# Is a mass driver/railgun/coilgun legally considered a gun?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-mass-driver-railgun-coilgun-legally-considered-a-gun/471616>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 7, 2008, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-mass-driver-railgun-coilgun-legally-considered-a-gun/471616 "2008-11-07T10:36:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Slackhaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Slackhaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slackhaus)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-mass-driver-railgun-coilgun-legally-considered-a-gun/471616/41 "2017-10-09T17:22:14Z")

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No “Destructive Devices” require a propellant.

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**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2017, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-mass-driver-railgun-coilgun-legally-considered-a-gun/471616/42 "2017-10-09T20:08:48Z")

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> [@Slackhaus](#):
>
> You need a class II license to sell a firearm you made. There are no licensing requirements on home made guns (they don’t even need a serial number) .
> 
> A non-licensed person may make a firearm, provided it is not for sale and the maker is not otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms (such as a convicted felon). (18 U.S.C., Chapter 44; § 922 (d).) Federal law imposes none of the same restrictions on non-licensed possessors, and as a result, homemade guns need not be registered and the owner need not undergo a background check.

This thread has been bumped several times since that was said 9 years ago.

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