Posted on 24Hour Camp Fire by Uncle Joe
uncle joe
Member
Reged: 04/30/06
Posts: 40
Loc: Marietta Ga
Re: T/C ENCORE Package W/3 Barrels [Re: firearms44]
#958056 - 08/08/06 04:12 AM
Edit post Edit Reply to this post Reply Reply to this post Quote Quick Reply Quick Reply
No longer an issue.
The 1992 Thompson Center Supreme Court case (
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/91-0164.ZO.html) upheld an earlier Appeals Court decision when it stated as its final ruling that "Accordingly, we conclude that the Contender pistol and carbine kit when packaged together by Thompson/Center have not been "made" into a short barreled rifle for purposes of the NFA. The judgment of the Court of Appeals is therefore Affirmed." This was a ruling in T/C's favor on a point of law that is effectively integrally related to this issue. Thompson Center then utilized this affirmative Supreme Court ruling and clarifications as the basis for the following letter that they sent to customers who inquired of them on this particular receiver legality issue.
The following information is from old rec.guns newsgroup posting related to this topic that I dug up from the gunbroker.com forum area:
"I wrote T/C a letter on this issue after hearing about a court ruling. According to T/C, in letter dated 1 March 1999:
"Thompson/Center Arms Co. went all the way to the US Supreme Court to establish the lawfulness of the Contender pistol and carbine (including the carbine kit), and won. The Supreme Court opinion also establishes the legality of the Encore system, which has similar interchangeable parts."
"With these systems, a receiver may be assembled either with a pistol grip and pistol barrel, or with a should stock and rifle barrel (minimum length 16 inches). A barrel under 16 inches in length must never be assembled onto the receiver when the shoulder stock is attached. Within that parameter, the consumer may use the parts to make a pistol or carbine, and may change the configuration at will."
This is exactly what my FFL holder say's......
Here is the link:
http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/958056/Main/956844/#Post958056