Seattle judge upholds ATF’s decision banning ammo designed for AK-47's

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http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...tfs-decision-banning-ammo-designed-for-ak-47/

"......The decision Wednesday by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour came in a lawsuit brought by Redmond-based P.W. Arms Inc., which obtained permits to import more than 100 million rounds of the Russian- and Eastern European-made ammunition known as 7N6. When the first shipments arrived in early 2014, the ATF deemed them “armor-piercing” and barred their importation for civilian resale......."
 
If ATF's experts say in court that 7N6 has a bullet designed as armor piercing, since there are AK47 pistols, the judge has no alternative but block import of that armor-piercing handgun ammunition.

I lost count of how much 7.62x39mm ammo I fired through card board targets at modern military matches, or into the hillside at the family homeplace on the mountain, but a lot of it was probably armorpiercing. That would probably have been the fate of a lot (maybe all) of that ammo blocked from import by that court order.

What are the chances that the surplus ammo will now be dumped on the world military arms market, instead of shot up by American plinkers? Unintended consequences.

Added: my searches on 7N6 bullet turn up a lot of hits on 5.45x39mm AK74, not much on 7.62x39mm AK47.
 
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It's AK74. Many of the producers of that rifle held back and never made a pistol version precisely for this reason.

Nonetheless it's the ATF and the Courts working thru the Administration's policy to make things as bad as possible. As promised.

I fully expect them to ban M855A1 on the basis of this decision. If the overlap isn't clear then consider that once a court decision is left to stand then it becomes case law and used to further their agenda. They may not have been able to ban M855 but the improved round has significantly higher ability to penetrate armor - better than 7n6 - which would make it even easier to justify.

It will take legislation to overturn the regulatory language allowing them to do this. Therefore your vote is important in the upcoming election.
 
How do they square the fact that it is smaller than 22 caliber & therefore exempt?

BTW, sooo many details in that article. Just the one (ironically) legally irrelevant point about the armor piercing effectiveness not being in dispute. Any have a link to the actual judgment? I'm well aware that none of this matters since the prez can ultimately say "because I say so" for import matters, but I am curious if they actually refuted any arguments.

TCB
 
How do they square the fact that it is smaller than 22 caliber & therefore exempt?
Click to expand...



SAAMI says it's .220"


Case type Steel, rimless, bottleneck
Bullet diameter 5.60 mm (0.220 in)
Neck diameter 6.29 mm (0.248 in)
Shoulder diameter 9.25 mm (0.364 in)
Base diameter 10.00 mm (0.394 in)
Rim diameter 10.00 mm (0.394 in)
Rim thickness 1.50 mm (0.059 in)
Case length 39.82 mm (1.568 in)
Overall length 57.00 mm (2.244 in)
Case capacity 1.75 cm3 (27.0 gr H2O)
Rifling twist 255 mm (1 in 10 inch) or
200 mm (1 in 7.87 inch)
Primer type Berdan or Small rifle
Maximum pressure 380.00 MPa (55,114 psi)


FYI: data per Wiki
 
The key would be for Congress to clarify the definition of a "core made completely of" when there are distinct parts in a core (The ATF claims each part is a "core" in its own right) and loosen restrictions on steel and Copper alloys and sell it as a environmental lead reduction (which would be true).

Mike
 
And you thought we would win this one?
A Judge in Seattle is going to go against the tide of the Ninth Circuit Court?
The Ninth who is stacking up cases to be sent to the SCOTUS in order to kick the Second in the behind and he is not going to go along with the rest of the Judges in the Ninth?
That He would not allow the BATFE to legislate without authority?
That that Judge would do his duty and would uphold the Constitution?
If you think that, well then you Sir are an Optimist.
 
The key would be for Congress to clarify the definition of a "core made completely of" when there are distinct parts in a core
Click to expand...
Please. A core with multiple distinct parts cannot be "completely" made of anything (well, unless both parts are of the same material). Multi-part cores existed at the time, yet the law used the word 'completely.' It "makes no sense," but then neither does the fact that demonstrable armor penetrating capability has nothing to do with a bullet's "armor piercing" legal status. Once again, the language has been stretched to get us to this point; clarification is not needed, but the revocation of authority to make such interpretations.

And a hearty pay-cut to remember it by.

TCB
 
SAAMI says it's .220"


Case type Steel, rimless, bottleneck
Bullet diameter 5.60 mm (0.220 in)
Neck diameter 6.29 mm (0.248 in)
Shoulder diameter 9.25 mm (0.364 in)
Base diameter 10.00 mm (0.394 in)
Rim diameter 10.00 mm (0.394 in)
Rim thickness 1.50 mm (0.059 in)
Case length 39.82 mm (1.568 in)
Overall length 57.00 mm (2.244 in)
Case capacity 1.75 cm3 (27.0 gr H2O)
Rifling twist 255 mm (1 in 10 inch) or
200 mm (1 in 7.87 inch)
Primer type Berdan or Small rifle
Maximum pressure 380.00 MPa (55,114 psi)


FYI: data per Wiki
Click to expand...

That's SAAMI specs. Soviet-made 7n6 surplus ain't SAAMI (though modern stuff could be). From cursory research it appears the surplus is typically undersized, miccing at .215-.220, one report said Tula FMJ was consistently .218. More interestingly, it appears the actual barrel bore is typically .212 in diameter, meaning these cartridges must be swaged below the legal threshold of LEOPA applicability in order to be fired from anything, and the ATF measures bore sizes for NFA purposes with a rod, not a caliper laid in the rifling grooves, or with a micrometer across an unfired bullet. Just because ammo that's several standard deviations away from the norm comes in over the arbitrary threshold is a poor argument for claiming the entire lot of 5.45x39 ammo in existence is subject to the rule.

If the ATF wants to ban 7n6 imports because they don't always limbo under the 22cal threashold, I say let them measure & reject the bullets themselves. Anything less is an unequal application of the law.

They can't have it both ways, erring constantly on the side that gives them greater enforcement powers at both the high & low end. By the same token, I've yet to see a good argument explaining why, in the absence of any definition in either statute or ATF regs prior to this case, the steel portion of the bullet is treated as the "core" as opposed to the lead portion...other than the fact that this way they get to block 7n6 importation.

TCB
 
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