Rick O'Shea
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I know NH residents that are afraid to do a private sale,.. lol
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MA Assault Weapons Ban "AWB" FAQ
- Thread starter drgrant
- Start date
So the MGL defines what an assault weapon is and one of the exceptions is for semi auto shotguns with a mag capacity of 5 or less rounds. This seems to contradict the feature test which indicates that a shotgun can be an AW regardless of mag capacity. What am I missing?
General Law - Part I, Title XX, Chapter 140, Section 121
General Law - Part I, Title XX, Chapter 140, Section 121
Mass-diver
NES Member
AWBs are unconstitutional.
Mass-diver
NES Member
And yes you are reading the law correctly. It’s just widely ignored with regard to shotguns
What’s ignored? The feature test for shotguns or the exception in the AW definition? A Benelli M4 with an adjustable stock and grip has always been considered an AW on this forum but I'm wondering if MGL states otherwise (assuming 5 round mag).
The capacity of a mag is a separate part of the law from the AWB. Any gun with a post-9/13/1994 large cap mag would violate the large capacity/mag ban, it wouldn't necessarily become an AW. Any so-called AW is one regardless of what mag you have with it.
Yes. A pistol grip stock and a tube mag > 5 rounds would make it an AW.
That is how I read the law, but I’m not a lawyer because my parents were married. However I’ve been told by one attorney that apparently if you have a semi-auto shotgun with a straight stock and a 5+ magazine tube that some law enforcement will consider the tube to not be a large capacity magazine. It’s not something I would be willing to risk, but what do I know?
Well except that if you remove it from the gun well then suddenly most of them don't hold ammunition anymore....... (is it really an lcafd?)
View: https://youtu.be/K9PrE044sLg?si=zGi3N8hvwPrusncc
Or if you load a tube fed shotgun with different sized ammo the capacity suddenly changes. Like a shotgun that may have been "iwweeegul" with 2.75s in it is suddenly legal with 3.5s in it because it can't hold over 5 rounds "that way"
View: https://youtu.be/oShTJ90fC34?si=4NnPkAPXqtXzPNCz
Shotgun tube capacity seems to be widely ignored in MA. What the real reasons for that are likely not well understood.
DarthRevan
NES Member
A semi auto with tube capacity over 5 and a regular rifle/shotgun stock is not an AW
A semi auto with pistol grip and tube capacity less than 5 is not an AW
It’s a feature test.
Since you seem to do so well googling your own questions…
A semi auto with pistol grip and tube capacity less than 5 is not an AW
It’s a feature test.
Since you seem to do so well googling your own questions…
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i'm being somewhat forced to move back to mass. ( ugh ). after 30 yrs in florida,the gunshine state. trying to read and understand the the regs and rules. i'd like to ask for claeifiction please. i think i can bring my m1 carbine from nam ,with my 15 and 30 rd mags ? yes or no. i have a lot of guns, also think i can bring my ruger pcc 9mm,i thin but i know my ruger pcc 9mm charger with folding arm brace will not be ?? i never trust the internet, but this time i must. thank you for the comments...k my glock mags ( 10 rds. ) will also ne ok ??
M1 Carbine from ‘Nam should be fine, mags as well as long as they’re preban.
Ruger PCC 9mm has to be made AWB compliant (pinned/welded non-flash hiding muzzle device, no bayonet lug, etc).
Glock mags should be fine if they’re 10 or less.
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Varmint
NES Member
I think that’s all ok, Ruger will need a fixed stock. technically have to get your LTC first before bringing stuff in. But wait for better replies.
MA has a grace period that allows for new gun owning residents moving into the state to bring their previously owned guns with them when they move. So long as the guns are MA legal and they apply for their LTC before the end of the grace period, new residents are allowed to retain possession of their guns no matter how long the local PD takes to issue the LTC (provided the guns are locked up the entire time of course).
Varmint
NES Member
This is what I mean about “wait for better replies”.
And he was smart to ask NES rather than a MA gun store, that’s never gone well.
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I believe that the Ruger Charger is a pistol where the magazine is inserted forward of the pistol grip. In my understanding, that makes it an assault weapon by the Mass definition without even looking at any other features.
Someone else can chime in if I missed something here, but I'm pretty sure the Charger is a no go.
Someone else can chime in if I missed something here, but I'm pretty sure the Charger is a no go.
Just to clarify, you’re right that it’s an assault weapon but not just solely because of the magazine outside the grip. That’s just one feature, it needs two or more to be an assault weapon. This weapon has at least 2 evil features (threaded barrel, barrel shroud, too heavy).
CrackPot
NES Member
As long as they magically teleport them into a locked container as they arrive as there are no provisions for lawfully transporting them into the state without a LTC.
CrackPot
NES Member
Depends on which gun store you ask. But I agree that 99/100 gun stores don't know why its legal to sell the pump action shotgun with over 5 rounds let alone the laws for moving to MA with guns.This is what I mean about “wait for better replies”.
And he was smart to ask NES rather than a MA gun store, that’s never gone well.
CrackPot
NES Member
The source of this is Glidden's book yet again proving that he is a moron.
Any feeding device for a shotgun whether detachable or part of the gun (tube for example) which is over 5 rounds is a large capacity feeding device as defined in MGL 140 121. That is black and white.
The oddity is that large capacity weapon is defined to explicitly exclude pump, bolt and lever action weapons. So if I have a pump action shotgun with 7 round tube, while the tube is a LCFD, the shotgun is not a LCW. How can you charge someone with a LCFD violation when the LCFD in question is permanently attached to a shotgun that is not a LCW? The end result of this is that pump/lever/bolt shotguns with fixed tubes over 5 rounds are unprosecutable. But don't be taking that tube off to service it. The moment you detach it from the shotgun, you have a LCFD and have lost your defense that it was part of a non LCW. (tongue in cheek due to the stupidity of this whole thing)
Now we get to semi auto shotguns with tubes over 5 rounds. LCFDs and no logical basis for a defense since they are LCWs also. But of course, no one understands the issue with pumps so they don't understand why it is different with semis. So even the deli ticket emporium will sell semi auto shotguns with 7rd tubes and everyone considers them the gold standard of conservatism (they are not but that is a different post)
Back to Glidden. In his book he says that even semi autos are likely not able to get a conviction because of the confusion caused by the LCW and LCFD mismatch on pumps. I think that is a load of hooey, but since the only basis 99.99% of cops have for understanding MA guns laws is the 5 minutes in the academy they spend using Glidden's book, there you have it.
So a 7rd tube on your pump is very unlikely to get you jammed up. I have picked up confiscated semi auto shotguns from a large PD which had 7-12rd capacity and the owner never caught a single charge for them.
So your lawyer friend whose parents were not married is likely correct. I personally would not hold my hat on this since someday someone will wakeup and realize its pretty cut and dry a violation of MGL 140 131M. But for now, it seems "safe"
thank you all for the info. as far as moving back goes,i'm a disabled nam vet,with one leg,in my 80's,can't walk anymore,can't really live alone. so not much choice. moving in with my three adult kids,all with ltc,yeah.
Varmint
NES Member
Good idea, my dad did the same thing at 88.
Isn't the retard Glidden argument something like "well if you remove the tube from the shotgun, it doesn't actually hold the ammunition because it's incapable of holding it in place while not part of the gun" ? Although if you remove the spring i guess it would "hold" however many shells despite not being able to really be a "feeding device" etc. Then there's the shell size problem. Like if you take a 7? Shot pump and put 3.5" shells in it, it likely will not, in that circumstance, hold more than 5 shells.
