NFA or non-NFA?

That would be a horizontal foregrip. And dumb. But hey, so is the law, so I guess they equalize.

I know what it would be called. Question is, would it now be non-NFA, or is it still NFA?

I would say it is NFA. I tried to find a written ATF definition of a VFG and found this:

https://www.atf.gov/file/97256/download

quote:

ATF has long held that by installing a vertical fore grip on a handgun, the handgun is no longer designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand. Therefore, if individuals install a vertical fore grip on a handgun, they are “making” a firearm requiring registration with ATF’s NFA Branch.

I don't see how a HFG would function any differently. Of course, that's a bit of a silly way to define how a pistol is "designed" to be held and fired, also. Hell, you could also argue that a forend on an AR pistol fulfills the same purpose.

That said, it also says specifically a “vertical fore grip”. A horizontal fore grip is not a vertical fore grip. You can make the claim that an angled foregrip performs the same function described in the highlighted red section, but they have taken to be legal, so why wouldn’t a horizontal grip be legal? Heck, even vertical grips a few degrees short of 90 seem to be considered legal.

As I understand it, the grip cannot be 90 degrees from the bore axis. Anything else is legal...or at least I hope so (not that I'm too concerned with getting hauled in around these parts).

Even if mounted horizontally, a true "vertical" grip would still be 90 degrees to the bore axis and, thusly, illegal.

* Not a lawyer.

Guessing if the grip could be deployed to a vertical position, it would be construed as intent. Probably also if you had (say) an Accu-Shot monopod; something neither named nor specifically intended as a grip.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
As I understand it, the grip cannot be 90 degrees from the bore axis. Anything else is legal...or at least I hope so (not that I'm too concerned with getting hauled in around these parts).

Even if mounted horizontally, a true "vertical" grip would still be 90 degrees to the bore axis and, thusly, illegal.

* Not a lawyer.

This is my understanding as well.

90 degrees to the bore = bad according to the ATF, with no mention of where it's oriented on the clock face being a factor.

Of course, this topic never crossed my mind, until I saw some yahoo on YT yesterday claiming non-NFA on a horizontally attached VFG on an AR pistol. And, we all know YTers are expert on all things.

Makes me think of the Sten, with its side-mounted magazine

Not that I have any intention of doing it, but I wonder how this* would be viewed. It’s pictured and can be locked in the forward 45 degree position, but also at 90° to the mount. Legal in one, illegal in the other? Illegal, period, because it can be rotated to 90 degrees?





* https://accu-shot.com/shop/accessories/bt27/

Where’s the Parks and Rec meme?