BRIEF HISTORY OF THE "SPUTTER GUN"
The story of the Sputter Gun with the original inventor, William M. York Jr. - Utah
YORK ARMS CO was founded in 1977 by proprietor William M York (York) in Hurricane, Utah (50 W Main St). Right from the start York Arms was licensed by the Dept of Treasury as a dealer, manufacture and importer of Class 2 - NFA firearms.
It became known that Samuel Cummings (1927-1998) had many thousands of original WW2 British MK 2 STEN Machine Carbines for sale for about $25 each at his Interarms Manchester, UK warehouse. York visited the UK facility and made an intial purchase of a quantity of the STEN guns in knock down condition with the major portion of the reciever tube removed and scraped in the UK per ATF issued Import Permits. York eventually was able to purchase the entire remaining lot of Interarm STENS and imported the parts before the 1986 blockade caused by the ATF became active. In the early period of it's sales (late 1970s to early 1980s) York Arms sold STEN parts kits as well as new manufactured operational STENs using a combination of new made tube receivers and original WW2 surplus British STEN parts.
Early on York made several written request to the ATF for specific rules and guidelines they may have established for Class 2 manufactures, but the agency would not provide any information outside of the published US Code and Code of Federal Regulations. The ATF by letter told York he could go to the ATF "reading room" in San Francisco if he needed any more information and research the records on his own.
During the so called "gangster era" the US Congress had established in 1934 their legal definition for a "machinegun" (26 USC § 5845(b) - The term “machinegun” means any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. The term shall also include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun, and any combination of parts from which a machinegun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person.
By simple deduction it appeared that a full automatic firearm, that did not have a trigger, could not be defined as a machine gun under the definition that the US Congress had carved out to violate the citizens 2nd Amendment rights with their 1934 NFA taxing scheme to charge citizens who wanted to exercise their right to own (bear) a militia type firearm. Thus the idea of the Sputter Gun was conceived.
The York Arms Sputter Gun was a prototype test gun using 7 major components from the WW2 era British STEN sub-machine carbine, along with other specially fabricated parts to make a complete operational firearm. The gun had no fire control mechanism at all. It was held against the bicep with one hand and cocked and fired with the other hand. It was designed to circumvent the existing U.S. Federal law defining a machine gun. The Sputter Gun, lacking any trigger, was designed to fire multiple rounds automatically, upon release of the fixed firing pin bolt from its safety slot, until all 9mm ammunition was expended from the magazine. The firearm was designed to process ammunition as simply as possible.
ATF says in 1983 they became aware about the national ads that York Arms, was offering for sale a version of the STEN that was capable of fully automatic fire that did not meet the Federal definition as a machine gun. York advertised the “Sputter Gun” (so named by his attorney friend Ron Boutwell) as a firearm for those "who want the fun and excitement of owning and firing a fully automatic firearm without the government tax and red tape." A then employee (Chuck Lanum 1933 - 1998) of the ATF Firearms Technology Branch (FTB) in Wash. D.C. was directed by his boss (Ed Owens 1945 - 2021) and made a scheduled personal visit to the York Arms Co. in Hurricane, Utah, to inspect and discuss some of the STEN based firearms the company was manufacturing under their Class 2 FFL issued by the ATF. York had in attendance at this meeting with Lanum both an attorney and a court reporter. During that meeting Lanum offered his opinion that the Sputter Gun might be considered a “machine gun” under Federal law if a person's finger could be considered the “trigger” of the firearm. Lanum's opinion was scoffed at by all other's at the meeting and that opinion has never been again heard of by anybody else at the meeting, or from anybody else from the Federal Government. The Sputter Gun has never been officially classified in writing to York as a machine gun by the ATF Firearms Technical Branch. Any previous references to this fabricated fact in the public records are in error.
As a foot note - It was learned some time later during a recorded deposition in another case that Lanum, like all other “firearm technician” employees then of the ATF FTB, were not law trained, lawyers or members of the Washington, D.C. Bar (nor any Bar), nor did they have any special training or experience in the law or firearms before being employed by ATF in the Firearms Technology Branch. All their knowledge on firearms laws was based on their own reading of the books and discussion among themselves - OJT so to speak along with make it up as you go. Yet, the employees of that Branch for years had been “preparing or expressing a legal opinion“ direct to the public without any training, direction, or any over-site by the lawyers from the Chief Legal Counsel's office at the ATF. Thus, it appears most all of the many published “legal opinions” by the ATF Tech Branch, as to the law and classifications of firearms under Federal Law, are invalid and illegal as well as being the National Firearms Branch "technicians" practice of law without a license.
[Court Rules governing Unauthorized Practice of Law in Washington D.C. are the responsibility of the local Federal District of Columbia Court of Appeals - see their Rule 49 (a) & (b)(2)(B)].
Classification
The Sputter Gun has never been classified or reclassified as a Machine Gun by the US Congress, ATF or any other organization of the Federal Government and thus has never been "outlawed". The US Congress defined a machine gun in the 1934 National Firearms Act 26 U.S. Code § 5845 and ATF are bound by law to stick with the words of that 1934 definition.
Published by TJ York. History provided by William M. York Jr.