A letter recently posted in a few online gun groups is making gun owners shake their collective heads. The letter, sent by ATF, explains that the recently released semiautomatic AA-12 shotgun should actually be classified as a machine gun. This is due to the right side plate of the receiver being identical between the two versions. It is this component that the ATF classifies as a firearm.
ATF Decisions
This determination makes all of the semiauto AA-12's into NFA items, subjecting them to severe restrictions on manufacturing and ownership. The ATF is currently reaching out to those who purchased these shotguns, requiring owners to surrender them or risk violating federal law.
ATF Also Confiscating Post Sample Full Auto AA-12s
The ATF also has confiscated at least one full-auto post sample AA-12. The report comes from AR15.com user SFHC who stated that the AA-12 was obtained with a valid demo letter as required by law.
The ATF says that the manufacturer didn't correctly mark the gun. As a result, the ATF stated they were going door to door and collecting every post sample AND semi-auto AA-12.
In the letter, the ATF says “ATF has determined that the markings on the AA-12 are not accurate, and the manner in which the marking were placed is not in compliance with federal law.” Sadly there is no information beyond that.
Stay Tuned for AA-12 Info
We will keep you up to date as new information regarding this becomes available. Until then, I recommend you hide your dogs and try to stay on the right side of the law. You may not be pretty, but you're definitely too pretty for prison.
We have reached out to Sol Invictus Arms as well as the ATF and have not received a response yet.
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From my cold dead hands
It's easy to talk like that when you don't have to back it up.
They should show the law were these are illegal semiauto are this is just bs government control with no laws
I got some information that I am working on confirming that the receivers had the pin holes for the auto sear. The same thing that happened with that batch of IWI Ace pistols a while back.
In the 80's Colt sold many AR15s with the extra auto sear pin hole drilled and filled with a pin in place mounted to a block off block inside the lower receiver where the sear was to go in a select fire weapon. Funny I never got a letter from the ATF then, I wonder what has changed besides the ATF's ability to now make up new "laws"... Yeah, just like the bump-stock ban the ATF now claims had no teeth whatsoever because they never had the authority to ban it.
I wanted to buy one of the semi-auto AA12 shotguns but couldn't afford the $3000 to
$3500 price tag. It's BS that they are confiscating a firearm that at the time of
purchase was a legal semi-auto version of the AA12 shotgun. If I payed the money for
one they would have to compensate me the cost of the shotgun. I would not eat around
$3500 on a shotgun legally obtained at the time of purchase. Even if I would have to
sue them I would get some type of compensation for the loss of the firearm.
@Bobby, sure you would, it's easy to talk like that when you don't have to back it up.
There is information coming out that suggests that the semi-auto version was a machine gun from the get-go. Looks like the auto sear pin hole might be drilled on the semi-auto version.