Relic poses dilemma for sheriff: What do you do with a WWI machine gun? (IL)

Belleville News-Democrat ^ | 3/23/10 | Staff

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

YEAH, BABY!!!!

[SatinDoll]

Archangel Gabriel has to stash his equipment somewhere?!

[outhousepatrol]

I would tell you, but the SS might come looking for me.

[outhousepatrol]

The NAZI SS.......Oh, we have Nazis here too?

[Eagles6]

$50,000 minimum, though I’m sure ...never mind.

[Nailbiter]

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ping

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

“Sheriff Mearl Justus”

Sweet!

[ASOC]

Take it to the local shop and have the breach welded.

Now rendered inert, it is perfactly legal to own.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

It’s Illinois.....

They’ll save millions of lives by putting it through a grinder.

[djf]

Those guns have firing pins? Just pop it out!

[fso301]

Museums can legally own unregistered Class III firearms so, get it to a museum or, establish a museum to preserve unregistered vet bringbacks and the like.

[Still Thinking]

What do you do with a WWI machine gun?

Go ammo shopping?

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Might be a long search for that round....

[ASOC]

I wouldn’t not want to try that with the ATFE (Which should be a party store, not a FedGov agency) - they normally not noted for their sense of humor.

Welding cannot be easily reversed, firing pins OTOH, not so much...

[married21]

Wonder if Snoopy could use it.

[Grizzled Bear]

If it would help the situation, I’m willing to offer a loving, nurturing home.

[rickomatic]

Take it to the local shop and have the breach welded. Now rendered inert, it is perfactly legal to own.

Not so fast. That would be considered a DEWAT gun, which had to be done prior to 1968. And even then they still had to be registered. That is NOT the same as a "parts kit" where the receiver is actually torch cut into separate pieces. No new DEWAT guns can be made or transferred. There are consequences to stupid laws. According to 1983 feel good legislation that gun falls into a catch 22. It never was registered, and cannot now be registered. Only previously registered existing machine guns (prior to 1983), or newly manufactured class III guns can be transferred. Thanks a lot feds.

[djf]

Well, you could pop the pin and weld over the hole.

I’m just saying that with a piece like that it’d be nice to keep it in a shape so that people could still see how the action works.

Weld the whole thing shut and you could probably never get it open again to even oil it!

[calex59]

They used a lot of them on the bi-planes in WWI. The Lewis gun was well known, and I believe it had a penchant for jamming but right now I can’t remember all that much about their peculiarities.

[MHGinTN]

That gun is so old, you could have it shipped right to your front door! ... If you have the $25 federal permit to deal in antique and collectible firearms.