AK-47s Headed to U.S. Had Legal Permits

AP ^ | Wed Apr 28, 4:13 PM ET | CURT ANDERSON,

[FooBarBaz]

AK-47s Headed to U.S. Had Legal Permits Wed Apr 28, 4:13 PM ET Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!

By CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A U.S.-bound shipment of thousands of AK-47 assault rifles and other combat-type weapons, seized by Italian authorities who suspected they were being smuggled, actually have legal permits to be imported, American officials said Wednesday.

About 7,500 AK-47s, AKM rifles and other weapons worth an estimated $6 million were seized April 20 aboard a Turkish-flagged ship in the port of Gioia Tauro. They were bound for New York from Romania.

At the time, Italian authorities said the guns were hidden aboard the ship.

But Andrew Lluberes, spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the weapons actually were cleared by U.S. authorities. "The permits are valid," he said.

[FooBarBaz]

Gee, no one could have predicted this outcome....

[demlosers]

Just-in-time delivery for sale after the "assault" weapons ban to be lifted this summer. :)

[Taquito]

Wow, the ATF actually came down on the side of gun dealers?.....I'm stunned.

[John H K]

It was sort of fun to see the schizophrenic FR reply to this story, 50% were going into "MY GOD COULD HAVE BEEN 8000 EVIL MOOOSLEM TERRORISTS WITH MACHINEGUNS RAMPAGING AROUND THE US!!!!" mode and 50% were complaining about assault weapons bans (turns out the suspicions of the latter half about the nature of the shipment were correct, of course.)

[Sacajaweau]

They may have legal permits, but no one has said WHO they are going to.

[Pontiac]

They were bound for New York from Romania.

I find this amazing. I thought that Direct Current had high losses over long distances.

My fellow gun aficionados tell me that Romania makes the best AK-47s.

Wish I could get one of these.

I notice there is nothing in the article about the guns being returned and an apology being given.

[Puppage]

They may have legal permits, but no one has said WHO they are going to.

Why does that matter? They had LEGAL PERMITS. Do you worry where all the cars on a tractor trailer are going?

Besides, they're going to licensed distributors who will then (under current law) change the receivers so they don't say Kalashnikov. THAT'S how the AWB saves lives..any gun that says Kalasnikov is deadlier than ones that don't <sarcasm

[Atlas Sneezed]

Bang

[Puppage]

My fellow gun aficionados tell me that Romania makes the best AK-47s.

Actually, the Polish versions are the best.

Wish I could get one of these

Depends on where you live.....in CT. if it says Kalashnikov, it's illegal. However, there are many versions of the same thing available w/o the word Kalashnikov that are within the law.

[Atlas Sneezed]

They may have legal permits, but no one has said WHO they are going to.

---

Yes they have. They were going to a long-standing lawful firearms import business in Georgia.

www.interordnance.com

[archy]

My fellow gun aficionados tell me that Romania makes the best AK-47s.

Wish I could get one of these.

Well, not quite, but awfully close. The currently very popular Romanian SAR-1's are actually a variant of the Russian AK74, the later version of the Kalishnikov design, now used in its native land in the newer 5,45x39mm caliber. The Romanians went retro and also produced a version of their AK74 semiauto- also sold here as the SAR 2- in the original chambering using the reliable old AK magazine.

The Romanian guns are indeed therefore a very high quality variant of the stanped receiver Kalishnikovs, if not quite a true copy of the 7,62mm Kalishnikov AKM. 99 users in a hundred would never note the difference nor care, though the differences are there if you know where to look. And the SAR-1 is just as authentic whether fitted with a wooden buttstock and furniture, or more durable and modern polymer plastic, or a metal folding buttstock when the Assault Weaopons Ban expires in 20 weeks. But if you want a Romanian Kalish, get it now: once the AWB expires, it's expected that domestic manufacturers will take up manufacture of the Kalishnikov, and several of the importers have announced they'll be selling a domestic-produced rifle and plan to discontinue importation.

And too there are still a few of us old Vietnam warhorses who first made our acquaintance with the machined receiver versions, the original AK47 or Chinese Type 56-1, rather than the two-pound lighter stamped versions. A bit more controllable in full-auto, there's probably no real advantage to them in a semiauto version, but some still prefer the heavy old clunker, solid as a brick latrine.

Romanian SAR-1 rifles still available *here.* Dealer price $299.97, with 2 30-round magazines.

[normy]

When the story broke of the "illegal arms shipment" and they stated what the arms were I laughed. They even said they were semi-autos "but could be converted to automatic".

I shouldn't have laughed because I see where this is going. Next I guess it will be a "shipment of .30-06 rifles with black plastic stocks" or ".22 cal. rifles, the kind used in mafia assasinations".

[donozark]

I've had a SAR-2 for years now. Took alot of "tweaking" to bring it up to par. Century Arms tends to "skew" the sights, etc. But nothing a shade-tree gunsmith cannot overcome.

Point is, anyone expecting a perfect, out of box weapon? Look elsewhere...

[archy]

Gee, no one could have predicted this outcome....

Original story FReepposted *here:

AK-47S WERE BOUND FOR VT.

[Sender]

If they had legal permits, then they were headed to a US customs bonded warehouse, to a US licensed FFL arms importer, and every single one of them will have to be fully accounted for.

Who will they end up going to? Why, to folks like me, I hope! I already have one Romanian AK which was perfectly legal to buy and own during the AW ban, I might add.

[Hat-Trick]

"They may have legal permits, but no one has said WHO they are going to."

I expect to hear the very same type of comment reported by the national press during the Million Mom March. Are you inferring something illegal might be taking place? If so, please elaborate.

[archy]

I've had a SAR-2 for years now. Took alot of "tweaking" to bring it up to par. Century Arms tends to "skew" the sights, etc. But nothing a shade-tree gunsmith cannot overcome.

Point is, anyone expecting a perfect, out of box weapon? Look elsewhere...

Concur, though the variation is wide, depending on whether the individual rifle is one manufactured by the Cugir, Romtechnika, or Sule production facilities and from which batch, as well as which US importer did the reassembly work. There are a lot of variations and differing quality levels, with some excellent right out-of-the box and others that can be with a little tweaking.

I have a ladyfriend who also favours the 16-inch barrelled SAR-2 in 5,45mm caliber, though she replaced a good many of her rifle's components with those taken from scrapped-out East German Army rifles. And in 20 weeks or so, I expect it'll get the sidefolding buttstock to go with it. I also know one Southern Illinois farmer who carries his SAR-1 aboard his tractor, who also needed a little *tweaking* of his rifle's sights to get them approximate alignment. His version of fine technical adjustment was to lay the muzzle on the railroad tracks and hit the front sight post with a 3-pound machinist's hammer for the precision recalibration required. But it's hard to think of a design more appropriate for such blacksmithing efforts than a Kalishnikov. And he's now perfectly happy with his rifle.

[Sacajaweau]

The first report out on this said the ATF would not comment as to the destination of the arms.

[thackney]

Ping

[IGOTMINE]

I knew it. The moment I read that article I just KNEW it was more BS.