Making unregistered WW2 firearms legal.

[Newbie]

I am not a gun collector, but in this hobby you always hear fabled stories of that guy someone knows who has his Great Uncles Thompson, or a guy who knows a guy that has an MP40, or STG that was never registered when brought back by a Vet. Why doesn't the Goverment give collectors a chance to register this stuff? I understand the whole class 3 stuff is a big deal, but come on, seriously.......we are talking 70yr old guns,+/-. There once was an act, I think in the 70's , when people could register Vet bring backs with no questions asked. They cut the program short by several weeks. They should bring this act back. We are talking preserving history, not selling A-k's by the truck full or Mac10s............ anyway, that is my question/rant. Thanks guys!

[milmuseum]

This has been a hotly contested issue for years. I believe it was tried again in congress a few years back but was shot down. I do believe you can have a Class III gunsmith convert them to Semi-Auto but let's wait for some of our Class III members to verify that for sure. I have ran across a few of these in the past and distanced myself from them not wanting to get into any legal hassles. The law as it stands now is cut and dried that you can not register any of these weapons and I don't see another ammnesty happening under the current administration. It sure would be nice though since so many of our WWII and Korean vets are leaving us and I'm sure there are a lot of these around.

Thanks
Burt

[Mikel]

Nothing can be done with an unregistered full auto.
No conversion, no DEWAT.
You may cut the reciever in pieces and sell the parts.
Vague possibility of donating it to a museum or something, but not easy.

[Newbie]

Anyone who has a family member or other Vet bring back basically has to keep it in a closet and only tell a few choice people,if anyone......what a shame and waste of history !!!!!!! To all the gun collectors and WW1/2 collectors,I sincerely hope that someday a law will be put into place making registration of these firearms legal again !!!!! I really have a long list of guns I would like to see in real life instead of on a screen !!!!!

[AmericanKraut]

I wish this was brought back... but I doubt it will ever happen

[command450]

1968 Amnesty.Most vets did not ever register them,just like pistols too. If you were a WWII small arms collector back in the days, and regularly had a table at the gun shows it was not uncommon to see the old vets come through the doors with a large grocery bag! a lot of them refused to deal with the amnesty out of fear. It so sad........ and not a damn thing you can do about that I have ever heard of.

[samnev]

Nothing can be done with an unregistered full auto.
No conversion, no DEWAT.
You may cut the reciever in pieces and sell the parts.
Vague possibility of donating it to a museum or something, but not easy.

100% correct. Unfortunately BATFE stance is, Once a machine gun always a machine gun. I seriously doubt any legitimate gunsmith would touch an unregistered machine gun.

[Newbie]

So the amnesty act was just a ruse? Or was it a legit program? It is sad!!!!! I wonder how many great pieces of history will sit in someones attic or closet,hiding from the world,unable to tell their storys through the chips in the stocks and scuffs on the blueing? The only people who get to enjoy the history is the owner and his or her family.... truly sad !!!!!

[command450]

No, all you had to do was bring it in and register it. But the those old vets did not trust the govt. sad they did not. perhaps some feared being questioned about how they were brought back. my pops, once seen a WWII captain, bring in a engraved presentation pair of Schnellfeuer broom handles, that were never amnestied or registered by the vet. They were in a presentation box,supposedly from Chaing Kai-Shek. they belonged in a museum. there wasn't a damn thing he could do with.

[rgl]

The vets and others in 1968 did not know whether registration of these items would lead to later confiscation. I am actually surprised it did not. Or has not yet. In other countries, including many in Europe, and I believe even the UK, you could have had a legal machine gun back in the 60s and 70s, but later they changed the law or simply decided your permit was no longer going to be renewed - and they knew you had the gun.