A buddy of mine (LEO) called me and wanted to meet with me.  He wanted me to help ID a gun.  An older lady, who has Alzhiemers, called him and said that she wanted to get rid of a gun.  He meets with her and recovers an older firearm.  It was her late husband's gun.  He used to be a Sheriff in these parts.  The gun has been in her family for years.  My buddy calls the daughter and asks her what she wants to do with the gun.  She says to go ahead and destroy it or give it to anyone who may want it.  I meet with him to check out the gun. It was an Ithaca Auto and Burglar!!  It had some minor rust on it, but it was pretty sweet.  After some research, I find out that it is a no no to own.  I think that poor thing may get destroyed!  Woe is me.

wow, wonder if you can AOW or SBS it, or is it too late?

Is this it? [img]http://www.webleyweb.com/gifs/autoburg.gif[/img]

Exclusive to The Libertarian Enterprise

        The faded magazine ad haunts us across six long decades of stupidity and corruption:

         "Here's the Ithaca Auto and Burglar gun, the so-called "Sawed Off Shot Gun" which holdup men fear because its load of sixteen buckshot spread over such a wide circle that a poor gun pointer, who would miss with a revolver or pistol ... is very sure to hit ... handy to carry in the pocket of an auto or in a holster ... Detective Harry Loose ... first induced the banks in and around Chicago to use it, then its use spread to sheriffs, police departments, paymasters, watchmen, express messengers, and it's a wonderful home protector. The U.S. Army demonstrated what American shotguns ... would do during the late war. This Ithaca Auto and Burglar Gun weighs about 1 1/4 pounds, it has 20 gauge 12 1/4" barrels, cylinder bore ... Price, including excise tax, $40.55."
        The Ithaca Auto and Burglar was a veritable marvel in its time, a near-perfect blue steel and walnut "magic wand" of self-defense, against strong-arm artists and protection racketeers in the age in which it was introduced, ideal -- because of its light weight, moderate caliber, limited range, and short length -- for women, the elderly, and children who might require it, not only against house burglars, muggers, and the like, but against an abusive or incestuous parent.
        If John Lennon had been carrying an Ithaca Auto and Burglar under his coat, the Fab Four would be selling live albums of their fifth reunion concert by now.
        It is illegal -- or, more accurately and revealingly, placed beyond the reach of all but an economic and political elite -- and has been since 1934, because its 12 1/4" barrels are 5 3/4" shorter than federal law mandates, and its overall length -- roughly 20" -- is shy, by about the same amount, of the minimum length specified by a statute that should never have been passed or judicially upheld in a nation with something like a Second Amendment in its Constitution.

The rest of the info  [url]http://www.webleyweb.com/tle/le970315-03.html[/url]

That would be it.

I wonder if there is a way to petition the BATF to add it to the C&R list and remove it from the NFA list like they have with other firearms like the Artillery Lugar.

I've never understood the barrel and overall length requirements.  Why is it illegal to own that because of the length yet it is legal to own a much shorter handgun?  Can't that shotgun, or any other short barreled firearm, just be classified as a handgun and be declared legal?  I don't get it![whacko]

to destroy a piece of artwork like that would be a goddamn greek tradgety.

i would like to see it donated to a museum. at least there it wouldn't be turned into licence plates.

I just found that gun on the C&R list. It's under section IV, classified as C&R, but still NFA. Maybe there's a way if you have a C&R, can pay the NFA tax and aquire it. Maybe you could talk to the BATF and see what there is to work out.

We have one of those in my part time agency, along with a full auto grease gun that we want to get rid of terribly, but can't because neither has the right papers.

Personally(especially being an Ithacan), I wish Ithaca still made the Auto Burglar, and I think the barrel restriction for a side by side double barrel is pretty silly. See if she is willing to turn them over to your agency; the agency might have a use for it if its still in decent shape, and the thing wont get destroyed that way. I'd hate to see that thing get chopped up.