Yes, I agree that these are probably the most common, unregistered NFA items. Most of these were offered out before the 1934 NFA Act. This was back when you could mail order a Thompson Submachinegun from a catalogue.
Those Maxims were given out, as you mentioned, for things such as War Bond premiums, service recognition, etc. Hell, I imagine a bank or two gave them away for opening a savings account!! Since these guns were so big and "impractical" along with the fact that many were received by "non gun" people, many were never registered during the amnesty. I've also seen a bunch of these over the years that are considered contraband, including a rare Vickers "Balloon Gun".
Up until the mid 1990s, there was a fully working Maxim with sled mount, spray painted silver, simply chained to the flagpole, (with a dog chain!) outside a Vermont post office I am familiar with.
Maxims are still the cheapest, registered, belt fed MG available to a lawful purchaser.
|