Rev. Rul. 60-117

Section 5811(a) of the National Firearms Act (chapter 53 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954) provides that there shall be levied, collected, and paid on firearms transferred in the United States a tax at the rate of $200 for each firearm, except that the transfer tax on any gun with combination shotgun and rifle barrels, 12 inches or more but less than 18 inches in length, from which only a single discharge can be made from either barrel without manual reloading, or any gun designed to be held in one hand when fired and having a barrel 12 inches or more but less than 18 inches in length from which only a single discharge can be made without manual reloading, shall be at the rate of one dollar. Held: for the purposes of this section, manual reloading means the inserting of a cartridge or shell into the chamber of the firearm either with the hands or by means of a mechanical device controlled by the hands. Therefore, a handgun with a revolving cylinder is manually reloaded when a cartridge is brought in line with the bore of the barrel for firing, either by double action function with a pull on the trigger by the finger or by cocking the piece single action by drawing the hammer back with the thumb.

Classification of a 32-20, 6 shot revolver with 12 1/4 inch barrel. See Rev. Rul. 60-118, below.