C&R · IV · 172
Maxim machineguns, Maxim Nordenfelt & Vickers
Section IV: still an NFA firearm, also a curio or relic
Official wording
ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION IV · VERBATIM · PDF P. 86 ↗
Maxim, machineguns, produced by Maxim Nordenfeldt and Vickers Sons & Maxim from approximately 1885 through 1908, all cal.s.
What this entry requires
- ATF REQUIRESMade or imported as stated: “produced by Maxim Nordenfeldt and Vickers Sons & Maxim from approximately 1885 through 1908”
- ATF REQUIRESMade 1885–1908 (ATF’s dates)ATF: “1885 through 1908”
- INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
United KingdomBasis: outside reference ¹- Manufacturer
- Maxim Nordenfelt Guns & Ammunition Co.; Vickers, Sons & MaximBasis: the ATF wording
- Type
- MachinegunBasis: the ATF wording
- Action
- Select-fire / autoBasis: the ATF wording
- Caliber
- All calibersBasis: the ATF wording
- Made
- 1885–1908Basis: the ATF wording
- Service
- Military
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 86 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: High · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “Maxim gun” ↗, country: infobox origin United Kingdom; main manufacturers Maxim Nordenfelt (1888–1897) and Vickers, Sons & Maxim (1897–1911), both British (office at 32 Victoria Street, London)
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- None
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Maxim gun, Georgian national museum.JPG” by Jonathan Cardy, CC BY-SA 3.0. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “Maxim gun”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Maxim gun is a recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Maxim. It was the first fully automatic machine gun.