#Aow

In this episode of TFBTV Show Time, James Reeves is at the PTR booth to talk about their new LE-oriented, short barrel AOW Mossberg-based shotguns, the PTR Jack and the PTR Breaker, a 2+1 and a 3+1 12 gauge, respectively.

Pen guns are unusual creatures in the menagerie of firearms designs. And no, that’s not a reference to the horror show “PEN-15” rifle assembled by TFB TV’s James “Questionably Frequent Phallic Jokes” Reeves with his motley crew of Mailroom series viewers and Discord members. Actual pen guns are firearms that are considered to be disguised to look like innocuous simple tubes like writing pens, hence the name. They are classified in the “Any Other Weapon”, or AOW category under the NFA (National Firearms Act of 1934) along with other such oddities like knife guns or umbrella guns. They are understandably uncommon, and most regular people who have production versions, like TFB’s own Nick C with his Braverman Stinger, consider them to just be “range toy” novelties. However, pen guns have a fascinating deeper history rooted in espionage, intrigue, and assassination.

Good afternoon dear readers and Happy Independence Day for all our fellow Americans. Welcome back to another edition of TFB’s Silencer Saturday brought to you by our friends at Yankee Hill Machine, manufacturer’s of the eagerly anticipated YHM R9 suppressor. Last week we debuted the Dead Air Nomad-TI, an excellent edition to their 30 caliber lineup. This week we go slightly off-grid with a Suppressed Pen Gun from Cotton Branch Custom Firearms – a two stamp Any Other Weapon (AOW) and silencer in a discreet form factor. No, I’m not an assassin in training; pen guns are unique firearms and suppressing one has been a goal of mine for a number of years. Let’s take a look.

Pursuant to an ATF determination earlier this summer, the FosTech Origin SBV firearm now falls under the purview of the National Firearms Act (NFA). The Origin SBV is equipped with a smooth bore barrel that is less than 18” in length, but utilizes a pistol stabilizing brace instead of a shoulder stock. The setup, once believed to avoid NFA regulations, has been reclassified as either a Short Barreled Shotgun (SBS) or an Any Other Weapon (AOW) requiring an NFA registration and transfer application and taxes.

007 eat your heart out because there’s a new king of concealable lethal gadgets on the scene. When it comes to homemade guns, for me, this one takes the cake and eats it too. The marker sized hand cannon dubbed the “Pen Gun” by its owner Josh Geho is just one of many of his other impressive amateur gunsmithing projects.

In the past few years, we have drilled down into the netherworld of NFA laws, attempting to determine the subtle differences between short barreled rifles (SBRs), Any Other Weapons (AOWs) and simply firearms. We’ve also reviewed the new ATF accessory classification process and gone over the use of the ATF eForm system that anyone can use to apply for “makers” NFA tax stamps. So we won’t be rehashing every minutia of firearms regulations in the U.S. But let’s discuss pistols, rifles, short barrels and braces – a small attempt to understand the NFA.

The 1911 is renowned for winning two world wars. At least that is the mantra die hard 1911 fans recite. And the Fulton Industries MX991/U anglehead flashlight has been utlized for decades since the Vietnam War. Well someone had the great idea to combine these military cornerstones into one complete weapons package, a pseudo 1911 AOW.

Jorge aka @Silencers_1909 is at it again. Another stamp has been added to the collective. If you recall, Jorge has an impressive stamp collection. Well this new one is for a Form 4 transfer of a Maxim 9 AOW.

On September 11th, 2017 the Fresno Police Department posted about their recent accomplishment of arresting a woman on narcotic and firearm charges. The suspect was sitting in front of an illegally parked RV. The two officers approached the suspect to ascertain why the RV was parked illegally. Upon walking up to the suspect the officers discovered a Ruger 10-22 lying on the ground near the entrance of the RV. The stock had been removed from the Ruger 10-22 and the officers determined this constitutes an illegal short barreled rifle.

The first anniversary of the enactment of ATF Rule 41F is only a few weeks away. Most of us will be remembering the run up to the July 13th deadline as an NFA buying panic of epic proportions. And all of us will remember the resulting slowdown that followed. However, a few faithful NFA makers will remember the upcoming milestone as the day the ATF’s NFA Efile system for consumer use was powered down forever. However, like the fingerprint scanning kiosk system that dealt with post 41F purchases, Silencer Shop is releasing a new system that allows everyone to electronically file ATF Form 1 applications from anywhere, in about five minutes.

Fostech is bringing an interesting variant of their 12 gauge Origin 12 shotgun to market. The Origin 12 SBV is along the lines of their NFA Short Barrel Shotguns with a 10 inch barrel, but it isn’t an NFA item at all. Because it has a smooth bore, it isn’t a handgun either. It is simply classified as a firearm, even with a arm stabilizing brace installed. The brace still cannot be shouldered because the complaint letter from ATF on the brace regards the actual use on any firearm it is attached to. MSRP is $2,850 for the Nickel Internal version, and 2,750 for the Hard Black version. Magazines pictured are standard 5 round magazines, but the variant can accept any magazine or drum that the Orgin 12 line is available with. These include an 8 round, 10 round, 20 round drum, and 30 round drum as well.

As Adam breaks it down in “legalese”, the AOW or “Any Other Weapon” is indeed the “bastard child” of the National Firearms Act. Unlike most of the National Firearms Act firearms, the cost to transfer is $5 – yet the cost to make one is still $200. How does that make sense?

Improvised and camouflaged firearms can be some of the most interesting weapons around, and the best ones combine inventiveness, creativity, craft work, and a sort of apocalyptic chic together into final products that are compelling far beyond the sum of their parts or their actual capabilities and practicality. Mark Serbu – one of the big names in big guns, and Royal Nonesuch – a YouTube vlogger with a penchant for the improvised and dangerous, joined forces together with Serbu’s daughter Valerie ( 50CalVal), and Mark’s friends Mike and Mike (“Beardo”), to bring to the world the fire extinguisher shotgun. As the video below illustrates, that’s pretty much what it says on the tin:

Even the most experienced “stamp collectors” can be missing the coveted $5 red stamp. While making and transferring National Firearms Act (NFA) controlled items like Short Barreled Rifles (SBRs), Short Barreled Shotguns (SBSs), Silencers and Destructive Devices (DDs) require all the requisite BATFE paperwork AND $200, the price to transfer Any Other Weapons (AOWs) is only $5. But is an AOW really a bargain?

It seems that the traditional firearms companies are venturing farther and farther into NFA weapons, and Mossberg is the latest company to jump into the fray with a pair of 12 gauge AOWs called Compact Cruiser AOWs.