[Jeff Thomas]

This happens occasionally ... I'll probably get over it. ;)

Benefiting from a small windfall, and given the all-clear from my wife, I'm considing the purchase of an Uzi. Though the $3K price I noted a year or two ago now appears to have climbed to $5K.

Is the NFA market moving that quickly? Is this perceived as a temporary blip, or a bull market in NFA? What are your thoughts on an Uzi (probably Vector) as an entry-level NFA acquisition? Especially in the current period of terror awareness, is this just too much brain damage / governmental hassle to pursue?

I appreciate the benefit of our NFA-wise friends. Thank you.

Regards from TX

[Robert inOregon]

Anyone selling an Uzi for $5K is out to lunch!

[El Tejon]

They will only go higher and never down.:)

[oldfart]

I'm not particularly interested in a class III weapon, (I carried a BAR for too many years,) but I do notice all the kits for sale in Shotgun News. In another part of the same issue I see ads for receiver templates or machine drawings of the receivers. I can only conclude that there is a huge market for squirt guns out there and legality isn't a big issue.

I'm glad you've finally gotten ahead enough to be able to buy one. I hope your good fortune is good enough that you can afford to feed your new baby. They're a hungry bunch!

[Hkmp5sd]

My MP5SD has increased in value 4X since I purchased it. My M16A1 is up around 6X.

As Michael Waltrip says, "Do the math." :)

[ACP230]

Vector Inc., from Utah was selling new UZIs, made from receivers registered by the old Group Industries, for about $3,000 for years. About six months ago they started making MINI-UZIs, out of the receivers they had left. UZI prices jumped immediately, although if you have the cash you might still find a deal. There are some other subguns that can still be found for about three grand.

The NFA market has gone up as long as I've been aware of it. Since the Democrats in Congress in 1986 pushed through an amendment, on a crooked voice vote, restricting any new MGs for private individuals the supply is not going to increase. If you want one buying now would be wise.

To see what the market is doing, and look for bargains, check the NFA sale boards at www.subguns.com and www.sturmgewehr.com. Ads in Small Arms Review are also a good place to look.

[enutees]

You should be able to get an uzi for around $4k. I love mine and it one of my favorite mg's to shoot.

[CleverNickname]

Is the NFA market moving that quickly?

Sometimes the prices rise faster than at other times, but they're always rising.

Is this perceived as a temporary blip, or a bull market in NFA?

The pool of potentially interested buyers is much larger than the pool of registered FA guns. The prices aren't going to go down without a change in the law that further impedes or prohibits transfers (possible though not on the radar right now), or a change that removes the 1986 ban (in my dreams...)

What are your thoughts on an Uzi (probably Vector) as an entry-level NFA acquisition?

It's the first MG I bought, I'm working on getting my second. If I could just have one, that's the one I'd keep. It can be converted to shoot at least three calibers, has cheap magazines and cheap parts kits, and has a very simple construction.

Especially in the current period of terror awareness, is this just too much brain damage / governmental hassle to pursue?


The only area I can see where this would be a problem would be getting your form 4 signoff from a LEO who's sort of reluctant to sign off and would use this as an excuse not to. If you have a problem getting the signoff, you can "go corporate" and form a corporation which owns the machineguns. The upside to this is that a transfer to a corporation doesn't require fingerprint cards, a picture or a CLEO signoff, and the transfers usually go faster than a transfer to a person. The downside is that you don't own the guns directly, but you just own the corporation which does. This means that you have to do the taxes, etc on the corp to keep it in good standing. One other upside is that with a personal transfer, the gun has to be in your possession, or whoever else is using it has to be using it in your presence. Corporate ownership means that anyone who's an officer of the corporation can possess it. In Texas, one person can legally hold all the offices of a corporation, so you don't HAVE to have multiple people, but the option is there. Forming a corp also has a couple hundred in startup fees to the state.

[Dave R]

I don't collect Class III's, but a buddy does. He says they have been his best investment ever.

However, he is quick to add that there are two risks:

1) They become completely illegal, in which case the value goes to zero unless there is a buy-back.

2) The become "legal" again, in which case the value could fall.

Barring those two scenarios, you have a fixed supply, and a growing demand. That always moves prices up.

[Hkmp5sd]

Another factor is that the number of registered machineguns is slowly decreasing. Over time, they can be stolen, destroyed or confiscated in non-firearm related incidents. They are even bought up by companies that supply them to Hollywood for use in movies.

So the number of people wanting machineguns goes up while the number of transferrable firearms is heading in the other direction.

[Jeff Thomas]

Lots of great help here ... I greatly appreciate the assist.

Regards from TX