Pen gun: Don't click this

By Greg Reeves
These are pen guns. They hold a single .22-caliber bullet and fire like a handgun, by clicking. (But you can click the picture, for larger image).
A budding rapper in Ohio killed himself with one, apparently accidentally, the AP reports today:

• ST. PARIS, Ohio (AP) — Steven Zorn had put the pen gun to his head and clicked before, apparently thinking it was jammed and would not work.
• But on the third try, the tiny silver pistol went off as the 22-year-old budding rap artist was drinking to celebrate an impending record deal. He died at a hospital. AP story Cox News Service story

In Kansas City, police occasionally see pen guns or similar weapons designed as cell phones, pagers, even belt buckles, said Capt. Rich Lockhart.
"We get officer safety bulletins on them periodically when we see them, just to remind officers that they are out there," Lockhart said.
Are they legal?
"It’s no different from a handgun or any other kind of gun like that," he said. "It’s a firearm, so if it’s concealed you have to have a permit in Missouri to have a concealed firearm, and you have to be of age."

(Picture above is from Guns America, where pen guns look to be on sale for $325).

Comments

[Tom Kaminski]

What a dummy! Why would you won one of these pieces of trash when you could get a real gun? From a self defense standpoint, this is about the dumbest thing you could do.

[Bob Owens]

Greg, both you and Captain Lockhardt need to read the National Firearms Act of 1934.

The dear captain is totally and completely wrong about pen guns being legally "no different from a handgun or any other kind of gun like that." That could not be further from the truth.

Pen guns are classified under NFA 1934 along with machine guns and anti-tank rifles. They are regulated so severely that they are among the very hardest firearms to buy legally. You'd have to go through the same legal hurdles to buy a pen gun as you would to buy Rambo's machine gun or a flamethrower.

Just becuase they show you a picture of it on a web site, it doesn't mean you can easily buy one. As a matter of fact, this site you link to specifically says, "These are Class III weapons & are classified as AOW."

Had Zorn been arrested with that pen gun instead of killed by it, he could have been subject to a $250,00 fine and 10 years in a federal prison.

The moral of the story? Don't listen to journalists with an anti-gun political agenda. Most don't know what they are talking about.

[Jim]

Seems ironic, he lived by the pen, and died by the pen.

[richard]

where do u get one of those?

[Sunil Dev]

I Want to buy this Pen Gun Kindly Give me a rate of this marvlous Gun.

[Jon Dough]

Tom Kaminski couldn't be more wrong.

There are, in fact, a number of older mfg pen guns that are classified as NFA weapons. They are legal to possess after jumping thru the ATF paperworks hoops and paying the associated fees, somewhere between $200-$400. There have been 3 companies since the early 90's that have produced legal pen guns in .22LR, .22Mag, .25acp, .380acp and .17HMR. These weapons must be folded in half to cock and fire. They are not fired in the 'straight' position and, as such, ATF had declared them handguns and not considered as AOW "Any Other Weapons" under the 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA). They were first manaufactured by American Derrienger as their Model #2 in the early 90's American Derringer manufactured them in .25acp. Braverman Corp took over manufacture in the mid 90's and continued manfacture in .25 but also added models in .22LR, .22Mag and .380 to the lineup. They manufactured these for about 3 years and then ceased production. The Stinger Mfg Corp took over production in 2002. They added a pen gun in .17HMR. Stinger ceased production in 2004. All of these models operated the same and all were viewed as standard handguns by ATF. I have no idea what model pen gun that dumba$$ rapper shot himself with but it if was an American Derringer, a Braverman or a Stinger he was NOT using an illegal weapon. He may have obtained it illegally or he may have been carrying it illegally but the weapon itself was not illegal under federal law.

Had he been arrested, as Tom states, with this weapon he may have been carrying it concealed illegally and subject to whatever local/state penalties that action constitutes. Missouri had a permit to purchase system in place at that time. Had he not obtained it using the permit system that was in place he would have been subject to penalties for violation of that process but ATF would have had no involvement as the weapon was a perfectly legal handgun as determined by that agency.

i want a pen gunnnnnnn!!!!!!

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This Dumbass rapper all of you keep reffering to was a real person who was loved by family and friends and will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him forever so kindly remember that when you are making your posts to this!!!!!

[dave]

its a $5 fee not $200-$400 because its an aow

[Greg]

$200-400 for a pen gun dumbass, not the fee. It's apparent most of you have the reading comprehension of a rock. Morons.

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[Tom]

Why not just build a pen gun? Its not that hard

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