Guns made in the 1920s are legal to own, but every one of them is regulated under federal law as a “curio or relic” rather than an antique, and the automatic models — the Thompson submachine gun and the Browning Automatic Rifle — carry the full weight of the National Firearms Act on top of that. The 1898 cutoff for antique status means nothing from the twenties escapes the Gun Control Act, and a 1986 freeze on civilian machine gun transfers has pushed prices for a registered Thompson into five figures. What you can buy, ship, and inherit depends entirely on which category a given firearm falls into.
The Handguns and Long Guns Collectors Ask About
The revolver dominated the decade. The Smith & Wesson Model 10, sold as the Military & Police, set the standard with a six-round cylinder in .38 Special and a double-action trigger that let officers fire without cocking the hammer.1Smith & Wesson. Model 10 Classic No Internal Lock Police departments adopted it widely, and many stayed in service for decades.
The Colt M1911, a military design in .45 ACP, picked up civilian buyers through the 1920s who wanted more energy than a .38 revolver and faster reloads than a swing-out cylinder allowed.2Small Wars Journal. A Short History of the Beloved Colt 1911 Pistol Hardware stores stocked it alongside household goods. No federal background check or waiting period existed.
For long guns, the Winchester Model 12 pump-action shotgun (introduced in 1912) was the everyday workhorse — hammerless, machined from solid steel, and used for both bird hunting and home defense. It stayed in production for more than fifty years.
Then there are the two guns that drive most of the legal complexity. The Thompson submachine gun, chambered in .45 ACP, fired roughly 600 to 725 rounds per minute and accepted 20- and 30-round box magazines or 50- and 100-round drums. Auto-Ordnance sold them by mail and over the counter to anyone who could pay. The Browning Automatic Rifle, chambered in .30-06 Springfield, reached civilian hands as military surplus. Both are fully automatic. Both are why the National Firearms Act exists.
Antique or Curio and Relic: Why Every 1920s Gun Is the Second
Federal law treats firearms manufactured in or before 1898 as “antiques,” largely exempt from the Gun Control Act.3Legal Information Institute. Definition: Antique Firearm From 18 USC 921(a)(16) Antiques can generally be bought, sold, and shipped without a licensed dealer or a background check. Anything made after 1898 does not qualify, no matter how old it looks.
Every 1920s firearm falls on the wrong side of that line. They are regulated like modern guns. Because they are all more than 50 years old, however, they automatically qualify as “curios or relics” under ATF regulations — a classification that treats them as collector items rather than ordinary commercial firearms.4Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 27 CFR 478.11 Meaning of Terms
The practical consequence: a pre-1899 revolver can ship straight to your door. A 1920s revolver has to move through a licensed dealer or a collector’s license. Confusing the two is one of the fastest ways collectors get themselves in trouble.
The Type 03 Collector’s License
The Type 03 Federal Firearms License is built for exactly this kind of collecting. It costs $30, runs three years, and renews at the same price.5Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal Firearms Licenses The main benefit is that eligible curio-and-relic firearms can ship directly to your home, so you skip the dealer transfer fee on every purchase. For anyone building a 1920s collection, the license pays for itself quickly.
Licensees keep a bound acquisition and disposition record. Every firearm coming in gets logged with date, seller, manufacturer, model, serial number, and caliber. Every sale records the buyer’s name, address, date of birth, and identification.6eCFR. 27 CFR 478.125 – Record of Receipt and Disposition The ATF can inspect these records during business hours.
One limit that catches people out: the C&R license does not override the National Firearms Act. A 1920s Thompson is a curio or relic by age, but it is also a machine gun. The C&R classification changes nothing about NFA registration or the transfer tax.7Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Curios and Relics
What the National Firearms Act Adds for Thompsons and BARs
Congress passed the NFA in 1934, largely in response to Prohibition-era violence. It covers machine guns, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, silencers, destructive devices, and a residual “any other weapon” category.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 5845 – Definitions The 1920s guns that fall inside it are the Thompson and the BAR, both machine guns.
Transferring a machine gun costs a $200 federal tax, paid by buying an ATF tax stamp.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 5811 – Transfer Tax In 1934 that $200 was worth over $4,000 in today’s dollars, set deliberately high to make ownership impractical. Some other NFA items now transfer at $0 tax under the current statute, but machine guns still carry the full $200.
Every NFA firearm must appear in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Possession of an unregistered NFA firearm is a federal felony punishable by up to ten years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 5871 – Penalties There is no after-the-fact registration option for machine guns. If you find an unregistered Thompson in a relative’s attic, contact the ATF or a firearms attorney before touching it.
The 1986 Freeze and What a Transferable Thompson Costs
The Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986 made it unlawful for civilians to transfer or possess any machine gun not already lawfully registered before May 19, 1986.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts No new machine gun can enter the civilian market. The supply is permanently frozen.
Prices reflect that. A transferable Thompson from the 1920s or World War II era sells for roughly $17,000 to $34,000 depending on variant and condition, with original military-issue examples at the high end. The pool only shrinks over time as guns are destroyed, seized, or lost to paperwork errors.
The freeze also makes verification straightforward. Every legitimate transferable machine gun carries documented registration in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. If a seller cannot produce that paperwork, the gun is either illegal or the offer is a scam.
State Bans and Interstate Transport
Federal registration is not the last word. Federal law also prohibits taking a machine gun, short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun, or destructive device across state lines without prior ATF approval.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts Owners submit ATF Form 5320.20 before travel, listing destination and dates, and the approval is valid only for those dates.13Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Application to Transport Interstate or to Temporarily Export Certain National Firearms Act Firearms Driving your registered Thompson to an out-of-state range without that approval turns a lawful owner into a felon.
State law is the other layer. Roughly a dozen states either ban civilian machine gun possession outright or restrict it so tightly that ownership is effectively impossible. Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, New York, and Rhode Island prohibit private machine gun ownership regardless of federal registration. California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey allow ownership on paper but require state permits that are rarely granted. Washington prohibits machine guns acquired after July 1994. A valid federal registration does not override a state ban, so confirm state law before buying.
Inheriting a 1920s Machine Gun
When the registered owner of an NFA firearm dies, the gun transfers to a lawful heir through ATF Form 5. This transfer is tax-exempt: no $200 stamp applies. The heir still needs ATF approval and must pass a background check.
Timing is the trap. The firearm stays registered to the deceased until the transfer is approved, and an heir who takes physical possession before that approval is in unlawful possession, even as the named beneficiary. Firearms held in an NFA trust with properly designated successor trustees avoid that gap, because the trust continues to own the item and successors take over without a fresh transfer.
Unregistered inherited machine guns are the hardest situation. The ATF has no mechanism to register a previously unregistered machine gun after the fact. If an estate turns up an unregistered Thompson or BAR, the only safe moves are to call the ATF for guidance or hire a firearms attorney. Keeping, selling, or transporting the gun exposes the heir to the same ten-year felony that applies to any other unregistered NFA possession.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 5871 – Penalties