antique firearm

Determining what constitutes an antique firearm is part of an overall regulatory system intended to limit the regulation of historic and out-of-date weapons that are deemed ill-suited for committing acts of violence. Federal law provides two primary definitions for antique firearms under the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) and National Firearms Act (NFA), both requiring that the firearm was manufactured in 1898 or prior.

The Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA), codified at 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(16), defines an antique firearm as: 

  • “Any firearm (including any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system) manufactured in or before 1898; or
  • Any replica of any firearm described ... [above] if such a replica – 
    • is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition, or
    • uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition which is no longer manufactured in the United States and not readily available in ordinary channels of commercial trade; or
  • Any muzzle loading rifle, shotgun, or pistol, which is designed to use black powder, or a black powder substitute (added by the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1999).”

This definition excludes weapons that incorporate a firearm frame or receiver, any firearm converted into a muzzle loading weapon, or any muzzle loading weapon that can easily be converted to fire fixed ammunition. 

The definition under the National Firearms Act (NFA) codified at 26 U.S.C. §5845(g) differs from the GCA in structure, but only has minor differences in substance. The NFA does not have specific black powder provisions; nor a replica qualifier for the cutout for fixed fire ammunition weapons manufactured in or before 1898. 

See also: United States v. Tribunella, 749 F.2d 104 (1984). 

[Last reviewed in July of 2026 by the Wex Definitions Team]

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