Question about a home-made pistol - is this config legal?

[SkyHawk]

Many (20?) years ago a friend of mine converted a small .32 black powder derringer into a .22LR. To accomplish this he drilled out the brass barrel to a larger diameter then pressed in a rifled stainless steel .22 barrel with integral .22LR chamber. The derringer is a single shot break open with about a 2" or 3" barrel. It is a nice pistol for snake shot etc, and as a conversation piece.

My question concerns the legality of this pistol in CA. Is it legal to own today by the person who made it, and would it be legal to make again today if a person were so inclined? Would it have to be made with a longer barrel today, and if so could the barrel be shortened after it was made? Thanks in advance!

[JoshuaS]

1. Yes it is legal for him to own.

2. It would be legal to bring it with you to CA if you had lived elsewhere and made it there. But illegal to make in California unless the barrel length is longer

The law about the Roster of Handguns (which applies to manufacture and dealer sales) exempts

(b) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to a
single-shot pistol with a barrel length of not less than six
inches and that has an overall length of at least 10 1/2 inches
when the handle, frame or receiver, and barrel are assembled.


So if it meets that, it is fine.

[raycm2]

Joshua, why are you referring to the roster when it applies only to retail sales by an FFL?

IANAL, but if you start with your legally owned derringer, you are simply modifying the gun and should be gtg. No different from converting a 1911 from 38 super to 9mm.

[sigfan91]

Joshua, why are you referring to the roster when it applies only to retail sales by an FFL?

IANAL, but if you start with your legally owned derringer, you are simply modifying the gun and should be gtg. No different from converting a 1911 from 38 super to 9mm.

There is a slight difference. Both 38 super and 9mm are metallic cartridges. His example involves a blackpowder firearm to one that fires metallic cartridges.

I'm not a lawyer but there are examples of doing so is legal. There are conversion cylinders made for blackpowder revolvers to fire metallic cartridges. They are all legal to own. Nothing is registered.

[ke6guj]

Joshua, why are you referring to the roster when it applies only to retail sales by an FFL?

incorrect, it also applies to manufacturing of handguns, not just retail sales.

IANAL, but if you start with your legally owned derringer, you are simply modifying the gun and should be gtg. No different from converting a 1911 from 38 super to 9mm.

right, once the handgun was in your possession, modification of the handgun does not violate the roster regulations.

[SkyHawk]

OK thanks for the feedback!! I knew it was legal to convert black powder to real firearm (or for that matter any block of material into a firearm) I just wasn't sure about the barrel length. I had also read it must be 10.5 inches but I wasn't sure when that rule became law.

If I am reading this right, it would be OK to 1) manufacture a similar pistol today so long as it had a starting overall length of at least 10.5 inches (which would require an 8.5 inch barrel or so because this is a small frame derringer), and then 2) after manufacture it would be legal to modify it back to a 3 inch barrel again?

Thanks again!

[Bug Splat]

You can make your own pistol. Front loading black powder pistols are not considered firearms correct? I don't see how modifying one is any different from making your own single shoot pistol from a hunk of metal. People build AR pistols every day.

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