Franklin armory new non-NFA SBR AR in 5.56 courtesy of thetruthaboutguns.com

Do to some confusion, and ongoing confusion, we removed the original post and have reposted the post post-haste. I had the chance to shoot the Franklin Armory Reformation today. I snuck a peak down the barrel and didn’t see any rifling. For less information click here. We will know for sure tomorrow.

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124 COMMENTS

    • Outdoor Hub has a write up stating that it is in fact rifled and shoots very well. Story just posted over there.

      • I’ve tried to leave the link. But yeah, I read the same article. I love me some TTAG but this is kinda weird.

      • Outdoor hub had 2 posts about the Franklin Reformation. The first post said it was rifled. The second post, which was posted hours later, said “It was a blast to shoot and the binary trigger is awesome, but we still don’t know anything else about it”. Soooo the confusion continues. When they said it was rifled they did not mention the source. I spent a fair amount of time with the Franklin guys today and they would not give any specific information. We will have all the details at 8:30:05 Vegas time tomorrow. Keep this in mind, 11.5” barrel with a stock….

        • The trick is putting in lands and groves that have no twist are NOT rifling, nor is it a smooth bore, So it is neither a riffle of a shotgun.

    • Hahaaaha priceless, a non-sbr assault musket accurate out to 20 meters, firing .223 centre fired mini rockets.

  2. Damn.. I could not figure out how they did the non NFA thingy, but didn’t see that coming. Minute of barn?

    Barrel rifling was invented in 1498. So for several hundred years, we have known that smooth bores are less accurate. Stepping back in time?

    Given that pistols will do just about everything and SBR will do without the NFA crap, why loose accuracy to a smooth bore??

    • Is the bore oval in cross-section, though? If done well, it seems like smoothbore wouldn’t have to *necessarily* mean inaccurate. I’d like to hear more here, especially since I don’t know a lot about the capabilities of oval bores, or what testing has been done with them in the past.

      • I think there’s a reason they made the barrel length the size it is and not shorter for a really compact SBR because an oval bore would need enough length to travel through the oval path and build up spin for decent CQB accuracy. If the barrel was too short, having an oval bore would really degrade bullet accuracy.

    • “why loose accuracy to a smooth bore??”

      Think about it, Rabbi – Extreme velocity in close quarters.

      You get gas blow-by anyways in the rifling grooves, trade off that with the reduction in drag from the projectile not engaging the lands. Most barrel heating is rifling friction. Convert that energy into free velocity.

      Accuracy doesn’t matter at near arm’s length range. Extreme velocity does make for ugly wounds…

      • If rifling = heat, then this gun should run cooler than normal binary equipped AR-platforms running at full tilt.

        ….even better for your home defense double tap needs.

  3. Smoovbore? So it’s a shotgun, not a rifle. A really small shotgun. That holds a lotta rounds.

    For those hummingbird hunts.

    • If it was a shotgun, it would need to have an extra seven inches on the barrel to comply with the NFA.

      • not if it’s 26″ overall length – see TAC14 or Raptor 590.

        the idea of smoothbore is that it’s not a rifle without RIFLING, per the definition of “rifle” in the NFA. It’s just a firearm.

        • I’m gonna be that guy here…
          I have a Raptor-equipped 590A1, and it’s no Shockwave, which is what I think you meant. Mine has an 18.5″ bbl, OAL of over 26″, so it’s still a shotgun.
          (I’ve forgotten the right word a lot, but Google is a good memory helper)

    • Here is the legal status, I think:

      18 USC 921(7) says: “The term “rifle” means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of an explosive to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger.”

      So, it is not a “rifle,” because it does not fire a projectile through a rifled bore.

      18 USC 921(a)(5) says: “The term “shotgun” means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of an explosive to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger.”

      A shotgun by definition must be able to fire “either,” a number of ball shot “or” a single projectile — that is, it must be capable of firing both slugs and ball shot. This is not a “shotgun,” because, although it can fire a single projectile (from a 5.56 round), it cannot fire “a number of ball shot” — there is, to my knowledge, no shotgun round that would feed in a 5.56 action. (Not that creative minds could not come up with one.)

      Because it is neither a “rifle” nor a “shotgun,” it does not meet the definitions of short-barreled rifle or shotgun in 18 USC 921(a)(6) & (8).

      This is effectively a short-barreled semiautomatic musket. As such it is a “firearm” 18 USC 922(a)(3), and so cannot be converted to automatic fire, since the NFA restricts “firearms” of all kinds from such conversion or manufacture.

      It’s a clever way to avoid paying for a tax stamp, and might be effective at short range.

      • Well, the gun grabbers keep saying that the Second Amendment only protects muskets – so here we have a high-tech musket!

