Since I was not only alive in 1934, I owned an NFA weapon and had to register it - $200.00 was a significant amount at that time - I feel qualified to speak about the infamous NFA. I had to list a reason for owning such a dangerous weapon (otherwise it wouldn't be on the NFA list) and I stated I was a "gun collector". I was nearly eight years old.
It seems that most people think the NFA only applied to fully automatic weapons - it was initially really aimed at restricting ownership of Thompson Submachine Guns because they were the preferred weapon of bootleggers. Never mind that prohibition had been repealed the year before - such trivia never has deterred bureaucrats. That didn't stop them from adding many other guns that were not fully automatic to the list - because they could.
At any rate, one of the "NFA weapons" listed was the H&R Handy Gun - a single shot pistol (mostly .410 in 2 1/2 inch shells but a number of 28 bores also) with a 12" barrel and no choke. It is legal today to manufacture and/or own a pistol that shoots .410 ammo as long as the barrel is rifled so .45 caliber bullets can be fired from that pistol. How that makes it a less dangerous weapon that the smooth bore types, only the BATFE understands. They have reclassified it as a "Curio & Relic" but have consistently, year after year, refused to remove it from the list. Furthermore, if you possess one not registered, there is no legal way to register it and the fine for owning one not registered is $10,000.00 last I heard.
Here is my H&R Handy Gun given to me by a friend of my dad.
I shot rabbits and prairie dogs and an occasional unwary pheasant with mine - the max game killing range being not much over 15 yards. It is really only a collectors item on the restricted list of a bureau that is totally redundant - set up originally as a tax collecting agency, anything it does could be easily handled by other existing bureaus without even needing new employees. Our tax dollars at work.
:barf:
