The National Firearms Act is a burdensome legislation that’s been around since 1934. In the NFA’s infinite wisdom some guns are more equal than others and subject to onerous federal legislation. The NFA is such a hassle of paperwork and fees many gun owners simply choose to live without it in their lives. Others live in states where they don’t have the choice. It’s important we don’t NFA shame these groups or victim blame. Mostly because they’ve gotten us some sweet NFA hacks.
Let’s be clear, these are all at the federal level. Some states define these things a little differently. Before you get all excited about NFA hacks make sure your state doesn’t hate freedom.
Size Matters – The Mossberg Shockwave
One of my most popular articles from 2017’s SHOT show was the premiere of the Mossberg Shockwave. The Shockwave is a 12 gauge Mossberg 590 with a 14-inch barrel and seems like it would fall into the AOW/SBS category of the NFA. Luckily this wasn’t the case. This is my personal favorite NFA Hack. The Mossberg Shockwave turned out to be a ‘firearm’ and not a shotgun. By legal definition, a shotgun must have or have had a stock. If the Shockwave was built from a virgin receiver that never touched a stock its not a shotgun. SBS laws can kick rocks.
Due to its overall length being longer than 26 inches it stayed away from being an AOW like the Serbu super shorties. Like a college freshman with a new list of pronouns, the Shockwave was confusing. Legally it’s just a firearm, that happens to function identically to a shotgun. Maybe the Shockwave is confusing, but it’s successful. So much so that Remington promptly made the Tac 14 a thing, and a variety of manufacturers followed suit. Check out our articles on both, some gadgets I installed, and even a throwdown on which is better.
For you weak wrists, both Remington and Mossberg are releasing 20 gauge versions of their guns in 2018. So now even children and people with the strength of children can enjoy NFA hacks.
Brace Yourself! – Any Pistol With a Brace
The SIG Brace has become a legendary piece of gear. It’s so legendary its leaked into firearms culture, becoming a bit of a meme. It’s one of the most widely recognized NFA hacks, and continues to get better and better. While the SIG Brace has always been approved, how its used has been has been the most serious point of contention. At first, the ATF was cool, they were all like, “Hey man go ahead and shoulder it. Using a device improperly doesn’t redesign the firearm.”
Apparently, people felt the need to start pestering the ATF though, and like mom, they had to put their foot down. Putting it on the shoulder now magically turned the gun into an SBR. Finally, mom got us a new stepdad. Cool guy with red hair, and a bad fake tan. She chilled out and went back to her original position with a few tweaks. She says hey, don’t modify it to make it easier to shoulder and don’t make a pistol with a brace with the intent to shoulder it.
The brace industry has exploded. You have SIG and SB Tactical working together. You have KAK, who’s grip made the Shockwave 590 work. Plus smaller companies like Tailhook are doing some cool stuff. Braces have become a lot less derpy too. I mean have you seen the PDW brace?
These things make controlling rifle caliber pistols and SMG like PCCs possible and easy. They’ve changed the game for those poor folks in states who are SBR restricted due to state laws. Plus you can combine them with a lot of things on this list to make even the ATF turn their heads.
Binary Triggers, Bump stocks, and Crank Fire
There is something that calls us gun nerds to full auto fire. Full auto is an expensive waste of ammo, but boy is it fun. I mean as a Marine Machine gunner one of my joys in life was spraying targets with an M240. There is a reason so many machine gun ranges survive. The problem is the NFA and the Hughes Amendment have made it prohibitively expensive to obtain full auto firearms. So we find ways to simulate it.
Binary triggers are by far the coolest option. Every time you pull the trigger a shot is fired and when you release the trigger a shot is fired. It’s a two for one deal that squeaked through ATF approval. These triggers are made by companies like Franklin Armory and are mostly for the AR. That being said the recently released HK variant is one of the cooler things I’ve seen.
Bump stocks are now so well known my Grandmother asks about them. This controversial NFA hack is one of the most useless and ridiculous ones. Ultimately this is the refinement of bump firing a gun. Bump firing for all you cool kids is manipulating the weapon to allow you to pull the trigger faster. You don’t need a stock to do so, but a bump stock makes it a little easier to handle. These dumb things can be fun, but after a few magazines you’re likely to put it away and never use it again.
Crankfire is actually a pretty fun toy with the right gun. I popped one of these 10 dollar devices on my Ruger 10/22 and still occasionally crank out 25 rounds for funsies. It brings a smile to most faces. These devices work like a Gatling gun, kind of. The crank pulls the trigger faster than most fingers. With a reliable rimfire gun like the 10/22 it’s a cheap and fun way to play full auto.
These devices are all controversial, but just remember…. They were created by gun control.
MILF – Muzzleloader I’d Like to Fire
You guys know when the anti gun crowd likes to proclaim the idiotic notion that the Second Amendment only applies to “muzzleloaders.” Well they proved they are hypocrites even when it comes to that maxim. When Silencerco released the silenced muzzleloader famed gun grabber Gabby Giffords had a fit.
She called for Congress to update federal gun laws so the Maxim 50 can be regulated as an NFA weapon. Why exactly? The Maxim 50 is silenced, and it doesn’t require a tax stamp. The Maxim 50 falls under a firearm exemption that states, “any firearm not intended or redesigned for using rim fire or conventional center fire ignition with fixed ammunition and manufactured in or before 1898 and also any firearm using fixed ammunition manufactured in or before 1898, for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.”
This silenced muzzleloader isn’t considered a gun. It’s probably the coolest thing to come to the blackpowder world in a hundred years. I see the Maxim 50 as not just a cool piece of engineering but a means to push firearms rights forward. The Maxim 50 is a hunting weapon, and no one can say anything different. I think things like this will put the fact forward that suppressors aren’t for criminals, but for hunters and sportsmen.
Also, it has the ability to reinvigorate the black powder industry a bit and introduce younger shooters to muzzleloaders. If MILFs can’t introduce new shooters to the field what are they really for?
The Unlikely NFA Hack
Our list of NFA hacks wouldn’t be complete with one of the least intentional NFA hacks ever created. The item comes from MAGPUL and is known as the angled foregrip or AFG for short. AFG’s are NFA hacks because it’s completely legal to mount one to a pistol. Your average vertical foregrip turns something like an AR pistol into an AOW. The ATF in their infinite wisdom has declared it completely kosher to utilize an angled foregrip on the guns though.
The AFG might not be everyone’s favorite foregrip, but its one of the few you can use on a pistol. In fact, I’d wager a good part of the AFG’s success was based on the ability to toss it on an AR or AK pistol to increase your control over the gun. The Magpul AFG may have started the trend, but multiple companies now produce angled foregrips. You got to love when something completely unintentional comes together to form a new NFA hack.
NFA Hacks – Good For You, Good for Me.
The best thing about NFA hacks is they make a lot of people realize just how dumb the NFA is. A lot of these hacks aren’t really hacks, or loopholes, or anything other than accessories and firearm that are well within the limits of the law. They’re available to you and I and for some reason aren’t being used by criminals en masse. Their appearances in crime is rare and have been rare. So why don’t we just go ahead and get rid of the NFA?