        • You just earned $20 TTAG bucks for this. Worth with the current exchange rate that gives you $.02. But seriously, good point!

      • Almost. In the definition of a shotgun, note the word “or” (“…either a number of ball shot or a single projectile…”).
        So, a firearm intended to fire a single projectile through a smoothbore barrel would still be a shotgun, by definition.
        I have no idea how this bears on the firearm in question, though, as we simply don’t have that info yet.

        • No, it has to be capable of firing both shot shells and single projectiles — the “either – or” means that it must offer the option to the shooter of using either one or the other.

      • If it can get 5MOA it’ll be effective out to 300yds, which is all 300BLK and most 7.62×39 is good for anyways!

      • I think this part of the law is the important part, “for each single pull of the trigger.”

        Something to do with the binary trigger I think, or a modification to the binary trigger. Maybe it fires on the release of the trigger. So still a rifled barrel, but it’s the binary trigger that scoffs the law.

      • The trick is putting in lands and groves that have no twist are NOT rifling, nor is it a smooth bore, So it is neither a riffle of a shotgun.

  4. What’s it for? A movie prop? I know Winchester made quite a few 1892s for the movie studios with smooth bores. I am not sure why since blanks will shoot out of rifled barrels as well as smooth barrels. Maybe the studios saved a dollar a gun.

    Anyway, gun collectors being weird these guns that are often marked with the word “smooth” on them, are desirable to collectors.

      • OutdoorHub posted that it’s rifled. Then hours later they posted this, “It was a blast to shoot and the binary trigger is awesome, but we still don’t know anything else about it”. So there ya go. If Franklin said it’s rifled OutdoorHub didn’t mention that in the article. The Franklin guys are not saying anything until 8:30 am. I tried everything short of sexual favors.

    • ATF definition of a shotgun:
      A weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder, and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger.

      Since the Reformation is not designed to fire shotgun shells it is not a shotgun.

      • So logically then if I design a shotgun to take only all-brass military shells, it’s not a shotgun? Because I fail to see the distinction between this gun and a gun designed “to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile” if you define “shotgun shell” in such a way as to include an all-brass shell with a slug in the end.

        • Careful, strych9, I think it’s just the opposite. It’s been shown time and again that the good folks at the BATFE don’t understand or necessarily agree on legal definitions.

      • “Since the Reformation is not designed to fire shotgun shells it is not a shotgun.”

        I don’t see the words “shotgun shells” in the definition.
        Instead, I see that the definition includes “…either a number of ball shot or a single projectile…” which can include a .223 round.
        As has been said, though, the BATFE(ARBF) doesn’t always follow it’s own definitions, and we just don’t have enough info yet, we simply don’t know.

    • The optic is just there to look cool, and has no practical function.
      …so it matches perfectly with that gun.

  9. WTF, Franklin Armory said it wasn’t a smoothbore. Well that ruins it, I have no interest whatsoever in a smoothbore 5.56.

  10. Did the marketing guys even attempt to come up with a half-assed attempt at a value proposition for shooting a very light, very high velocity round out of a smooth bore?

    If you guys get one for T&E, shoot it in front of a high speed camera. I’d love to see how many centimeters the bullet gets before it starts tumbling wildly. My guess is 5-10cm.

    • I am predicting that it was designed for heavy .223, 100 gr neighborhood. I bet its way more accurate than people expect. If we can’t get a T&E I will find a way to buy one.

      • “I will find a way to buy one”
        If only the mainstream media were as dedicated to reporting the facts…

  11. A source would be nice. I assumed it was because of the binary trigger. The trigger does NOT shoot one round down a rifled barrel with one pull of the trigger. It shoots one round on trigger break and one on reset so not a rifle and not an automatic.

    • The trigger set up wouldn’t affect the NFA definition for an SBR though. A binary trigger would just make it an SBR with a binary trigger. You’d still have to pay your $200 to the NFA branch of the BATFE for the SBR “privilege”.

      • It might if they did an oddball trigger (say push forward to fire) because the NFA definition of an SBR is based on its own definition of a rifle, which says it fires one projectile with each pull of the trigger.

    • “The term “Rifle” means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed metallic cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger.”

      Nothing there about firing on reset.
      But since the BATFE(ARBF) has already said it won’t abide by its own rules (the Arsenal AF2011-A1 is legal, even though it fires two rounds with a single pull of the trigger, making it, by definition, an automatic weapon), we just don’t know what the legal theory is yet, because that information hasn’t been released yet.

      • I believe the Arsenal 1911 you are talking about (if it’s the same one I think it is), is essentially, to put it crudely, just 2 1911s welded together. There is 2 of everything, magazines, hammers, firing pins, barrels, and of course, 2 separate triggers.

