NFA Ownership Stats.

[VUPDblue]

I found this online and thought some of you guys would find it interesting. Discuss away........
OIG Evaluation and Inspections Report I-2007-006

 

[shooter521]

Interesting report, if one ignores the confusing statement that "the GCA restricts registrations of NFA weapons to only makers, manufacturers, and importers. Private citizens or individuals who meet eligibility under the NFA are allowed to purchase, sell, possess, and transfer only previously registered NFA weapons." The report draws a distinction between a "private citizen" and a "maker," even though the former can BE the latter by completing a Form 1.

I found some of those numbers to be really surprising, specifically that the vast majority of registered NFA weapons are DDs, and that silencers, while making up the third-largest category, still only constitute about 8% of the total registrations.

Also of note is the number of unregistered/illegal NFA weapons seized that year (a lot higher than I would've expected), and the fact that the NFA branch only had/has 10 examiners on staff but is allowed 16. I wish they'd hire up to capacity so our wait times would come down...

I suggest this report be tacked at the top of the forum, until a more recent report is made available.

 

[VUPDblue]

As far as the seized weapons, I'm not surprised by that number. The report says that the number of weapons seized includes seizures during compliance inspections of FFL's. There are more than a few shady C3 dealers in this world. Ask me how I know...

Oh, this chart would make a very good sticky. If someone could do a capture of the actual image (pie chart) and embed it in a post, that would be good too. (I'm not quite that good at the computing thing)

 

[shooter521]

If someone could do a capture of the actual image (pie chart) and embed it in a post, that would be good too.

Like this?

 

[Pami]

lol. Shooter beat me.

 

[VUPDblue]

Sweet....

 

[indyjoe]

It is pretty easy, because it is already an image on a web page.

I also attached it in case the image goes down in a while.

 

[mrw]

There are more than a few shady C3 dealers in this world. Ask me how I know...

Ok, I'll bite, do tell.

 

[VUPDblue]

I've dealt with one who was a first class ass hat. I have heard a story by more than one reputable source of another who was very dishonest. Details by PM only on the second one, but the first was Brian Allen with Sunset Guns in Danville, IN. I hope he eats an apple with an alien worm in it and the worm hollows him out, that way his body will match his head...

 

[techres]

I've dealt with one who was a first class ass hat. I have heard a story by more than one reputable source of another who was very dishonest. Details by PM only on the second one, but the first was Brian Allen with Sunset Guns in Danville, IN. I hope he eats an apple with an alien worm in it and the worm hollows him out, that way his body will match his head...

Is that a lesson for those of us just getting into NFA? Only deal with dealers who come recommended/on referral?

 

[shooter521]

Is that a lesson for those of us just getting into NFA? Only deal with dealers who come recommended/on referral?

Not a bad idea. I bought 2 NFA items from Sunset, before Brian was fully consumed by his own ass-hattery. I am fortunate that both transactions went off without a hitch, but even then, he struck me as being the sloppiest and most disorganized gun dealer I'd ever seen.

 

[VUPDblue]

Not a bad idea. I bought 2 NFA items from Sunset, before Brian was fully consumed by his own ass-hattery. I am fortunate that both transactions went off without a hitch, but even then, he struck me as being the sloppiest and most disorganized gun dealer I'd ever seen.

I'm glad you lucked-out with him, but I wouldn't **** on him if he were on fire...
The fact that BATFE tracked me down in reference to Brian's ass-hattery, makes me want to kick him in the nuts repeatedly...

 

[Barry in IN]

I would certainly check/ask around about a dealer before a potential purchase. My first deal was only slightly shady, but that was enough.
Long story short- the suppressed 77-22 I was using at the Freedom Appleseed: The dealer had the paperwork back two months before he called me (the postmark is right on the envelope). I can understand a delay of a few days or even a week, but two months is just wrong. Once the paperwork comes back approved/stamped, it's YOUR gun. If it takes a couple of months to make a phone call, what else are they lazy or sloppy about?

That was a relatively cheap NFA item, but with many of them, it's not like we're only risking a few hundred bucks. It's serious money. We should at least ask around about their reputation. Like VUPBBlue's example, we might get dragged into an investigation.

So, about the NFA Ownership Stats:
I had trouble getting past the first line or two ("...and similar weapons used by criminals..."), but what struck me was the high percentage of DDs. I would have guessed that to be pretty low, and would not have guessed to see triple the DDS as MGs.
Are a lot (most?) of these DDs museum pieces?
That's all can think of the explain that.

 

[shooter521]

I had trouble getting past the first line or two ("...and similar weapons used by criminals..."),

They were simply referring to the rationale behind passing the NFA in the first place. "On June 26, 1934, Congress passed the National Firearms Act (NFA), since amended, to limit the availability of machine guns, short-barreled shotguns, short-barreled rifles, sound suppressors (silencers), and other similar weapons that were often used by criminals during the Prohibition Era." (emphasis mine).

Are a lot (most?) of these DDs museum pieces?
That's all can think of the explain that.

I assume most museum pieces (cannons, etc) are deactivated and thus don't have to be registered. According to the article, flashbangs are classified as DDs. Consider how many police departments and such have those, and how many are used up on an annual basis, thereby requiring replacement; that's a whole lotta DDs in the system. That's assuming the Registry includes weapons manufactured for government and LE use... the report lists 391,532 machine guns in the Registry, but I've always heard the number of transferables is much lower, like 100,000.

If the Registry doesn't include gov/LE weapons, then there must be a lot of Solothurns, Street Sweepers, mortar tubes and M-203s out there in private hands...