Five Machine Guns for Your Last-Minute Christmas Shopping

Christmas is closing in fast, and many of us could use some last-minute shopping ideas.

Breitbart News, therefore, wants to promote five machine guns that would make great Christmas purchases.

Granted, the process for getting a machine gun is so riddled with bureaucratic nonsense that even if you purchase one today, you will not get it until six to eight months after Christmas. (A machine gun purchase requires the buyer to be photographed, fingerprinted, and subjected to a background check. The buyer must also register the machine gun and pay the federal government a $200 tax.) But at least the purchase will be made, and Santa can leave a friendly note explaining that you have a machine gun on the way!

For those who do not know, machine guns are legal to own in the majority of states. The catch with purchasing one is that the gun has to have been manufactured before May 19, 1986. Because of this, there is a finite number of guns available. Therefore, prices can be exceedingly high.

Here is a list of five possibilities for Christmas purchase:

Thompson Submachine Gun (manufactured 1921): When you think Thompson Submachine Gun, you think black trench coats and 1920s gangsters. The gun left an indelible mark on American history and is almost immediately identifiable to any one who grew up watching mobster movies. The gun, made by Colt, is chambered in .45 acp (just like a 1911 handgun). It has a drum magazine that holds 50 rounds, blued finish on the barrel and receiver, a wooden stock, pistol grip, and fore grip. The gun screams, “American-made!”

Approximate price of a Colt Thompson Submachine Gun is $38,000 to $43,000.

MAC 10 Submachine Gun (original MAC 10s manufactured early-to-mid 1970s): The Mac 10 is a compact machine gun chambered in 45 acp or 9mm. It is a very basic submachine gun that looks like a large pistol with a metal, collapsible stock that can also be unfolded to extend the length of the gun and allow you to leverage it against your shoulder. The Mac 10 uses 30-round magazines that go into the gun through the bottom of the grip, just as with popular semiautomatic handguns today.

Approximate price of a MAC 10 machine gun is $7,500 to $8,500.

UZI (Israeli manufactured): The UZI was originally produced by Israeli Military Industries (IMI). It is chambered in 9mm and takes magazines through the grip of the gun, just like the MAC 10. However, the UZI differs from the Mac 10 in that there is actually a grip forward of the trigger for your off-hand. And the UZI has a rear stock that can be unfolded to extend the length of the gun even further. Because of these things, the UZI feels more like a short barreled rifle than a large pistol. This UZI is part of submachine gun history and is renowned for its reliability.

Approximate price for an IMI UZI is $11,000 to $16,000.

Colt M16: Colt M16s immediately bring back memories of the Vietnam War, the war in which they debuted. They are the guns that the left thinks of when they see an AR-15, yet the M16 and the AR-15 are worlds apart. The AR is a semiautomatic rifle, which means it fires one round (and only one round) every time the trigger is pulled. The M16, on the other hand, is full-auto. It should be noted the M16 has a selector switch that allows the person shooting it to move between full and semi-auto, as well, and this is something else that separates the fully automatic military weapon from the semiautomatic AR. There are various models of the M16, as the Vietnam War was literally its proving ground. Quirks and problems were addressed, and new/updated models of the gun were released as the war went on. An Colt M16 with matching numbers and certain options, like a Vietnam War-era grenade launcher, can be quite expensive.

Approximate prices of a Colt M16 is $36,000 to $42,000.

H&K MP5 Submachine gun: Like the M16, the H&K MP5 was developed in the mid-1960s. It has a selector switch that allows the person using it to move from semiauto to full-auto. The MP5 is one of the most popular and widely used submachine guns in the world. Like other guns in this list, the MP5 may be acquired in a number of variants, some of which have a fixed rear stock and some of which have a collapsible or telescoping rear stock. The MP5 is chambered in 9mm, and the magazine for the firearm is inserted forward of the trigger guard, as with an M16.

Approximate price for a H&K MP5 is $32,000 to $42,000.

It is important to remember that the approximate prices of the guns in this list are just that–approximate. Certain variations in immaculate condition could drive the prices of one of these firearms beyond the price listed here. On the other hand, a heavily used gun that is still in good condition but showing considerable wear may possibly cost less than listed here.

One should also note that this list only gives a taste of these guns. There is far more to each than can be listed here (and there are far more machine guns than are contained in this list).

As with all firearm purchases, knowing the laws of your particular state is the first step to beginning a machine gun purchase. The second step is to ascertain which gun fits you best–deciding which you can afford being a big part of that. Step three: be patient because the process for having the gun transferred into your name moves at a snail’s pace.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of “Bullets with AWR Hawkins,” a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.