Big news earlier this year was the Rare Breed settlement with the ATF that allowed the sale of their Forced Reset Triggers (FRTs) without limitations by the NFA. The ATF has been busy implementing that settlement and processing the requests for returns of confiscated FRTs. (Surprise, Surprise; the ATF cannot locate the confiscated FRTs and will instead have to reimburse the owners in dollars. Wondered what happened to all the FRTs . . . ?)
Now we have a new settlement to consider. ATF was in litigation with Franklin Armory regarding the definition of rifle, shotgun, and how to classify the Reformation and Antithesis firearms. With Trump in office there is a change in litigation strategy. Gone is the expansive view of statutory definitions and the new sheriff in town is demanding a literal construction of statutes and the Code of Federal Regulations. Based on such construction, a settlement was reached that allows the sale of Reformation firearms without NFA restrictions.
Reformation, the short barrel rifle thingy that ain’t.
If you really follow the technicality of firearm law, you already know that some firearms are simply firearms. Not rifles. Not shotguns. Not handguns. Not machineguns. Etc. This is where the Reformation fits. But what is it?
The Reformation features a barrel with straight lands and grooves with no spin. Colloquially, you may call this rifling, but rifling spirals, and these straight grooves do not spiral. Because the straight lands and grooves do not spiral, they are not rifling. And thus the Reformation, not having a rifled barrel, is not a rifle. And if not a rifle, it cannot be a short barrel rifle.
However, the Reformation is not a shotgun either because it does not have a smooth bore. A smooth bore means a bore “having no grooves or ridges.” The Reformation has grooves and lands. And since the Reformation is not a shotgun, it cannot be a short barrel shotgun.
The Reformation comes in a 7.5” barrel length and an 11” barrel length. At its shortest configuration, the Reformation is just over 26” long. The importance? The NFA classification for Any Other Weapon includes concealable firearms under 26” in length. Because the Reformation is a hair over 26” long, it is not an Any Other Weapon.
In short, Franklin Armory designed the Reformation to snake through the definitions of the NFA without fitting any of them. The result is a plain firearm available to anyone over 21 without the NFA paperwork.
Antithesis
Having threaded the needle once, Franklin Armory set out to do it again. (Some people just enjoy thumbing their nose at authority. . . God Bless Them.) This time Franklin Armory made the Antithesis, a firearm with a rifled barrel designed to fire multiple projections from a single cartridge.
What is the critical characteristic of that statement? First, the firearm cannot be a shotgun because it doesn’t have a smooth bore. The bore has classic rifled lands and grooves.
Second, and this is the interesting bit, the firearm is not a rifle. Why? By the definition of the NFA and the GCA, a rifle is designed to fire only a single projectile for each pull of the trigger. The Antithesis is able to use a cartridge containing multiple projectiles. (I would call this a shotshell, but shotshells are designed to be fired in smoothbore shotguns, and the Antithesis is not a smoothbore gun.)
What cartridges does the Antithesis shoot? Franklin Armor designed two calibers for this gun. The first in 45 long colt which can also shoot .410 shot shells. (Or a rat shot load in the 45 long colt.) This is a classic combination seen in the Judge, the Governor, and other firearms. The second cartridge choice was more interesting. The Antithesis was also launched in a standard 5.56 NATO. How was this done? Franklin Armory designed a special cartridge that retained multiple projectiles in a plastic sleeve shaped like a standard .223 bullet. Thus a single round can fire multiple projectiles.
By building a firearm with all the characteristics of a rifle, but designing it to fire multiple projectiles for each pull of the trigger, Franklin Armory avoided the definition of rifle and shotgun. Very clever. Perhaps too clever by half.
So When Can I Buy One?
The Reformation is on sale as of this writing. Go forth and find out just how accurate straight lands and grooves can be. That will be a fun experiment.
The Antithesis however has hit a snag. As of September 19, the ATF requested Franklin suspend sells and have the 5.56 NATO Antithesis returned pending further action. By agreement, the ATF cannot define the Antithesis as a short-barreled rifle or short-barreled shotgun pursuant to the GCA nor any sort of firearm pursuant to the NFA.
So what definition could be triggered? At this time, I do not know. However, the ATF has indicated it will provide a new classification for this firearm, and by agreement and Court ruling, it cannot be an NFA firearm nor a short-barreled rifle or shotgun. Will the ATF once again violate a court order, their contract, and the law? Probably not, but no promises. What else could the firearm be? I’ve not figured that one out yet, but we’ll have news soon.
Machine Guns
No, there is no news here. But if you are interested in heavy armaments, I do have clients with some items for sale. Feel free to reach out if you want to know more or just to get on a list for future possibilities.
Help.
As always, Robert is here to help when you need it. You likely already know we can help with all sorts of gun matters, wills and probate matters, and even personal injury such as auto accidents or work injuries. Robert also works closely with an Intellectual Property firm and has the resources to assist with patents, copyrights, trademarks and sophisticated business matters including sales and purchases and litigation related to the same. If you have a legal issue and wonder if we can help, reach out to Robert and find out.
In the meantime, we’ll keep you apprised of developments in firearms law. It promises to be an exciting ride the next few years!