Importation & Verification of Firearms, Ammunition and Implements of War
National Firearms Act Definitions
Any Other Weapon
For the purposes of the National Firearms Act, the term “Any Other Weapon” means:
- Any weapon or device capable of being concealed on the person from which a shot can be discharged through the energy of an explosive;
- A pistol or revolver having a barrel with a smooth bore designed or redesigned to fire a fixed shotgun shell;
- Weapons with combination shotgun and rifle barrels 12 inches or more, less than 18 inches in length, from which only a single discharge can be made from either barrel without manual reloading; and
- Any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire.
Such term shall not include a pistol or a revolver having a rifled bore, or rifled bores, or weapons designed, made, or intended to be fired from the shoulder and not capable of firing fixed ammunition.
Examples of “Any Other Weapon” include:
![Various items classified as AOW including H & R Handy Gun, Ithaca Auto-Burglar, and Marble Game Getters.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120928163121im_/http://www.atf.gov/graphics/firearms/importation-guidebook/nfa-aow-1.jpg)
![Various items classified as AOW including wallet guns, cane guns, knife guns, and pen guns.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120928163121im_/http://www.atf.gov/graphics/firearms/importation-guidebook/nfa-aow-2.jpg)