Is a Gatling gun legal to own?

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Doug.38PR

Moderator
I understand gatlin guns are legal just like handguns. Does that mean I can go out and buy Jesse Ventura's gun from Predator and mow my lawn? Is is after all a jungle out there when the Trash Hits the Fan in a riot :D So how does that go....I am legally responsible for every bullet that comes out of my gun....all 100,000,000 of them
 
If the gatling is manually operated, it is not considered a machine gun as each crank constitutes working the trigger for ATFE's purposes. If there is a mechanical/electrical device that allows one to run the weapon without working the crank, then it becomes a machinegun.

So, the miniguns are still restricted.
 
Good question for a lawyer.

... a real lawyer. NOT me.

Also, probably dependant upon which state you live in.

In TN, you could probably get in an old-timey crank gatlin as an "antique" or "military memorabilia", something like that.

It just depends.

As far as Jesse Ventura's gun, I wouldn't hold my breath on it. If you don't see it at a gun show, it's probably not legal. And, if you DO see it at a gun show, there's a chance that it's STILL not legal! :cool:
 
I'd think that the main drawback to a Gatling gun would be convincing your wife to let you use the bathtub to clean it after use.

And the price - found one antique model that sold for $125,000.
 
The REAL problem would be getting the stupid squirrel to stay in the yard long enough to site him in with the tracers!

:p
 
As far as Jesse Ventura's gun, I wouldn't hold my breath on it. If you don't see it at a gun show, it's probably not legal. And, if you DO see it at a gun show, there's a chance that it's STILL not legal!
Click to expand...

This same model of weapon was on display at Guncraft (predecessor to Coal Creek Armory) for some time, as part of an arrangement with the private collector who owned it. So yes, the M-134 minigun is available, but just very rare and very expensive.

As for TN, federal law controls, so the manually operated Gatling pattern is regarded as a rifle, albeit a very expensive and cumbersome one.
 
"mini" guns are highly restricted for civilian use. Must be pre 86 recievers and can cost upwards of 100,000$ Standard gatling guns are perfectly legal on a federal level but may be restricted by state of city laws. Nobody makes a civilian gatling gun at this time that i know of for lack of market for such a high priced novelty gun. that being said i wouldnt mind owning a gatling that used AR mags in .223

SW
 
Gatling guns are legal if, as noted above, they are only operated by a hand crank. If the hand crank is powered by an electrical device, it becomes a machinegun, albeit an unregistered one. As I recall, the minigun used by Arnold in several movies was sold a few years ago by Stembridge for about $125k through LMO. The transferable last minigun I know of sold for about $275,000-$300,000 through Urban Armory, IIRC. FWIW, Brass Cartridge is working on (or maybe has completed) a .22 minigun with post-sample full auto models, and also hand cranked (non-NFA) versions. I think the hand cranked version runs about $10,000.

On a side note, two weeks ago I was a small machinegun shoot where one shooter brought a hand cranked Gatling gun. Absolutely beautiful - he had it made recently (at a cost of about $60,000), though I didn't ask who did the work.

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I built a crank fire for one of my semi auto rifles a video is at
http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/?action=view&current=jM1919.flv There are also a few still photos in there as well. It’s OK with the ATF but check your state and local Gov’s also.

FWIW the gun talked about above was used in several movies and was for sale in the “Small Arms Review” magazine a few years ago (the cover had a photo of the Grizzly .50). It was listed as having a set of blank barrels and a set of .308 barrels and was listed in the $120,000 price range.
 
Ah-nold used one in Terminator 2 (any others too?). Ya know, that's kind of an interesting link between the two. I just watched Predator last night and the first thing that popped into my head was that both of them ended up as governors, and to my knowledge that's something that no other movie can claim. How many movies have EVER been made that featured TWO future major politicial figures who weren't at the time? I know Reagan did a lot of movies, some of which I've seen, but any with him and another future political successes?
 
There are a couple of manufacturers that make or have made modern functioning hand-cranked gatlings that are treated as Title 1 firearms, but they're not cheap;

Furr Arms made various scaled-down versions of the Gatling in calibers from 357 Mag down to sub-22 calibre versions; http://www.lakesideguns.com/t1gallery/1874.html

Thunder Valley made full-size and miniaturized Gatlings; http://www.ssgtactical.com/index.html?RiflesandShotguns

The Battery Gun Company makes full-size repros in several calibres; http://thebatteryguncompany.com/index.html

BWE makes a half-scale version of the Gatling in 22 LR;
http://www.bwefirearms.com/

if you want a "non-gun" Gatling like the Predator version, Pipers Precision Products makes a version that runs off compressed air and shoots BBs; http://www.pipersprecisionproducts.com/

or, if you've got access to a machine shop, you can build your own from plans. RG-G sells plans so you can make your own (videos at site) http://www.gatlingguns.net/
 
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