Help with USGI mags...LEGAL issues!

[Rubber_Duck]

Hi Everybody! I'm new to this forum so I don't know if this should go here, but I have a serious question to ask...

I recently went to a gun show and picked up a box of surplus USGI mags. This was about two weeks ago and I've been to the range twice since then (my rifle is a CAR-15-style Bushmaster AR-15). Then I started reading about pre vs. post-ban mags and their use. I took a closer look at mine and noticed 4 of them are marked 'LE/gov't use only'. The mags in question are also date stamped with dates for 1998, 2003, and early 2004.

I've heard people say that the post-ban hi-caps are okay to use now that the AWB has expired and I've heard people say that they are still illegal. I just wanted to get some no-nonsense answers from you guys as to wether or not my mags are okay to use.

I live in a state with pretty relexaed gun laws (no AWB here) and don't see who would care, as these mags are exactly the same as any other USGI mags I have, however, I don't want to be in possession of something that is illegal. So if these mags ARE illegal, how should I get rid of them? I don't feel like throwing them away as they have proven to be flawlessly reliable (all are Okay Ind. and Colt mags). If they are in fact illegal my first choice would be to take them back to the vendor at the next show because they shouldn't have been sold like that, but what if the vendor isn't there? How else can I get rid of them if they ARE illegal?

Any thoughts?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[DMK]

What state do you live in?

Short answer: Those LEO/Govt. marked, post 1994 dated magazines are perfectly legal as per federal law. I have a couple myself.

Long answer: During the federal AWB (1994-2004 MIRIP), new manufactured "hi-cap" magazines were marked with the year and/or LEO/Govt. use only because it was illegal for us serfs to own any 10+ cap mags made after the law was enacted (post-ban). Now that the law has sunset (expired), those markings are meaningless in a legal sense.

(O6) Are SAWs and LCAFDs marked “Restricted law enforcement/government use only” or “For export only” now legal to sell to civilians in the United States? [Back]

Yes. SAWs and LCAFDs are no longer prohibited. Therefore, firearms with the restrictive markings are legal to transfer to civilians in the United States, and it is legal for non-prohibited civilians to possess them. All civilians may possess LCAFDs.

http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/faq2.htm#o1

Some states have enacted their own laws relating to the concerns of the federal AWB, so your state and local regs may limit your rights.

 

[El Tejon]

The people that say they are illegal, are they in a gun shoppe by any chance?

Welcome to THR.

 

[Rubber_Duck]

I'm in New Mexico.

As for the people that say it's illegal, some are fellow shooters, others are just what I read around the internet.

 

[GBExpat]

... I've heard people say that the post-ban hi-caps are okay to use now that the AWB has expired and I've heard people say that they are still illegal. I just wanted to get some no-nonsense answers from you guys as to wether or not my mags are okay to use. ...

If hi-cap mags are legal in your locality, those "LE/gov't use only"-marked mags are, too.

 

[Rubber_Duck]

Thanks a lot! That really clears things up for me.

 

[SimpleIsGood229]

Yeah, those markings are completely meaningless. I have a couple P228/9 mags with those same markings. In fact, those are the two mags that came with the gun.

 

[shep854]

I like to think that someday they will have collector value. I have a few "LE Only" mags as well as 10rd castrated mags for some of my pistols as mementos of the "bad old days" of the AWB.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Yes, perfectly legal (under federal law) as DMK said, including the ATF statement that it's so.

Some people are uninformed.