Hypothetical: CCW with an SMG?

[AmesJainchill]

Hypothetically, if one had a legal SMG, could you CCW it?

I mean, are SMGs considered pistols or SMGs from a legal standpoint (obviously if the CCW law said "weapon", there's no issue here)?

Certainly it would be a unique thing to do, but perhaps not illegal?

[MisterPX]

Depends what your states CCW lasws state. Some say no NFA stuff. If you wanted to carry around a SMG, could you keep it concealed? Furthermore, could you afford the lawsuits following it's use?

[Hkmp5sd]

Not in the state of Florida. Prohibited by law.

[GeorgeF]

Also, dont get too attached to any carry weapon. If you get involved and have to use it to defend yourself, it will be in police custodyfor a long long time.

And if other side goes to court, and you are presented as being some gun nut who likes to carry machineguns or sawed off shotguns around, it will not go well with you.

[p99guy]

Like I have told others when I owned several machineguns...if there was a room full of ready to go exotic NFA weapons and a .25auto laying in the floor
I would use the .25 auto first! There has been but a handful of tax stamped
NFA guns ever used in a self defense situation since 1934(there has been more suicides in number ,with them than self defense shootings)
You are going to suffer in the court system if you get into a shooting with your subgun because they have been demonized sooo badly that the average juror will be agast! get ready to hear the word overkill alot from the other side....regular guns were not deadly enough for the defendant, No sir!
He has to use a gun that would have been used by the likes of Al Capone were he alive today....ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this man ment to kill .
Machineguns are weapons of war and only ment to Kill. Was the defendant in a war that day? Did we miss it on the news?
This will be the tune you hear as you sell everything you own to pay the lawyers and try to stay out of Prison.
Carry a conventional pistol or revolver, loaded with proven , non exotic ammo( no rippers, exploders, god stoppers or other catchy names)
and be darn sure its the final option availible to you(or you will suffer serious bodily harm or death) before you pull the trigger because there is no taking it back.
And it must stand up to the court standard: would any reasonable and prudent man have done the same thing? Just what will those 6 or 12 armchair quarterbacks think? You can be totally in the right and it still cost a minimum of 8-12,000 dollars to defend yourself.(and lawyers want that up front lol)

[ArizonaJim]

In Arizona it is completely legal to CCW any firearm that is legally owned, which includes NFA.

I do put my range bag in the vehicle with an SMG and loaded mags, so CCW laws apply.



But for general carry? No.

Sure, it would feel pretty good to sling it under a trenchcoat. I would feel fairly safe I guess. But then I don't live in Bagdad either.

In all practicality it would be difficult, at best, to keep it hidden from view and under any normal day you would be worried more about exposing it than anything else.

As the other posters have stated, NFA is also too much a "hot potato" item to CCW for daily use. The legal downsides are too great to justify it.

[James K]

George F. makes a point that is often ignored. IMHO, never ever carry a valuable or expensive gun for defense. If you have to use it, the first thing you will be ordered to do is to drop it. Then it will be seized as evidence, kicked around in the evidence locker, get beat up and rusty, then maybe, maybe, returned to you if you are nol-prossed or acquitted.

I have read posts from guys who say they would never drop their gun or allow the police to take it, no matter what, since it is a special super dooper gun by some super dooper gun maker. Ha! If a cop tells you to drop the gun, you have a choice - drop it or die with it in your hand.

Jim

[Bill DeShivs]

Jim
This is exactly why I'm such a big proponent of Keltecs. They work, are light, and are easily replaceable.
Bill

[Jim Watson]

I figure if an expensive gun saves my life and vanishes into the "evidence" system, it has done its job. I won't carry anything irreplaceable, but I won't count on a cheap gun when I have good ones.

[Fn-P9]

I dont mean to sound dense here or am I a legal expert but why would it be kept for evidence for an "indeterminate amout of time". If the shooting was deemed self defence wouldnt it be return fairly quikly? Like a month or however long it takes to goto court?

[shaggy]

Like a month or however long it takes to goto court?

That can be quite a while. And at best it would probably be held until all possible avenues of appeal have been exhausted. And all that time your valuable weapon will be held as evidence by the police. And believe me, they won't treat your $15,000 MP5 as gingerly as you would; they won't put it in its nice soft case, they won't clean it, they won't oil it, and they sure as heck won't care if it gets dropped/dinged/dented/scratched up. Assuming you're cleared of all charges when its all over, they may return it, or they may not. You may have to return to court to get an order for them to return your own weapon.

[Duxman]

I remember reading a real life case - one of the HK representatives was being chased by 2 bikers who were armed. A car chase ensued where upon the HK rep and his GF were cornered in a parking lot.

One of the bikers drew a weapon (bowie knife - as I recall) and charged the HK rep. - He drew a fully automatic HK G36 and open fired on the guy. The weapon worked to perfection.

Police came and arrested him. He had to go through a lengthly trial process, lost his job with HK, but after a long time - got proclaimed innocent.

Bottom line - if he shot the perpetrator with a shotgun or a handgun. The police privately told him, they would not even arrest him - given the same circumstances.

[buzz_knox]

One of the bikers drew a weapon (bowie knife - as I recall) and charged the HK rep. - He drew a fully automatic HK G36 and open fired on the guy. The weapon worked to perfection.

Gary Fadden worked for HK, but this happened before the G36 was invented. He used a personally owned Ruger ACC556. A description of the incident is found in this thread.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=70332

[Duxman]

Thanks Buzz. My memory is a little fuzzy.

That is the exact incident I was recalling. Probably mistook the automatic weapon for an HK.

Read that article over a year ago.....

[buzz_knox]

No problem. I understand fuzzy memories. I mean there was this one time that . . . that . . . uh . . .

What were we talking about?

[.351winchester]

I think an AOW 20 gauge would be just the thing for your car, even the old Ithaca A&B. Dunno about carrying one concealed, a lot of sawed off rigs have the barrel in your armpit. Can't imaging someone being comfortable with that. Empty chamber a must

What was that .22 pocket machine pistol? I saw a pic of it once, but have never been able to find any info. Possibly of British origin?

[Bill DeShivs]

"Auto & Burglar" would be a perfect car gun!
The Mexican "Trejo" was a small .22 lr automatic.
Bill

[Double Naught Spy]

Like I have told others when I owned several machineguns...if there was a room full of ready to go exotic NFA weapons and a .25auto laying in the floor I would use the .25 auto first!

Right, because we all know to be more afraid of the possible post shooting legal hassles than to be afraid of a threat on whom we feel the need to use lethal force, such as a person already trying to kill us. So instead of picking a weapon from a room of much more powerful NFA weapons such as a SMG with which we could most effectively protect ourselves, we would rather go with a low capacity, small caliber, and much less effective .25 auto and run the risk of it not being enough gun and as a result, we end up dead or seriously injured.

Why would anyone use a squirt gun to try to put out a fire in their house when they already have a fire hose hooked up to a fire hydrant in their front yard?

[Johnny Guest]

I believe the original question has been well answered, pro and con.

Johnny