ATF Determines GSG 5's Fake Suppressor in Violation of NFA The GSG-5 is an MP5 lookalike chambered in .22 long rifle. One of their models comes with a fake suppressor; essentially a big, hollow can that covers the barrel. Physically it's actually a barrel shroud, rather than an attachable fake suppressor, which makes it extremely difficult to modify for suppression without permanent damage to the rifle's barrel. It does not suppress sound, hide a flash, or affect the impact or trajectory of the projectile. The ATF has determined that this device is in violation of NFA, even though they approved it for distribution in the US. Thousands of people now own rifles that have "illegal" suppressors which don't do anything but look ATAS (All Tactical And Shit). Luckily, the company is replacing the barrel shrouds with slightly smaller ones which, for some reason that the ATF has failed to divulge, are NOT in violation of NFA. MR
I'm surprised they haven't declared guns that look like... guns... to be in violation of some asinine act, law, or regulation.
Out of all the federal agencies I dislike, the ATF is probably #1, even ahead of the DEA. There's a somewhat famous case, I believe in Michigan, where a man was at a range shooting around. His firearm malfunctioned. Two bullets were chambered at once (I forgot exactly how, but IIRC it was a technical malfunction with the design of the firearm that would occasionally cause two bullets to chamber at once). The result? When the firing pin hit one bullet, that bullet fired and caused the other bullet to also fire. He was then prosecuted for owning a weapon with full auto capability. FAKE EDIT: I googled it and found an account of the story. The person convicted was the actual owner, who had let a friend take the semi-auto AR15 to the range. He was convicted of transfering an automatic weapon. That particular model was over 20 years old, and had even been specifically recalled due to this rare malfunction (3 bullets were fired in this case). AND THE GUY GOT 30 MONTHS IN JAIL. 30 months in jail for broken gun
That is really messed up... my bro has the GSG-5 but with a real suppressor on it. If you have a clean record it's pretty easy to pick up a suppressor all you have to do is create a trust or a corporation in your name, get it notorized, pay the ATF the $200 tax and you are good to go. I'm planning on picking one up as soon as I get my tax return back. I have had some cops show up at the range for me shooting my tantal like this. But of course no crimes were committed so I was all good [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsT4N1Ms52Y]YouTube - Ultimate AK Bump Fire[/ame]