We often wonder what types of weapons are legal in the US and which ones are not. Well mini guns are considered completely legal in the USA and there are only 11 civilian owned mini guns. However, it is hard to find a mini gun in the market, they tend to pop up once in a while.

A mini gun which is considered as among the most devastating guns in the world, can fire between 2,000- 6,000 rounds per minute, this is at least 166 rounds per second. It is legal for a US citizen at least 21 years of age to own a mini gun. In the US it is legal for one to purchase any fully automatic weapon that was manufactured before 1986, if they can find one. The ATF ruled that a mini gun is classified under the category of machine guns.

In the 26 U.S.C. 5845(b): DEFINITIONS (MACHINE GUN) The ATF defines a machine gun as “ Any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot automatically more than one shot without manual reloading by a single function of the trigger” 26 U.S.C. 5845 (b). This definition of a mini gun firmly places it into the category of a machine gun.

There are however many steps that one has to follow before owning that mini gun:

1. The mini gun has to have been manufactured before May 19th 1986

2. The mini gun has to be legally owned by the person selling it.

3. The party who wants to buy the mini gun has to get permission from the ATF to own it.

4. The purchasing party has to pay a tax of 200 dollars for the mini gun and get a stamp, then get it registered with the help of a dealer in the Destructive Devices which is a type of FFL.

5. One must pass a very invasive background check that takes from 6 month to 12 months.

6. One must have a safe and secure storage for the mini gun.

According to the Federal Firearms License (FFL), a license body in the USA that deals with company and individual handling, manufacturing and importing of firearms, one must fulfill all FFL Requirements before being allowed to own any kind of machine gun. The supply of these guns has been dry since 1986 when registration closed. If by any chance there is one that is legally transferable, it is very costly and might cost one over 400,000 dollars. The least expensive 7.62*51 mm ammo for an M134 might cost at least 0.50 dollars per shot.

Since 1986 was the cutoff date for the registration of these weapons to private citizens they appreciate in value every year. In order for one to own such a weapon, one has to be in a state where it is legal to own it. On a federal level it is completely legal to own the Mini gun but some states do not allow citizens to own NFA Weapons.