1898 and earlier guns

[goldduster]

I understand that guns made in 1898 and earlier are not considered firearms. Can anyone tell how this date was determined and does it progress over time?

[Mssr. Eleganté]

They aren't considered firearms by the Feds. California considers them firearms that are exempt from California's dealer transfer requirements.

The date was chosen back in 1968 when Congress wrote the Gun Control Act. Nobody knows exactly why they chose 1898 for antique and 50 years for C&R. The date for antique doesn't progress over time. It stays at 1898.

[ElvenSoul]

I thought the 1898 had something to do with the mouser?

[Mssr. Eleganté]

I thought the 1898 had something to do with the mouser?

If they were trying to exclude the 1898 Mauser then they would have set the cutoff at 1897 and earlier instead of 1898 and earlier. If they were trying to exclude smokeless cartridge firearms then maybe they would have set the date at 1886 for the 8mm Lebel. If they were trying to exclude semi-auto handguns then maybe they would have set the date at 1893 for the Borchardt. There are a lot of theories, but I don't think anybody knows for sure. It was probably just a compromise date worked out by opposing sides of the debate in Congress.

[Enfield47]

It's a shame they didn't make it a moving target so that any firearm that is one hundred years old is an antique.

[knucklehead0202]

It's a shame they didn't make it a moving target so that any firearm that is one hundred years old is an antique.

exactly, although California pulled that fast one with the "over 25 years old" smog thing too. oh well, state or federal, you're dealing with politicians, which all have their heads up their arse.

[Syntax Error]

This post on the RIA blog claims this:

5. The story behind choosing the 1898 year is a pretty good one.
The year was 1968 and gun legislation was being passed in response to a number of high profile assassinations. The House had passed its version of the GCA and the Senate had passed theirs. To reconcile the differences between the two bills a committee came together and one of the members of that committee was a Senator Russell B. Long (D - LA). In the course of reconciling the two bills the NFA's definition of an antique was determined to not be broad enough and the question arose, "What does define an antique?" Well, Senator Long happened to be acquainted with Red Jackson, the renowned Dallas, TX gun dealer, known worldwide to be an expert in the realm of collectable firearms. Long asked Jackson the same question that had come up in committee and after some thought, Jackson came up with the year 1898. Allegedly he had done so based on the success of Mauser's M98 bolt action rifle. While not the first bolt action rifle ever, its action quickly became the most common bolt action system in the world thereby making its design one of the most successful ever. Some folks just think that a bunch of Washington bureaucrats came up with 1898 based on the fact that it was 70 years prior and provided a nice, easy, round number with which to work. Since when is government work that simple?

http://rockislandauction.blogspot.com/2013/06/5-things-you-might-not-know-about.html

[Grendl]

That Red Jackson dude was a douche. Why couldn't he have picked a later date?