r/RIGuns • u/DarkSideOfTheNuts • 2d ago
Hear me out - AOWs on the menu?
NOT LEGAL ADVICE
BLUF: the current state of the NFA does not require stamps/registration for AOWs. RI State law does not actually ban AOWs, or really address them at all. Ladies and gentlemen, I am prepared to guinea pig acquiring a PTR Jack to prove a point.
Relevant definitions from R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-47-2:
(7) “Firearm” includes any machine gun, pistol, rifle, air rifle, air pistol, “blank gun,” “BB gun,” or other instrument from which steel or metal projectiles are propelled, or that may readily be converted to expel a projectile, except crossbows, recurve, compound, or longbows, and except instruments propelling projectiles that are designed or normally used for a primary purpose other than as a weapon. The frame or receiver of the weapon shall be construed as a firearm under the provisions of this section.
(14) “Pistol” includes any pistol or revolver, and any shotgun, rifle, or similar weapon with overall length less than twenty-six inches (26″), but does not include any pistol or revolver designed for the use of blank cartridges only.
(15) “Rifle” shall have the same meaning as in 26 U.S.C. § 5845(c), and by barrel length and overall length not be subject to registration pursuant to the National Firearms Act, 26 U.S.C. ch. 53 (prior § 5801 et seq.).
(16) “Sawed-off rifle” means any rifle with overall length of less than twenty-six inches (26″) or barrel length of less than sixteen inches (16″).
(17) “Sawed-off shotgun” means any shotgun with overall length of less than twenty-six inches (26″) or barrel length of less than eighteen inches (18″).
(19) “Shotgun” shall have the same meaning as in 26 U.S.C. § 5845(d), and by barrel length and overall length not be subject to registration pursuant to the National Firearms Act, 26 U.S.C. ch. 53 (prior § 5801 et seq.).
What an AOW is:
(e)Any other weapon
The term “any other weapon” means any weapon or device capable of being concealed on the person from which a shot can be discharged through the energy of an explosive, a pistol or revolver having a barrel with a smooth bore designed or redesigned to fire a fixed shotgun shell, weapons with combination shotgun and rifle barrels 12 inches or more, less than 18 inches in length, from which only a single discharge can be made from either barrel without manual reloading, and shall include any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire. Such term shall not include a pistol or a revolver having a rifled bore, or rifled bores, or weapons designed, made, or intended to be fired from the shoulder and not capable of firing fixed ammunition.
So, the PTR Jack is less than 26", making it a pistol under RI Law. It is not a shotgun, as it is not intended to be fired from the shoulder. It is concealable. A blue card seems to be the only requirement for purchasing this type of AOW due to the concealabiltiy.
26 U.S.C defines a shotgun as:
(d)Shotgun
The term “shotgun” means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of projectiles (ball shot) or a single projectile for each pull of the trigger, and shall include any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire a fixed shotgun shell.
All this is assuming an AOW will be transfered without requirement of NFA paperwork following the recent ATF guidance. And no stamp (for now)!
NOT LEGAL ADVICE