Title II
What are Title II firearms?
Title II firearms are more commonly known as Class III or NFA firearms. These are devices which were initially regulated by the National Firearms Act of 1934. Legislation enacted in 1968 and 1986 further regulate these items.
What types of firearms are classified as Title II?
The items most people think of when they hear about Class III or Title II firearms are machine guns. Other Title II firearms include short barrel rifles, short barrel shotguns, suppressors, and a special class known as “any other weapon”.
What does all that mean?
A machine gun is any gun or part that could be added to a gun to allow it to fire more than one shot with each pull of the trigger. Machine guns include factory guns such as the Colt M16, HK MP5, and others. Machine guns also include conversion devices that allow a semi-automatic gun to function as a fully automatic weapon. These types of conversion devices include the registered AR-15 drop in autosear (DIAS), registered AR-15 lightning link, registered HK autosear, registered Uzi bolts, etc. Several years ago, the ATF actually ruled that a piece of string attached to certain guns needed to be registered as a machine gun because it allowed full auto fire. This definition allows a lot of things to fall into the “conversion device” category.
| *Machine guns are regulated a bit differently than other Title II firearms. Congress passed the Firearm Owners Protection Act which went into effect in 1986. This banned civilian ownership of any machine gun produced after May 19, 1986. Since no new machine guns have entered the market in over 20 years, prices are high due to low supply and high demand. |
| There are several types of machine guns you may see advertised. The first, transferrables, are the guns available for “civilian” purchase. Anyone can buy these guns. The second, are “pre-may” samples. These are machine guns that were imported prior to the 1986 ban and can only be purchased only by licensed dealers. The last type are known as “post samples”. These are brand new production guns licensed dealers can purchase and possess which allows police and military agencies a product demo prior to purchase. |
A short barrel rifle (SBR) is any rifle with a barrel shorter than 16″ in length or with an overall length shorter than 26″. This is the federal definition. Some states (not Texas) have adopted more stringent guidelines for what is considered an SBR. Common examples include HK-94s converted to MP5 specifications, the Colt 6921LE AR-15, and the AKS-74U Krinkov.
A short barrel shotgun (SBS) is any shotgun with a stock and a barrel less than 18″ or with an overall length shorter than 26″.
A suppressor is a device which muffles or reduces the sound produced by a gun. These are commonly known as silencers.
The any other weapon (AOW) category is a catch all for other devices the ATF may decide to regulate. There are many devices that are considered an AOW. Any pistol with no stock and a forward grip is an AOW. The MP5-K is an example. Shotguns which have short barrels, pistol grips, and have never had a stock attached, such as the Serbu Super Shorty, are classified as an AOW. Pen and cane guns also fall into this category.
Are these legal to own in Texas?
Absolutely! Texas imposes no additional regulations on owning any of these weapons, and the process to own one is much easier than most people may imagine.
Federal law requires all sales of firearms from out of state sellers to go through a licensed dealer in the buyer’s home state. This law also applies to Title II firearms.
