Global Trades-JimmyStreetman
http://www.warrifles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12614
As most of you know, we are both a licensed importer and a licensed manufacturer of firearms. I have been closely involved in this for nearly 10 years now, and have acquired a very expensive education in the firearms laws involved. I would like to clarify a bit of the background on this issue.
First, I do not yet have the actual ATF correspondence. We have two fax lines registered to them, and there is nothing on either. There may be letters in the mail.
I do have a fax from my Washington attorneys telling me that processing of Form 6 (Import permit) applications for “non-sporting firearms and barrels” is suspended. I would like explain the background as to what this means, but I don’t have time and patience to type it all out now.
For now, let me go over the immediate implications of what this means if I understand it correctly.
It means that no new permits will be issued for any barrels for firearms that are not importable under current regulations. These barrels and also receivers for non-importable firearms have been imported since 2000 under an “exemption” for replacement or repair purposes. This exemption has been ended, and I am sure the logic will be that it has been abused.
One issue that is not clear is whether existing permits will be honored. They may well be suspended or otherwise altered. In any event, permits are for one year, and define the number of items that can be imported. So in a year or less, all permits will have expired. And even before then, the number permitted on all of the permits may well be reached. There has been a further tale that on existing permits, barrels will have to be marked “repair or replacement” and even serialized. I don’t know if this is true. I have been told it is by someone who may well know.
What this all means if it is correct is that AK parts kits as we know them will disappear in the immediate future. The barrels will have to be removed from future kits, either by taking all of the parts off, or by cutting or otherwise destroying them. In Europe, they drill 5 holes through the chamber and the barrel areas. This does make them pretty useless.
So the number of kits in the US now may be all we will see in their current form. Future kits will require more processing, and will have to add a US-made barrel, which is not a cheap item. And authentic reproductions of military AKs will become less authentic.
Also the imported Imbel FN/FAL receivers will disappear. I don’t know of any imported AK receivers now, though there were rumors of some Hungarian 10 round ones.
Here is what it doesn’t mean:
1. What you can do with a parts set already in the US is not changed.
2. Manufacturing receivers or barrels here is not affected.
3. It does not change any of the regulations involving your building of your own firearms.
It does mean that parts sets will go up in price. The supply is going to be limited, and the demand won’t be. I won’t be able to replace what I have, so my incentive to sell them cheap is pretty low. We have our Tantal kits priced pretty high now, so I don’t anticipate raising the price. I of course reserve the right to do so if the market changes drastically. There may be others who will continue to sell cheaply as if they could replace the kits at the price they paid before. My advice is to buy as many as you need at current prices. I do think they will go up.
There are a lot of parts kits in the US now. I personally know of 15,000 or so in my hands and other places I know about. I suspect that there may be twice this many totally. But this is not enough to supply the market very long, and they will run thin before we can react by producing new kits with US-made barrels. Please remember that sellers and buyers have opposite jobs. Sellers are obligated to sell as high as they can; buyers are obligated to buy as cheaply as they can. Somewhere between a bargain is struck.
In the long run this is horrible for us also. Parts kits are a big part of my business, and it is suddenly getting as complicated as the importation of rifles.
One final note—this does not apply to complete firearms imported as sporting rifles unless they change something else. This applies to barrels imported as parts only.
http://www.warrifles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12614
As most of you know, we are both a licensed importer and a licensed manufacturer of firearms. I have been closely involved in this for nearly 10 years now, and have acquired a very expensive education in the firearms laws involved. I would like to clarify a bit of the background on this issue.
First, I do not yet have the actual ATF correspondence. We have two fax lines registered to them, and there is nothing on either. There may be letters in the mail.
I do have a fax from my Washington attorneys telling me that processing of Form 6 (Import permit) applications for “non-sporting firearms and barrels” is suspended. I would like explain the background as to what this means, but I don’t have time and patience to type it all out now.
For now, let me go over the immediate implications of what this means if I understand it correctly.
It means that no new permits will be issued for any barrels for firearms that are not importable under current regulations. These barrels and also receivers for non-importable firearms have been imported since 2000 under an “exemption” for replacement or repair purposes. This exemption has been ended, and I am sure the logic will be that it has been abused.
One issue that is not clear is whether existing permits will be honored. They may well be suspended or otherwise altered. In any event, permits are for one year, and define the number of items that can be imported. So in a year or less, all permits will have expired. And even before then, the number permitted on all of the permits may well be reached. There has been a further tale that on existing permits, barrels will have to be marked “repair or replacement” and even serialized. I don’t know if this is true. I have been told it is by someone who may well know.
What this all means if it is correct is that AK parts kits as we know them will disappear in the immediate future. The barrels will have to be removed from future kits, either by taking all of the parts off, or by cutting or otherwise destroying them. In Europe, they drill 5 holes through the chamber and the barrel areas. This does make them pretty useless.
So the number of kits in the US now may be all we will see in their current form. Future kits will require more processing, and will have to add a US-made barrel, which is not a cheap item. And authentic reproductions of military AKs will become less authentic.
Also the imported Imbel FN/FAL receivers will disappear. I don’t know of any imported AK receivers now, though there were rumors of some Hungarian 10 round ones.
Here is what it doesn’t mean:
1. What you can do with a parts set already in the US is not changed.
2. Manufacturing receivers or barrels here is not affected.
3. It does not change any of the regulations involving your building of your own firearms.
It does mean that parts sets will go up in price. The supply is going to be limited, and the demand won’t be. I won’t be able to replace what I have, so my incentive to sell them cheap is pretty low. We have our Tantal kits priced pretty high now, so I don’t anticipate raising the price. I of course reserve the right to do so if the market changes drastically. There may be others who will continue to sell cheaply as if they could replace the kits at the price they paid before. My advice is to buy as many as you need at current prices. I do think they will go up.
There are a lot of parts kits in the US now. I personally know of 15,000 or so in my hands and other places I know about. I suspect that there may be twice this many totally. But this is not enough to supply the market very long, and they will run thin before we can react by producing new kits with US-made barrels. Please remember that sellers and buyers have opposite jobs. Sellers are obligated to sell as high as they can; buyers are obligated to buy as cheaply as they can. Somewhere between a bargain is struck.
In the long run this is horrible for us also. Parts kits are a big part of my business, and it is suddenly getting as complicated as the importation of rifles.
One final note—this does not apply to complete firearms imported as sporting rifles unless they change something else. This applies to barrels imported as parts only.
