BATF is coming to visit me!
 

I was digging through my grandfathers old cop stuff one day and found this police Billy club /tear gas gun...

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I had seen it before when I was a kid but didn't even know I had it until I started going through his old stuff last year and just put it away. Ok so yesterday I decide to let it go and put it on gunbroker for the hell of it. Man my email just about lit up with inquiries.
Thinking that it would definately sell and possibly for big money I started thinking about how I would ship it. Is it a gun? It takes a 12 ga. shell perfectly and is a triggered device, so that makes it a gun. Even though it was designed for tear gas, (Marked Lake Erie Chemical) it was totally capable of firing any 12 ga. ammo if you were a Darwin Award runner up.. So I'm thinking it's a gun and if not a C&R it would have to go FFL - FFL. I called my FFL and he says it's sketchy because if it can fire a shotgun shell and it's only 10" long it's an illegal weapon according to National Firearms Act. So I'm going " now what?". Well I called BATF. I gotta tell you in all my calls to them I have NEVER gotten the help I got today. I was on the phone with them for an hour while he checked to see if it was C&R and all that. Well the short story is that after they sent the info and pics to the VA. office they have concluded that it is in fact an illegal weapon according to the NFA. They will confiscate it and either send it to their museum as they have only ever seen a few of these in 12 ga. or they will destroy it. So an agent will be paying me a vist to pick it up. I'm out the small fortune that it was probably worth, but then I get to keep seeing the world from my own home. The price you pay for honesty I guess.

Very very cool! Too bad you have to give it up. Honesty is the best policy though.

When it comes to THEM?? You bet!

yeah...I had a friend offer me $100 bucks for it this morning...before I made the call. However if it EVER was traced back to me I'd be getting the striped suit.

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You sure it's not for the chili?

mmm chili. Shaun is hooked. I can start charging him a LOT of money now.

There's no way to legalize that with a $200 tax stamp? I'd have never told BATF about it. You will be lucky to not get threatened with prosecution when they come to see you. They ain't your friend and they would much rather go after people like you than the real bad guys.

This is why you have an attorney buddy make the inquiries on your behalf. And possibly negotiates an interpretation that keeps it legal. But it's good that you did the legal thing with it. You don't need the hassle.

Why in all Gods name would they threaten me? It was in a box of stuff I got from a deceased grandparent who was a cop. I'm turning it in, what's the beef?

I was just foolin. I don't see any problem.

A pretty neat device, David. Upon further review doing some research before putting it on GB may have been a good idea but I suppose that thought has already occurred to you. Just play it straight when the agent shows up, perhaps ask if you'll get a mention in the exhibit. At worst, I hear Leavenworth isn't so bad at this time of year.
Jim

Reminds me of a device described as a "bang stick" in a Clancy novel I read a while back. The main character made one for upclose use...insert shell then when needed, jab against the bad guy...bang.

You did the right thing, but I would have tried to get a stamp for it just because it belonged to gramps.

Thanks Jim, I'll sleep GREAT tonight! :-) You're right though hindsight being 20/20.

They didn't even mention that I could get a stamp for it and the guy I dealt with was a division manager. he went way out of his ay to find info that would allow me to keep it believe me.

You actually called the BATF? Wow, just Wow!!

Better than having them call me. I had an interstate sale in progress that needed to be addressed correctly or I would be in huge trouble.

that is the coolest illegal thing i have seen in years. thanks for the good pictures of it.

You must not read High Times.

Ok Hugh...splain......