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**44 AMP** · January 16, 2007, 08:39 PM

What makes a gun a machine gun?

Original legal definition was "fires more than one round for each pull of the trigger". Since the 1980s, the Federal Govt has declared certain gun parts (whether in a gun or not) in and of themselves to be legally machineguns.

So, for legal purposes, whatever the Feds say is a machinegun is a machinegun, even if it a piece of steel with less than a cubic inch of volume. Same license required to legally own, same legal penalties if not licensed (10 years+$10K+ fine).

Whatever the Feds say is a machinegun is a machinegun, unless you can convince a court otherwise. Not an easy or cheap thing to do. And it carries some risk as well, should you fail to convince the court. Not recommended.

Hope this helps.

January 16, 2007, 08:39 PM	#20
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 28,874	Afterthought What makes a gun a machine gun? Original legal definition was "fires more than one round for each pull of the trigger". Since the 1980s, the Federal Govt has declared certain gun parts (whether in a gun or not) in and of themselves to be legally machineguns. So, for legal purposes, whatever the Feds say is a machinegun is a machinegun, even if it a piece of steel with less than a cubic inch of volume. Same license required to legally own, same legal penalties if not licensed (10 years+$10K+ fine). Whatever the Feds say is a machinegun is a machinegun, unless you can convince a court otherwise. Not an easy or cheap thing to do. And it carries some risk as well, should you fail to convince the court. Not recommended. Hope this helps. __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.