2025 Georgia Codes – Page 157

As used in this part, the term:
(1) “Dangerous weapon” means any weapon commonly known as a “rocket launcher,” “bazooka,” or “recoil-
less rifle” which fires explosive or nonexplosive rockets designed to injure or kill personnel or destroy heavy
armor, or similar weapon used for such purpose. The term shall also mean a weapon commonly known as
a “mortar” which fires high explosive from a metallic cylinder and which is commonly used by the armed
forces as an antipersonnel weapon or similar weapon used for such purpose. The term shall also mean a
weapon commonly known as a “hand grenade” or other similar weapon which is designed to explode and
injure personnel or similar weapon used for such purpose.
(2) “Machine gun” means any weapon which shoots or is designed to shoot, automatically, more than six
shots, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.
(3) “Person” means any individual, partnership, company, association, or corporation.
(4) “Sawed-off rifle” means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from
the shoulder; and designed or redesigned, made or remade, to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed
metallic cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifle bore for each single pull of the trigger; and
which has a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length or has an overall length of less than 26 inches.
(5) “Sawed-off shotgun” means a shotgun or any weapon made from a shotgun whether by alteration, modi-
fication, or otherwise having one or more barrels less than 18 inches in length or if such weapon as modified
has an overall length of less than 26 inches.
(6) “Shotgun” means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the
shoulder; and designed or redesigned, and made or remade, to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed
shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single
pull of the trigger.
(7) “Silencer” means any device for silencing or diminishing the report of any portable weapon such as a
rifle, carbine, pistol, revolver, machine gun, shotgun, fowling piece, or other device from which a shot, bul-
let, or projectile may be discharged by an explosive.

No person shall have in his possession any sawed-off shotgun, sawed-off rifle, machine gun, dangerous
weapon, or silencer except as provided in Code Section 16-11-124.