        • There is only one hammer that fires both rounds simultaneously. There are 2 triggers, but only one needs to be pulled in order to drop the hammer, and fire 2 rounds.

    • I pulled the trigger a bunch of times yesterday. I can confirm that it does fire one round with the pull of a trigger. Now it does fire a second round when released but the Gun Control Act doesn’t forbid that. The trigger in this isn’t how they are shoving it up the ATF’s NFA branch.

  13. Tanks have smooth bore main guns, allowing for both standard and fin stabilized ammunition (and remain accurate). Is there a fin stabilized 5.56 round?

  16. I definitely find this hard to believe unless they have designed some fancy muzzle device capable of stabilizing the bullets. Although at distances inside 20 yards i.e. inside the home, I’m sure it is plenty lethal whether it key holes or not.

    I’m still of the mind that it only fires on the release and is therefore not a rifle which “fires once per PULL”.

    • That’s not a fight I would pick with the ATF. Technically you have to pull the trigger to release it and even if you get past that I don’t think a court would buy the “pull” argument.

      Personally I agree with you. A law should say what it means and mean what it says but that’s not the way things work these days. Instead they’d reference 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b) where it refers to “by a single function of the trigger”, argue that to be the real meaning and a judge would probably go for it.

      I doubt even the SCOTUS would have your back on splitting hairs like “pull” vs. “function”. But why bother going to court when they can just write a letter declaring it what they want it to be?

      If what you suggest is what they’ve done I wouldn’t buy one on a bet. It will be illegal in a New York minute.

    • But it does fire once per pull. You pull the trigger and it fires once. The GCA says nothing about firing on release.

    • If the gun fires “once per pull,” that isn’t the same as firing “once on the pull of the trigger.”
      Once per pull includes firing on reset, since the trigger needs to be pulled to reset.
      However, since binary triggers (which fire on both pull and reset) are legal, there must be at least a semi-legal theory there somewhere.

  17. I guess one could come up with ammo that provides its own stabilization – some sort of base-bleed? But then your selection would be pretty limited.

  19. In the announcement article here on TTAG someone in the comments mentioned something like a twisted smooth bore that would impart spin without the need for rifling, could it be they are using that? I doubt that any company would deliberately release a gun you couldn’t shoot accurately.

    • A twisted smooth bore would be polygonal rifling, just like in a Glock pistol and several other guns. All of which class as rifles or pistols, but not as “firearms.”

    • The Russians get around their Regs with a twisting oval (ovular?) bore. I read about it somewhere. It’s not considered rifling and that’s what I think FA did here. Someone posted about barrel length being an issue, maybe it takes that much barrel length to get any kind of stability out of the .223? We’ll see tomorrow but I’m confident I’m right. I was the one that posted this explanation before by the way. It’s currently 2:30 AM so we’ll see if I’m a profit or not in 6 hours or so.

    • OutdoorHub reported that it’s rifled. Then hours later said “It was a blast to shoot and the binary trigger is awesome, but we still don’t know anything else about it”

      TFB did not report that it’s rifled. Their original post specifically said that they don’t know if it’s rifled. The post today said that they will post later. So where did they report that it’s rifled?

  22. Why is TTAG censoring comments that link to the Outdoor Hub article claiming it is a rifled barrel?

    Everyone, do a quickly google of “Franklin Armory Reformation” and look for Outdoor Hub’s article, since it’s apparently blasphemous to post the link in the comments section here.

    It is not a smooth bore. TTAG is wrong on this one

    • Word press blocks links in posts frequently. We don’t believe in censorship we believe in the truth. Soooo everyone go google Franklin Armory outdoor Hub. But make sure you read both articles…. the first one claims it’s rifled, the second article, which was published hours later, says “It was a blast to shoot and the binary trigger is awesome, but we still don’t know anything else about it” DONT KNOW ANYTHING ELSE is the important part.

  24. Lancaster oval bore rifling? Guess we’ll see when *everyone* posts up Franklin’s announcement tomorrow.

  25. But can it ‘bypass’ cali laws I wonder???

    A stick in the eye of the dems running that state of madness!

    • I seriously doubt it will be Cali ok. FOod for thought, the voters run the state not the politicians. I know that might sound crazy to a lot of people.

      • IMO food for thought

        35 years of unchecked ILLEGAL immigration and DACA?
        Leads to what we have in cali today –all the repb’s left the state in 1994 when we could have stopped the madness with prop 187! but the other 49 states FAILED to act and FAILED to save cali!

  26. Um- Franklin Armory could not have botched this roll out any worse had they tried. They look like clowns. And unless they have something that’s not already been considered, it’s a failure before it begins. No one is interested in a smooth bore, even for free, if that’s what it is.

