C&R · IV · 249
Marlin M1917 ground machinegun
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. 89 ↗
U.S., Model 1917 Marlin ground machinegun, cal. 30/06.
What this entry requires
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1917–1918.
- INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).
Editorial facts · Our research
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 89 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun” ↗, maker: Colt sold the machinery and rights to Marlin Rockwell in 1916; Marlin developed the improved version adopted in 1917 as the 'Marlin Gun' / 'Model 1917'
- 2. forgottenweapons.com ↗, years (estimate: partly supports it): Marlin made several thousand for allied nations and 2,500 for the US Army to use as training guns in 1917 (Wikipedia: adopted in 1917, about 2,500 purchased); end year not stated
- 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, “Colt Potato Digger.JPG” by Hmaag, CC BY-SA 3.0. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Colt–Browning M1895, nicknamed "potato digger" because of its unusual operating mechanism, is an air-cooled, belt-fed, gas-operated machine gun that fires from a closed bolt with a cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute. Based on an 1889 design by John Browning and his brother Matthew S. Browning, it was the first successful gas-operated machine gun to enter service.