Are muzzle brakes legal in NJ? Threaded barrels on semi pistols?
On rifles (all I know about on this topic) brakes are legal, but there can be a fine line between a brake and a flash hider, which is not legal.
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This only applies to semi-auto firearms. Full auto, bolt action, lever action, pump action, revolvers, etc. are free of these silly restrictions.
Brakes are legal.
On rifles, most brakes are threaded onto the barrel. It is the threads that are potentially illegal. They are one of the evil features that you cannot have on a semi-auto rifle. Because you could replace the brake with a flash hider the brake has to be pinned in place if you already have too many other evil features. e.g. a regular semi-auto AR-15 has a detachable magazine and a pistol grip so cannot have a threaded barrel. A Ruger Mini-14 also has a detachable magazine, but no pistol grip, so can have a threaded barrel.
If you are using the brake to make a barrel that is less than 16", have a total length more than 16" then the brake has to be welded to the barrel.
For handguns a threaded barrel is also an evil feature, but most handguns do not have any of the other evil features so it is not an issue for most.
As an aside, the NJ legislature are an odd bunch when it comes to writing gun laws. The definition of an “assault firearm” for a rifle includes this:
(4) A flash suppressor or threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor;
The definition of “assault firearm” for a pistol includes this:
(2) A threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward handgrip, or silencer;
Note how the flash suppressor itself is evil on the rifle, but not on the pistol. So for a rifle, the flash suppressor and the threads to be able to attach one are both evil, but only count as one evil feature. For a pistol, you can have a flash suppressor, but the threads to attach one are evil. As it is deemed OK to pin a brake on a rifle because the threads are no longer accessible, would a pinned flash suppressor negate that evil feature on a pistol?
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Brakes are legal. Flash suppressors are also legal, as are threaded barrels, telescoping stocks, and pistol grips. It is only when you combine two or more of these features (on a semi-automatic rifle that accepts a detachable magazine) that the firearm becomes “illegal.” I use quotes because the feature list is NOT in the actual assault weapons statute. It was put out as a directive by the NJ AG and added to the Administrative code. But that does not make it law. It means that these are the criteria by which NJ law enforcement will determine if your firearm is “substantially identical” to one of the enumerated firearms in the assault weapons statute. In fact, I know of at least one case in Cumberland County (where I’ve been employed in LE for 20 years) where a gentleman was charged based on these criteria (AR pattern rifle with an adjustable stock and a pistol grip). The guy took it to trial and had a retired trooper from the NJSP firearms unit testify as to why the rifle was NOT substantially identical to a Colt AR-15. He was acquitted. The problem is that, for most people, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze. You WILL be charged with having an assault weapon under these standards (if you get caught), so is it worth shelling out for the attorney fees and expert witness fees to fight the case in court? Probably not.
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