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Does Pre-Ban still exist...?...

4K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  dglockster 
#1 ·
Just curious...;)
 
#2 ·
You know, Doug...I cant explain it better than Mr. Sattler...He is the Law Enforcement Sales Manager and Archival Records Manager at Olympic Arms, Inc. in Olympia, WA and has been with the company since 1993. He is also a Reserve Deputy in a small Southwest Washington county Sheriff's Office.

Ready for a long read? lol...Hope this clears things up a little.

So you want to know if you have a pre-ban or a post-ban receiver. You are not alone! This is one of the most often asked questions I receive each day. Even dealers don't know sometimes, and they sell firearms for a living! For that matter, I have talked to people who asked their local BATF agents what the determining factors are, and the agents were giving incorrect information! So what are the determining factors? Read on my friends...

A few years ago, our government passed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, more commonly known as the 1994 Crime Bill. This law "restricts the manufacture, transfer, and possession of certain 'Semiautomatic Assault Weapons'." (AN OXYMORON IN ITSELF, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT PREACHING TO THE CHOIR.) So what, you say, is a "Semiautomatic Assault Weapon"? The law (Section 921 (a) (30), Title 18 U.S.C.) defines it as so:

Any of the firearms, or copies or duplicates of the firearms in any caliber, known as;
Norinco, Mitchell, Poly Technologies, Avtomat Kalashinikovs.
Action Arms Israeli Military Industries UZI, Galil.
Beretta Ar70 (SC-70).
Colt AR-15
Fabrique National FN/FAL, FN/LAR, FNC.
SWD M-10, M-11, M-11-9, M-12.
Steyr AUG.
Intratec TEC-9, TEC-DC9, TEC-22.
Revolving cylinder shotguns, such as (or similar to) the Street Sweeper and Striker 12.
Any semiautomatic rifle that has the ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least 2 of the following features:
a folding or telescoping stock.
a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon.
a bayonet mount.
a flash suppressor or a threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor.
a grenade launcher.
A semiautomatic pistol that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least 2 of the following features:
an ammunition magazine that attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip.
a threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward handgrip or silencer.
a shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the firearm with the non-trigger hand without being burned.
a manufactured weight of 50 ounces or more when the pistol is unloaded.
a semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm.
A semiautomatic shotgun that has at least 2 of the following features:
a folding or telescoping stock.
a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon.
a fixed magazine capacity in excess of 5 rounds.
an ability to accept a detachable magazine.
Now we all know that some of the features are already regulated by previous laws (E.G. GRENADE LAUNCHERS - THESE WERE CLASSIFIED AS "DESTRUCTIVE DEVICES" ALREADY), and some of them make no real impact in the "war against crime", but there they are.

Now you know what a Semiautomatic Assault Weapon (SAW) is, but how do you determine what it is you have or what you can legally buy or make? What is "pre-ban?" What it all boils down to is when the GUN was built. Edward M. Owen, Jr., Chief of the Firearms Technology Branch of the BATF, has this to say:

"Semiautomatic pistols and rifles assembled after September 13, 1994, and possessing two or more of the features listed in [Section 921 (a) (30), Title 18 U.S.C.] are semiautomatic assault weapons as defined. The fact that the receiver may have been manufactured prior to September 13, 1994, is immaterial to classification of a weapon as a semiautomatic assault weapon. Additionally, payment or non-payment of excise tax is also immaterial to classification of a firearm as semiautomatic assault weapon."
What he is stating is, as far as pre-ban and post-ban is concerned, the date of manufacture of the receiver has nothing to do with anything. If your SAW was built into a whole SAW, or in a complete kit form, before Sept. 13, 1994 (The Date), you are the lucky owner of a pre-ban receiver. If the gun was built after this date, or if the receiver was without all of the parts to make a SAW as of The Date, then it is post-ban. Let me give you a few examples...

John Q. Public bought himself an AR-15 receiver in 1988 and put it in his safe. In April 1997, he decided to build it into a rifle. Was it a gun before The Date? No... so he has to build it into a POST-ban firearm.

Mary Mary Quite Contrary buys an AR-15 lower from her dealer who purchased it 7 years ago, built it into a SAW 2 weeks later, and in January '96 tore it apart to sell as components. Did she buy a pre-ban receiver? Yes... it was a SAW before The Date.

