Franklin Armory’s Reformation Returns

A new legal ruling has paved the way for the return of Franklin Armory’s Reformation. You may remember back in 2018 Franklin Armory launched the Reformation, an AR-15 with Franklin Armory’s patented straight cut land and groove rifling design. This placed the Reformation in a grey area of being neither a rifle nor a shotgun. Franklin Armory argued this meant that as simply a ‘firearm’ the Reformation was not subject to the NFA and could have a short barrel without requiring a Tax Stamp. In 2019, however, the ATF classified the Reformation as a GCA-only regulated short-barrel shotgun - last month this was overturned.

In February, the ATF issued a new ruling, following a lawsuit levelled by Franklin Armory. As a result the company says they will now “begin shipping a variety of Reformation model configurations to consumers through federally licensed firearm dealers (FFLs) this week.”

Franklin Armory President Jay Jacobson said: “Reformation was designed to be the ultimate home defense weapon. It provides excellent ballistic effectiveness in a short package, yet it does not trigger any NFA entanglements because the ruling made it clear that Reformation is simply just a GCA Firearm. It has been an honor to secure this victory for the Second Amendment community in the face of agency overreach and tenacious litigation.”

 Below is a section from Franklin Armory’s announcement of the Reformation’s return which explains the FRAC v. Garland ruling:

“Adjudicated Proper Classification for Reformation Granting Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgement on behalf of Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition (FRAC) and Franklin Armory in FRAC v. Garland, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel M. Traynor stated emphatically that the ATF “exceeded its authority” in attempting to classify Reformation as a “shotgun” under either the GCA or the NFA. Excerpts from Judge Traynor’s ruling include:

- Congress defined “shotgun” specifically and said it had a “smooth bore.”

- The definition of “smoothbore”…is unambiguous. The barrel has “no grooves or ridges on the inner surface.”

- According to the contemporary dictionary, straight grooves in a barrel would not fit the definition of “smoothbore” or “rifle.”

- Congress gave ATF the ability to enforce the law, not change it.

- Franklin Armory presented a square peg, and ATF shoved it into a round hole. If Congress wanted “shotgun” to be a catch-all category for anything that doesn’t fit “rifle,” it could have done so.

- Franklin Armory created a weapon that doesn’t fit into the round holes made my Congress, but that does not give ATF authority to change the shape or size of the hole to make the Reformation fit.

- Therefore, ATF exceeded its authority in defining “smoothbore” as anything lacking “functional rifling.”

Judge Traynor’s ruling further ordered that the ATF’s prior misclassification of Reformation must be vacated to its proper classification as a GCA-only weapon, and that “No further action from ATF is needed.””

 7.5-inch and 11.5-inch barrel length versions of Reformation are now available for purchase through Franklin Armory’s dealer network in the vast majority of US states. Below is some information on the two models:

“Reformation Model Configurations and Pricing

Each Reformation model features the patented NRS™ (Not a Rifle or Shotgun) barrel technology and offers the consumer a choice of either a fine-tuned traditional semiautomatic trigger or Franklin Armory’s patented Binary Firing System®, allowing a single round to be fired on both the pull and release function of the trigger. More information on the operation of the Binary Firing System can be viewed in the video “ How Binary® Works.”

Franklin Armory’s Reformation RS7™ is built on a hard-use rated forged aluminum upper and lower receiver set, featuring a 7.5-inch barrel, a 7-inch Franklin Armory FST handguard, salt bath nitride bolt carrier, B5 Bravo stock, B5 P-Grip 23, B5 vertical grip, pistol length gas system, and Franklin Armory’s linear compensating and flash suppressing Triumvir® muzzle device. Reformation RS7 is available chambered in both 5.56 NATO and .300 Blackout calibers. MSRP for the Binary® equipped Reformation RS7 is $1,179.99. MSRP for the Reformation RS7 with a fine-tuned traditional semiautomatic trigger is $1,099.99.

Franklin Armory’s Reformation RS11™ is built on a proprietary billet aluminum receiver set, featuring an 11.5-inch barrel, an 11.5-inch Franklin Armory FSR handguard, salt bath nitride bolt carrier, Magpul SL-K stock, Ergo Ambi Sure grip, carbine length gas system, and Franklin Armory’s linear compensating and flash suppressing Triumvir® muzzle device. Reformation RS11 is available in both 5.56 NATO and .300 Blackout. MSRP for the Binary® equipped Reformation RS11 is $1,669.99. MSRP for the Reformation RS11 with a fine-tuned traditional semiautomatic trigger is $1,479.99.”

With recent rulings and changes in leadership at the ATF it's certainly an interesting time for the US firearms industry. You can find out more about the Reformation at FranklinArmory.com/Reformation.

Do you remember when the Reformation was first introduced? Were you tempted by the unusual rifling configuration and small package back then? And are you planning to pick up a new Reformation now they’re finally shipping again? Let us know in the comments!