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DEWAT THOMPSON


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Lionheart,

 

Have you checked to see what ATF considers to be a legal Dewat today? I'm no expert, but I think that ATF has tightened the standards somewhere along the way. When my Thompson was originally dewatted, the right side of the receiver was cut with a torch. I'm not sure you can get away with just plugging the barrel any more.

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A live unregistered MG may NOT be dewatted. Thats out. A registered Dewat can be reactivated. If its registered as a Dewat, I am sure your state will not allow it. I would incorporate in an NFA state where you have a friend you REALLY trust and make your friend an officer of the corp so he can hold the gun for you. You could use a bank lockbox. Do it now in a state you might consider moving to. This way when you retire you have another bright thing to look foward to. MG prices are just climbing and the longer you wait the worse its going to get.

 

Hope this is some help.

 

Jr

 

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Lionhart,

 

I say go for it! http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/rolleyes.gif

 

The worst thing they (WA state) can say is no.

 

Norm

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The post above is correct. You cannot make a new dewatt. It would have to have been registered during the 68 amnesty. These are treated as live machine guns and have the same paperwork, but there is no 200 transfer tax. They can be "rewatted" into live guns by paying the 200 dollers and then reactivate it. The old dewatts they used to sell before 1968 are no longer legal unless they were registered. If they are not registered they are considered contraband now. Dewatts that are legal in places like canada and england are not legal here since they still have the original reciever intact. Certain states do only allow dewatts but im not sure which ones.

 

Roland

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If that is correct, why then, was Curtis Earl advertising a Dewat Service for $25.00 even in 1986? I already know about the 1968 Amnesty. However, isn't possible to take a REGISTERED NFA MG and Dewat it, to transfer on a Form 5? That's my question, like Curtis Earl use to do? I didn't say anything about a Contraband Weapon that was NEVER registered.
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Of course any legally "registered" class III weapon could be de-wated for sale to those in states that do not allow functioning Class III's. That is what Earl did without any regard to the rarity of the weapon he was de-wating. The real question is what does ATF consider a legal De-Wat by today's standards. Some states may only allow unassembled three-piece weld cut receivers. Some states may only allow the bolt welded closed and the barrel welded and filled solid. This type of de-wating would be more severe than the Japanese model guns, which were never made to fire live ammo, yet had movable bolts. If the process of de-wating today, as required by ATF, or an individual state, is this severe, then one might re-think subjecting a "registered" Thompson to this indignity.
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Ok, now i understand what you are asking. I thought you were asking about someone turning an unregistered gun into a dewatt to register it. You are saying taking an already registered live gun and dewatting it. That i do not know about, but thats a pretty pricey thing to do. I would think you would be better off with one of D. richardsons replicas for about a quarter of the cost. It would be a shame to weld up a funtioning gun. I guess you will have to check with the atf on that one to see if it is still legal to do. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I was just trying to help. A lot of people bought the dewatt guns sold after the world wars back in the 30's and 40's and never bothered to register them when the time came that they had to, now they are just good for parts and can never be reactivated. These are the guns i was referring to. Roland
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