Annals of Regulation: My CT Short Barrel Saga

By Dan Zimmerman

Reader Matt writes:

I had planned to wait for my paperwork to be completed to send this in to the TTAG staff but after reading that the ATF may be intentionally delaying NFA paperwork for those of us in Connecticut I decided not to wait for the proverbial cows to come home. These rumors/revelations/accusations also conveniently aid the point I want to make by sharing my saga with you. Laws and regulations meant to deter criminals or prohibited persons from getting their hands on firearms are disenfranchising law-abiding people . . .

So without further ado, here’s what I went through in order to acquire a short barrel AR15 here in The Nutmeg State. While it will largely be preaching to the choir, I want to illustrate in painful detail the absurdity, time, and money I went through to stay within the letter of the law.

This all started on one fateful day when I stumbled upon a Colt DOE upper on Gunbroker. All I could think was, “Wow that is freaking cool!” Sticker shock and NFA regulations cooled my jets and prevented me from buying it right then and there. The next couple of …read more

Source:: Truth About Guns