    • Oh people are interested. Smooth bore muzzle loaders from the 1800’s can do 5″ groups at 50 yards. A modern gun with modern ammo could do much better I bet.

  27. I think the upper and barrel are permanently attached making the barrel longer than 16″ in the ATFs eyes….

    • Barrel length is measured from the tip of the bullet to the end of the barrel. If a permanently attached barrel to receiver would make loop hole SBRs then they would already be made by everyone. To skirt the NFA they are going to have to sacrifice something, like rifling. I think other companies have not done this because of accuracy concerns. Modern heavy .223 will help a little with that. But also keep in mind that weapons that trick the NFA are hot right now, look at the braces, binary triggers and short barreled shotguns with an overall length over 26”

      • almost….

        “The ATF procedure for measuring barrel length is to measure from the closed bolt (or breech-face) to the furthermost end of the barrel or permanently attached muzzle device. ”

        ” Barrels are measured by inserting a dowel rod into the barrel until the rod stops against the bolt or breech-face. The rod is then marked at the furthermost end of the barrel or permanently attached muzzle device, withdrawn from the barrel, and measured. ”

        https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/atf-national-firearms-act-handbook-chapter-2/download

        • No idea? I have some idea. I might have made a 2 am been up all day in the sun walking around Vegas mistake. Either way having a permanently attached receiver at the chamber side of the barrel would not affect barrel length. Anything permanently attached needs to me attached at the front of the barrel to round as barrel length.

    • That would just make it a rifle. I could be wrong but i thought their atf letter said this was specifically a “firearm”

    • Up close pics on the outdoor hub show a standard looking 3 position binary trigger switch, suggesting that it’s not getting around the NFA with a oddball binary-only or push trigger.

    • Vee have vays to make you grammatically correct, Herr Grammar Fuhrer.

      (Sign the papers, old man…)

  30. hoisted by their own petard. Not sure of the details BUT this seems like another bump stock fiasco trying to skirt the ATF rules. ( in my state smooth bore black powder rifles/revolvers are not considered firearms, No BG check) I wish these mfg’s. Would stop pouring gasoline on the god damned fire. More shit for the prog shits to BAN, they’re already working on trigger modifications ban.

  31. I think it has linear “rifling”.
    Linear rifling is technically and legally not rifling as it does not cause the bullet to spin in any way.
    Just some straight lines in the barrel. They were fist used in muskets to make cleaning of the barrel easier (think octagonal barrel and stuff). But then people discovered the rifle was more accurate as well, an accidental benefit.
    So linear rifling is not spin-rifling that would classify it as a rifle under 18 usc 921, but not a shotgun either.
    Just a fancy 21st century firearm with a shoulder thing that goes up, scary high capacity clippazines and a short assault barrel.
    They already ruined my binary only or shoot-on-release-trigger theory, so i hope i’m right this time.

    • Another idea:
      Maybe it doesn’t have rifling at all but a rifled choke at the end. If you put a choke, so a shotgun thingy, in a rifle thingy, it could be neither one nor the other. Maybe.
      Whatever it actually is, we should collect all the ideas we had here and atf-approve each and every one of them just to have a collection of 10 legal nfa-workarounds. So everybody can pick whatever they like.

  32. Recoil confirms it’s ‘straight rifling’. This is old tech, so can’t be patent protected. Where do I get straight rifled barrels to build my own?

    • I just saw the Recoil web article and thought the same thing. All I need is the upper thank ya very much 🙂

    • Straight rifling is still rifling. The Gun Control Act doesn’t specify that the rifling have a twist. We will now in 30 minutes whats up.

      • “Straight rifling” doesn’t meet the definition of rifling:
        -SPIRAL grooves cut inside the barrel to impart a spin to the projectile, thus stabilizing it in flight.

        Straight rifling isn’t spiral, and it also does not impart spin.

  33. The answer is up on TFB. It’s essentially a smoothbore although not quite. I don’t believe it counts as an oval bore like some had mentioned but basically it’s a 50 yards and inside rifle. I’ll stick to my SBRs that will probably cost less anyways.

  34. My theory it’s technically a pistol because it comes with a note saying you super double pinky promise not to shoulder it…..yes, I know it’s dumb but it’s about as educated of a guess as everyone else’s.

    But in all seriousness, could it be a smoothbore with some sort of special muzzle device that puts spin on the bullet? Maybe a snap-on rifled section or a muzzle break with ports that put spin on the bullet?

    Or theory#3; it’s just a smoothbore range toy.

  35. Yes! another “stick it to the man” firearm! Love it.j

    30 shot musket?? 😉 Aim small, miss small..

  36. Regardless of what it is, good luck convincing the local yokel that it’s not an SBR. You may beat the wrap, but you won’t beat the ride.

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