Why Are Short Barreled Rifles Actually Regulated in the US?

The simple truth is that short rifles and short shotguns were never a problem, and continue to not be a problem today. The 1934 National Firearms Act originally wanted to restrict handgun ownership, and the clauses relating to SBRs and SBSs were simply to close the loophole of a person cutting down a rifle or shotgun to get around a handgun prohibition. That handgun (effective) prohibition was removed before the legislation was passed, but the SBR/SBS parts were left in. And thus for 89 years we have has the ridiculous legal situation in which a handgun is fine, a long gun is fine, but something in between is prohibitively regulated.

One major change to the NFA came in 1968, when the minimum legal barrel length for rifles was dropped form 18 inches to 16 inches. Why? Because the government had already sold a quarter million M1 Carbines - with illegally-short barrels - to private citizens, thus rendering them all felons. Instead of trying to enforce a clearly irrational law, Congress reduced the barrel length stipulation.

With this issue once again coming to a head over pistol braces, it is time to finally solve the problem and end this nonsense. Short barreled rifles and short barreled shotguns (and AOWs) should be removed from the NFA entirely. Their regulation is a waste of law enforcement's time and a massive bureaucratic burden on individual citizens, who are faced with felony convictions and 10 year prison sentences for utterly harmless actions.

Contact:
Forgotten Weapons
6281 N. Oracle 36270
Tucson, AZ 85740

[Zundfolge]

I've still never understood how a $250, 000 fine and 10 years in prison for not paying a $200 tax is not "cruel and unusual" or "excessive".

[swordsman_messer]

You know this policy is seriously flawed when you get a guy who’s entire career is based upon firearm development history and research to make a video about the entire situation.

[saxmusicmail]

There is no better explanation of this entire SBR/SBS fiasco than this given by Ian. This video should be required viewing by Congress, and I am surprised it hasn't been presented in the committees concerned with this issue.

[sithassassinstl]

The problem is this is no longer a question of Constitutionality. The people who support these bans and restrictions have openly admitted for decades that they don't believe the 2nd Amendment should exist to begin with. They argue in bad faith and will never change their opinion to begin with.

[Quintuplin]

The thing is, anti-SBR legislators are absolutely anti-pistol as well. They're just taking the long way around to get there, because the direct route hasn't historically been successful.
That they were able to quickly and easily criminalize a previously legal pistol subcategory means the strategy is proving incredibly effective.

[prycenewberg]

One reason I want to see the SBR rule die is that many handguns designed BEFORE the rule included the option to mount stocks (C96 Mauser being the most famous example) and I want to see that come back. There are a lot of powerful handguns out there today (500 S&W Magnum or the .50 AE Desert Eagle) that could benefit from an attachable (and, by extension, detachable) stock.

[jbray]

Thank you Ian! Lets remove the barrel length restrictions from the NFA and redirect our federal enforcement efforts to deal with actual crimes that are harmful to our nation, rather than using these baseless, pointless, and meaningless restrictions as a basis for our government to attack (and kill) law-abiding citizens as they did at Ruby Ridge.

[PunchingCacti]

The ATF just admitted in their brace ruling that short barreled rifles are in common use. If 40 million people had braced ARs then 40 million people probably more have SBRs so SBRs are in common use.

[freshjnew]

Can you imagine being an atf agent in Ian's house? Imagine how much he'd explain things. He'd explain so much. The dog would have time to escape.

[randallbarrick]

I've owned NFA items since 1988, and while I was, of course, aware of the 18" shotgun and 16" rifle law, I had no idea the about the reasons/history behind the difference. While I was also aware of the removal of handguns from the '34 law, before it passed, I had no idea that SBRs & SBSs were in the law solely because it was feared that rifles & shotguns would easily be "sawed off" into "handguns". As always, thank you Ian for your very informative videos.

[jerichofalls]

If anyone was wondering, $200 in 1934 when this was passed = $4, 582.48 in 2023

[dickdastardly]

"Wow, I sure like this pistol. I wish I could make it bigger and less concealable by putting a stock on it."

"No, that's illegal. You have to keep it small enough to fit in your pocket."

"Ok... can I make this rifle smaller?"

"No. It will be too small and concealable."

"So, I can't make a pistol bigger or a rifle smaller for exactly the opposite reasons?"

"It's best you just stop thinking about it."

[cltnthecultist]

You know what’s so nice about Ian and Karl doing videos like this?(I know Karl wasn’t involved in this one but it also applies to him) I feel comfortable sending this video to even the most staunchly anti-gun members of my family. It’s not abrasive, it’s not in your face, it’s not shouting down at people who disagree. It is straightforward, intelligent, factual and engaging. He’s not talking shit about any political affiliations. He’s not using trite pro-gun rhetoric. He’s laying out the history of this current situation in such a way that makes it incredibly hard to argue against, without coming across as anything but polite, well-informed and eloquent. It would be fantastic if more pro-gun people could conduct themselves in this way. This doesn’t feel like yet another video targeted directly at people who already agree with the message. Bravo, Ian. If this is you getting political, I’d say you should do it more, because this was phenomenal.

[GoofysBandit]

Fun Fact: In case you guys were wondering, right now the ATF has eight people who review, process, and approve Form 1 applications. There are 40 million pistol braces in the US. If everyone were to register their braces as SBRs, each of the eight ATF employee's would have to handle 5, 000, 000 applications a peice. If each ATF employee working 40 hours per week, spent a maximum amount of 1 minute on each application (which would be impossible) it would take the team 68.5 years to finish all the applications. Lmao

[seanfoltz]

Just noticed something at the range - my bullpup is the same length or shorter than a 10" SBR along with AR15s with pistol braces, even though it has a 16" barrel.
So if you want an SBR, just buy a bullpup instead as you get the same length or shorter AND a longer barrel, thus increasing accuracy, range and velocity.

[paradoxofperfection]

They'll put someone in prison for 10 years for a pistol brace but they'll let a rapist go after 1-3 years. I don't understand how this country's laws are supposed to work.

[joshgalt]

This guy needs to be brought in as a subject matter expert when this case is heard before the Supreme Court.

[unirm]

You know what has always annoyed me about the whole SBR thing is that there is already a name for this. Carbine.

[grter]

I am a longtime fan of this show. As an engineer I just enjoy watching the good and bad designs. I don’t own any guns. This episode did not disappoint. No rhetoric. Just logic and reason.

[zebraheem]

Good balanced conversation. You explained it clearly and respectfully. No colorful speech. Just a clear sensible conversation. Thank you for your contribution to a healthy conversation on personal defense devices.