Is It Legal To Own A Rocket Launcher? What You Should Know About Owning A Rocket Launcher

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Is It Legal To Own A Rocket Launcher, What You Should Know About Owning A Rocket Launcher

You may be asking yourself the question; is it legal to own a rocket launcher? The answer is Yes and No! Rocket launcher is high-caliber military hardware that should generally be in the care of the army personals and other licensed third-party organizations.

Even if you are in a military organization, you cannot own a rocket launcher either for personal or any other use. It all depends on whether you meet the criteria to own this weapon or not.

So, Is It Legal To Own A Rocket Launcher?

No, it is illegal to own a rocket launcher as a civilian. You will need a special permit to own a rocket launcher. Access to a rocket launcher is available to very few people, and it isn’t straightforward to obtain.

In addition to a rocket launcher, it is illegal to own other military-grade weapons like weaponized mines, bombs, or missiles.

In What Case Is It Legal To Own A Rocket Launcher?

You can own a rocket launcher as a private individual even if you do have the experience and you do have any military affiliation. You can own a rocket launcher if you find the launcher on sale, and it is legal o have such a weapon in your state. You must also be willing to pay the transfer tax, which is not less than $200. His tax is payable for the launcher alongside each round it fires.

There are several kinds of guns that civilians may not receive a license to have. In the US, for instance, the 1934 National Firearms Act prohibits the sale and ownership of machine guns to civilians. These prohibited firearms include; pistols and fully automated rifles, sawed-off short-barreled short guns, and silencers.

What Is Rocket Launchers?

Rocket launchers are heavy weapons capable of launching unguided projectiles and powered by a unique rocket motor. Rocket launchers are different from missile launchers that fire guided missiles only or recoilless rifles that rely on missiles’ recoilless launch. The recoilless weapons fire their projectiles with the aid of the traditional gun propellant.

A grenade launcher, also known as a rocket launcher, is a weapon designed to launch a high caliber projectile, and it is often accompanied by smoke and explosion. The commonest one approved for civilian use is quite portable and not as heavy as a grenade launcher for war.

It is still possible to get the larger-caliber rocket launcher, but you have to approach higher military organizations’ levels. Rocket launchers naturally come as a standalone or as a mounted attachment on another weapon. The shoulder-fired rocket launcher is also standard; the larger rocket launchers can be on a mount on vehicles or tripods for launching.

There is a rocket attached to armored fighting vehicles, and most are short arrays of fixed range capability. Since most civilian-grade rocket launchers are not as expensive as military-grade grenade launchers, the licensing of civilian usage grenade launchers remains difficult for the most part.

Forms Of Grenade Launchers

While the earliest grenade launchers were slings, they were still able to launch fuse bombs. The modern ballistic grenade launchers in the early 19h century simple muzzle-loading devices.

There are two forms of grenade launchers; these are; Hand grenade launchers and Rifle grenades. Before the first civil war, the hand grenade launchers helped increase the range of infantry hand grenades used in wars.

These grenade launchers were not very effective and were quickly replaced by some Stokes Mortar. Examples of the hand grenade launchers are; Type 89 Grenade Launcher, and Type 91 grenade launcher.

The rifle grenade type is newer and was available during the second world war. The principle behind this grenade launcher is to use the standard military rifle as amount to launch grenades. This option comes with a propelling charge, plus an adaptor mounted on the muzzle of the weapon.

The weapon stock can be fired while it rests on the ground. You may have to load the rifle with a propellant cartridge before firing the grenade if you are using older rifle grenade launcher.

There are also four different types of grenade launchers, these are; Standalone, Attached, Automatic and Fixed arrays.

The standalone rocket launchers are the breech-loading type designed for launching baton rounds and tear gas grenades. The M70 grenade launchers launched in the 1930s are good examples of standalone rocket launchers. The standalone are the commonest types of civilian-approved grenade launchers that fire smaller rounds of rockets.

The attached grenade launchers are those that require much lower internal pressure plus a short barrel. It is lightweight in design and can be mounted below the barrel of a traditional rifle. The loading of the grenade under a barrel will make the rocket launcher light enough for the user to launch the grenade.

Under-barrel grenade launchers have better grip and safety measures. It also uses a separate ladder, tangent and leaf.

The automatic grenade launcher is also referred to as grenade machine gun. It has a crew-served support hat can fire explosive rounds of grenades in rapid succession.  Automatic grenade launchers are the most sophisticated grenade launchers and are mounted on a tripod or vehicle mounting platform. Since they are quite heavy, and can launch grenades that can destroy vehicles.

Fixed arrays are single shot grenade launchers for short range firing. This type of grenade launcher is mostly use for self-defense. It is mostly used to fire smoke grenades.

These grenade launchers can also be used in loading chaff flares. They are also anti-personnel grades that can be used in repelling infantry attacks. They are also referred to as smoke dischargers.

How To Own A Rocket Launcher

Gun buybacks are becoming more popular all-over North America and what makes it even more newsworthy is that people are turning in their rocket launchers more.

Despite the evidence that rocket launchers are available in the hands of civilians all around the USA, they seem to be harmless and quite easy to get, but if you are in the army or marine. As a civilian, it is still difficult to obtain a license to bear a rocket launcher.

For most states in the US, the rocket launcher available for civilians are mere fiberglass tubes and not he military-grade launchers used for war and other heavy military operations. Fiberglass rocket launchers tend to be harmless, and once they are fired, they cannot be reloaded. You may confirm this fact from people who are already licensed to use them.

The services rendered for rocket launchers do come with regulations once you sign for the rockets. Those rocket launchers for civilians are considered ammunitions and not military weapons.  Unlike weapons that must be returned to the armory, you will have to throw your rocket launcher into a thrash after use because it is of no use again.

The AT-4 is one of the commonest civilian-grade rocket launchers popular in the USA. You can only fire its rocket once and it can’t be reloaded.

For this reason, it is quite common to see civilians who obtained license for rocket launchers to hang the ammunitions on the wall or keep them somewhere as souvenirs.

As a civilian, it is possible o get a rocket launcher online, but you will still have to undergo the procedures for obtaining a license.

Obtaining a rocket launcher will take between 9 and 12 months. This period is necessary to get a tax stamp for your rocket launcher. You will have to wait further for a number of security checks to be conducted by authorities. There has been changes in gun laws in not only the USA but in many other countries where gun violence is common.

Once your security checks are complete, you will have to make payments for your rocket launcher. You may has to appear in person, if you are obtaining a weapon for the first time because finger-printing procedures are part of the application process.

If your application for rocket launcher is eventually approved and you have made all necessary payments, you may have to sign an undertaken to ensure you are responsible for the use of rocket launcher.

Conclusion

Using a rocket launcher demands some responsibilities, considering the rocket launcher’s size and potential to cause enormous damages. From statistics released, less than 40% of individuals who apply for rocket launchers do not scale through their applications successfully.

The reason for high rates of rejection for rocket launcher is linked to the inability of applicants to demonstrate enough capability to handle rocket launchers and avoid high casualties. Individuals with even minor weapon-related criminals records are also denied ownership of rocket launchers during application stages.

It is also important to note that rocket launcher licenses are renewable every few years, and it is even possible to have such renewals turned down when the owner breaches any part of the agreement. A rocket  launcher is a heavy weapon that demands some high level of responsibility , hence it demands great handling.

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