Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

Has anyone carried something like a Draco AK pistol in VA?
Virginia considers it in an "assault" type category for purchase (requiring a passport as well as regular ID for purchase).

someone was carrying one of those down by skyline drive.... he was casueing quite the fuss over it I believe he was open carrying, in full combat camo no less.... legaly you can carry that like a pistol but to me your just asking for trouble or trying to start something w/ a LEO

Is your name Leonard Embody?

I'm pretty sure that in certain places you would need a carry permit to OC lawfully. Beyond that ... expect to be hassled regardless of legality.

Concealed only, not open carry.
Specifically, for a SHTF gun you could have a rifle caliber and still be able to CCW to carry it loaded with you if needed.

I know as a retired LEO if I saw someone carrying that thing I would have to check him or her out. To me that is stupid unless all you are trying to do is attract attention which defets the purpose of concealed carry.
Bill

"Concealed only, not open carry."

The only way you could conceal carry that thing is if you were dressed like Sam Kinison, and that in itself would be drawing attention toward yourself.

As long as it doesn't have a threaded barrel and a magazine with a capacity of more than nineteen rounds, it looks like it's okay for open carry, so probably for concealed carry as well, unless you get into court and they decide it was originally designed to be fired from the shoulder, or not with one hand (federal definitions are not relevant in state court, the fact that the feds consider it a pistol could be irrelevant).

You could inquire with the Attorney General's office, but don't expect a response. Similar the state police - they'll probably reply, but cite an irrelevant section of code and give you a non-answer. No one wants to be on record about this stuff in case they decide they want to prosecute.

SELFDEFENSE wrote:Concealed only, not open carry.
Specifically, for a SHTF gun you could have a rifle caliber and still be able to CCW to carry it loaded with you if needed.

Isn't that technically wrong? The very fact that you have a pistol chambered in it makes it not a rifle cartridge.

Anyways, have you looked at the terminal performance of .223/5.56mm or 7.62x39 out of such a short barrel? Generally, no fragmentation and just pencil holes. You are better off with a real pistol IMHO.

"Anyways, have you looked at the terminal performance of .223/5.56mm or 7.62x39 out of such a short barrel? Generally, no fragmentation and just pencil holes. You are better off with a real pistol IMHO"

That is true of the 5.56 below about 2750 fps, but not the 7.62x39. Other Draco owners have measured the muzzle velocity loss relative to a standard AK as about 150 fps which is not bad.

Diomed wrote:As long as it doesn't have a threaded barrel and a magazine with a capacity of more than nineteen rounds, it looks like it's okay for open carry, so probably for concealed carry as well, unless you get into court and they decide it was originally designed to be fired from the shoulder, or not with one hand (federal definitions are not relevant in state court, the fact that the feds consider it a pistol could be irrelevant).

You could inquire with the Attorney General's office, but don't expect a response. Similar the state police - they'll probably reply, but cite an irrelevant section of code and give you a non-answer. No one wants to be on record about this stuff in case they decide they want to prosecute.

I think you are probably right. I will have to investigate more, but having to show a passport, as well as regular ID, to purchase made me think they might treat it as something different from a regular pistol.

SELFDEFENSE wrote:"Anyways, have you looked at the terminal performance of .223/5.56mm or 7.62x39 out of such a short barrel? Generally, no fragmentation and just pencil holes. You are better off with a real pistol IMHO"

That is true of the 5.56 below about 2750 fps, but not the 7.62x39. Other Draco owners have measured the muzzle velocity loss relative to a standard AK as about 150 fps which is not bad.

The Draco's are more like SBRs without a stock. The barrel is around 12" (depends on who you ask). AR pistols generally are 7.5". Big difference.

What is the wounding/killing mechanism for 7.62x39? It doesn't tumble until very deep penetration. It doesn't fragment. It just punches a 7.62mm hole (which I should note is much smaller than a 9mm hole ). See:

http://www.frfrogspad.com/terminal2.htm

It doesn't even begin to yaw until 25cm! That is 10 inches and people were complaining about M855 not yawing until 7 inches sometimes.

gunderwood wrote:

SELFDEFENSE wrote:"Anyways, have you looked at the terminal performance of .223/5.56mm or 7.62x39 out of such a short barrel? Generally, no fragmentation and just pencil holes. You are better off with a real pistol IMHO"

That is true of the 5.56 below about 2750 fps, but not the 7.62x39. Other Draco owners have measured the muzzle velocity loss relative to a standard AK as about 150 fps which is not bad.

The Draco's are more like SBRs without a stock. The barrel is around 12" (depends on who you ask). AR pistols generally are 7.5". Big difference.

What is the wounding/killing mechanism for 7.62x39? It doesn't tumble until very deep penetration. It doesn't fragment. It just punches a 7.62mm hole (which I should note is much smaller than a 9mm hole ).

Unless 1 mag is loaded with Hornady V-Max and the other is loaded with lead soft points (which mine are). Big diff from a pistol wound.