The Mare's Leg Loophole

I just had time to read this month's issue of GUNS Magazine, and found an interesting article by Senior Field Editor John Taffin on the JB Custom Mare's Leg.

Those of you at least as old as me will remember TV's Wanted: Dead or Alive, where Steve McQueen portrayed Josh Randall, a bounty hunter who carried one of the more memorable firearms of western fiction, the "Mare's Leg."
Starting with a Model 1892 Winchester, the gunsmith cut the barrel back to 12", removed most of the buttstock and re-shaped the lever to a larger more triangular affair. While he was at it he also increased the power significantly by converting the .44-40 to the larger and longer .45-70.
Every month I link to a cool and unique feature on the GUNS website, the issue of their magazine from 50 years earlier. It invariably invokes nostalgia for a simpler time, particularly an era when "gun control" laws were far less onerous and pervasive. Taffin's article reminds us of a stark reality of the time:
The Mare's Leg...was highly illegal by federal standards and required special agents on the set while being used.
So how does JB Custom produce a modern equivalent?
While it is illegal to turn a rifle into a handgun as done by Randall it is not illegal to produce such a firearm as a handgun original.
Yeah, I guess. At least until some evil traitor starts screaming "Loophole!"

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