Big Bob Bopper finds a respectable dealer at a gun show who is selling "pre-ban AR pistol lowers." The dealer says he bought them before "the Ban" and registered them as pistol lowers, but never built them into anything. Are they pre-ban? No. Are they pistol lowers? Sure...just post-ban pistol lowers. As long as they don't have two or more "Deadly Features" when they are built, they are legal.

Fred Foosball buys a complete semiautomatic assault rifle kit in August 1994, but doesn't assemble it until September 14th, 1994. Is it a legal pre-ban rifle. Yes... it had all (and I mean ALL) of the pieces to make a complete SAW before the ban. BATF accepts this as a complete pre-ban rifle.

Josh the Impaler purchases a Remington 1100 on July 4, 1994 in order to celebrate Independence Day. A year later, he decides that he would like a pistol grip and folding stock added to make it a better home defense gun. Is this legal? No. The shotgun was complete before The Date, but it was not a SAW before the date, and therefore cannot be modified to a SAW after The Date.
All of this makes for some VERY gray areas. But we all must stay within the law as best as we know how. The basic rule of thumb to use is, if you are planning to buy a pre-ban gun or receiver, make sure that the person selling it to you can prove that it was built as a SAW (or in a complete kit form) before The Date. If he or she can't do this, don't buy it!!!!

Many people also believe that a serial number can tell you whether or not a receiver is pre- or post-ban. This is not always the case. For example, if a manufacturer's books show a serial number as being manufactured on August 23, 1994, and also lists that serial number being shipped on September 3, 1994, is this a pre-ban receiver? Well, that information alone will not tell you. If the books only show when a serial number was made and left, we still don't know how it was shipped. Was it a rifle? or a receiver only? did the dealer who purchased it build it into a SAW before The Date? These are all questions that are unanswerable with the provided information, so don't go on these facts alone!

Crpdeth
 
#3 ·
Doug

I hope that wasn't too much information...If your question is simply "May I legally have evil features on my rifle, 30rnd mags, flash hider, etc". Yes, you can...The "Assault Weapon Ban" is over (for now) and you are allowed to purchase weapons that include those things or install them yourself.

Another grey area though and someone help me out here, but I THINK that if the weapon was bought during the time that the ban was still in effect, you aren't supposed to have those features on it. Again, I'm not sure about that one.

I always have to throw this one in there...If you want a rifle like this, or two or three, buy them now! If you want 20 and 30 round mags, buy 'em...Dont put it off because we will wake up one morning and find that another ban is in place and I am betting money that next time it wont have a sunset clause.

Crpdeth
 
#5 ·
Skip, we agree 100%

I worded my response as thus for the sake of explanation.

The whole "Assault Weapon" thing is a topic of it's own... Our wonderful Government labels anything "evil" that doesn't look like they think it should.

It's just like "switchblade knives", pfft! Bloody hell...I can bring my Handmade German Puma Master up to bear faster than my Italian Stiletto because there is no safety to fumble with, but the Puma is okay, why? because it doesn't look evil.

I guess if I painted my 7mm Mag rifle baby blue, they would smile thinking that I had embraced the whole "non evil look" idea and I was a true sporting target fella... Never mind the fact that those colors would blend real well with the water tower 2 streets over. What I am saying is that they have their heads in the sand, god forbid they look at the obvious problem and actually keep criminals in jail... That would cost them too much money and they are too busy spending that money foolishly, lasciviously and ignorantly to do something worthwhile with it.

Crpdeth
 
#7 ·
The "Assault Weapon Ban" is over (for now) and you are allowed to purchase weapons that include those things or install them yourself.
This issue may not be that cut and dried when it comes to installing parts.
Even though the "Assault Weapon Ban" has ended, one must still abide by Title 18 of the US Code (18 USC), Chapter 44 Section 922 Paragraph R, commonly called "922R" when one modifies a foreign made "SAW."

The site below gives an excellent explanation that, if followed, will keep you out of trouble if, for example, you purchase an AK-47, AK-74, FAL, etc. and decide to modify the rifle by changing or adding parts. Using the AK as an example, some don't have flash suppressors/recoil compensators. If you thead the barrel to install a muzzle device, the rifle is no longer in compliance with 922R and you must be knowledgeable enough to put it back into compliance. That's where the thread below will help you.
http://home.comcast.net/~navy87guy/home/922r.html
 
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