As with everything Chapter 135 related, this is another piece of the "Devil's Snare" that make no sense! Have fun.
Under Chapter 135, certain muzzle loading guns are now considered modern firearms. As a result, a minimum of an FID card is required to purchase and possess. I recently saw a gun shop that had a tag on these particular guns that stated “4473 Required”. I understand they were just trying to make folks aware of the new law, but the BATFE does not consider these to be firearms. So, I brought this up to a friend in government that has experience in these matters and the conversation went something like this:
Q: Do people really have to do a 4473 and a NICs check in Massachusetts to buy a muzzle loader that uses, say, a 209 shotgun primer?
A: Of course not. The feds don’t care because it is not a modern firearm to them.
Q: So, when the retailer reports it through the MIRCs portal, or whatever new system gets put in place, that’s good?
A: Sure, the FID or LTC covers you.
Q: An FID or LTC is sufficient for a background check?
A: Yup
Q: So, our FIDs and LTCs are NICs compliant which means we don’t need to have a NICs check on any transfer? All this demand from the other side about mandatory background checks for private transfers is already taken care of?
The rest of the conversation turned into the “Devil’s Snare” that has encircled this garbage since Chapter 135 became law. Every time a question is answered, it creates many more questions.
States that do not require a NICs: https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/more-fbi-services-and-information/nics/about-nics
Under Chapter 135, certain muzzle loading guns are now considered modern firearms. As a result, a minimum of an FID card is required to purchase and possess. I recently saw a gun shop that had a tag on these particular guns that stated “4473 Required”. I understand they were just trying to make folks aware of the new law, but the BATFE does not consider these to be firearms. So, I brought this up to a friend in government that has experience in these matters and the conversation went something like this:
Q: Do people really have to do a 4473 and a NICs check in Massachusetts to buy a muzzle loader that uses, say, a 209 shotgun primer?
A: Of course not. The feds don’t care because it is not a modern firearm to them.
Q: So, when the retailer reports it through the MIRCs portal, or whatever new system gets put in place, that’s good?
A: Sure, the FID or LTC covers you.
Q: An FID or LTC is sufficient for a background check?
A: Yup
Q: So, our FIDs and LTCs are NICs compliant which means we don’t need to have a NICs check on any transfer? All this demand from the other side about mandatory background checks for private transfers is already taken care of?
The rest of the conversation turned into the “Devil’s Snare” that has encircled this garbage since Chapter 135 became law. Every time a question is answered, it creates many more questions.
States that do not require a NICs: https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/more-fbi-services-and-information/nics/about-nics
