR that's easier to conceal than a pistol. A glock 17 with a 33rd mag is probably just as devastating as most SBR configurations and a lot easier to hide. I don't understand how a SBR can be considered so evil yet I can take my Kel-Tec Sub2k with a 33rd mag and 16" barrel, fold it and conceal it as easy or easier than most SBR's. I can have it snapped open and in battery pretty damn fast coming out of a coat and now I've got 33rds of 9mm +p coming out of a 16" tube. Even if you have a 5.56 SBR with a 7.5"-10" barrel I can probably do as much damage as you can on targets inside of 50yds. I don't get why one is legal since it folds in half. I don't even so much mind the $200 tax stamps, especially if they would go into some type of gun safety or training fund or a fund for wounded and killed LEO's families or something useful. It's the fact that any time I want one of these I have to wait 3+ months even though I've had them approved in the past and they already know I'm a responsible owner. I'm also not real keen on the government knowing so much about a large part of my firearms collection, the address my NFA stuff lives at and a nice detailed list of what I have.

[Pathfinder]

yeah..the rules are silly and contradictory.

I assume you can't have a short barreled rifle because it becomes too concealable.

On the other hand, I assume you can't have a long barreled and stocked pistol because it becomes to unconcealable?

MB's podcast this past week addressed this a bit. The NFA was originally written to ban handguns (and full autos used by the gangsters like Capone, Bonnie & Clyde, Dillinger, et al., but let's focus on the handgun part for now) and anything that could be concealed like a handgun. When the rubber hit the road, no one would back a handgun ban, so the writers took the "handguns" out, but left all of the other crap in there.

[Solus]

MB's podcast this past week addressed this a bit. The NFA was originally written to ban handguns (and full autos used by the gangsters like Capone, Bonnie & Clyde, Dillinger, et al., but let's focus on the handgun part for now) and anything that could be concealed like a handgun. When the rubber hit the road, no one would back a handgun ban, so the writers took the "handguns" out, but left all of the other crap in there.

I'm sure that before they dropped the pile of crap on us, they surveyed those same gangsters, Capone, B&C, Dillinger and et. al., (the ones who, as a group, violated every law from petty theft to bank robbery and murder) and found that the great majority of them would obey the NFA law, turn in all their guns and learn how to use knives and clubs effectively.

Wonder where it went wrong?  Bush probably didn't push it strong enough....his fault.

[bafsu92]

Supposedly there's a big push around the DOJ to do away with the BATFE. Maybe they can take the NFA, Gun Control Act of 68 and the whole post '86 machine gun crap with them when they hit the door. I know I'm totally dreaming now. I have a better chance of hitting the lotto and throwing down 50k for a nice machine gun.