Posted on 05/15/2010 4:19:19 PM PDT by HogsBreath
Felons, illegal immigrants and all others banned from buying a gun in the United States have a new alternative if they’re looking to get their hands on a firearm: Just buy a toy.
A FoxNews.com investigation reveals that a popular recreational pellet gun can be converted easily to a real semi-automatic weapon. And while the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is already aware of the issue, these “toys” -- new, top-of-the-line airsoft rifles -- continue to be sold throughout the country.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I wonder if anyone makes an airsoft upper for an AR lower receiver?
The scenario described in the article is a little more complicated. The theory is that somebody would buy the Airsoft gun just for its lower receiver, and then go out and buy about $1100 worth of real gun parts to make the rest of the AR-15. Then they would do some simple machine work on the Airsoft replica lower receiver, put it all together, and have a kind of cheapo AR-15. It might shoot OK, but is likely to wear out quickly, etc. due to the lower quality material used in the replica lower receiver. I suspect the resulting gun would violate a whole bunch of state and federal regulations, particularly if it is owned, as the article suggests, by someone otherwise banned from firearm ownership - like an illegal alien.
But the premise of the whole conversion idea is faulty. Why wouldn't some illegal alien, for instance, who already has no compunction about violating the law, just buy an illegal handgun "in the neighborhood"? What is the benefit to a criminal of having a hard to conceal rifle? And since the same illegal alien often has fake ID and connections with other crooks with valid ID, why can't he just obtain a firearm illegally that way? And finally, why would some criminal go to all of the expense and trouble of buying over a thousand dollars of parts to make a rifle which is likely to be less than perfectly reliable when they can buy a nearly untraceable stolen handgun, or maybe even a stolen SKS carbine or similar gun on the street for less?
The whole premise set forth in the article seems ridiculous to me.
I’d love to see if one of these dweebs has the guts to put a few downrange with one of these “converted guns”.
Is this the same lame argrument that featured a video that showed a inept ATF agent trying to put the AR-15 30 round magazine in backwards into the weapon?
If it is, dont you feel so very safe in knowing that an ATF Special Agent cannot even load a firearm properly. How many more of these so called educated special agents are there collecting a paycheck?
I saw an article recently on this, the ATF claims it can easily be converted, PROVE it. All ATF Agents should be required to demonstrate the weapon by shooting 100 rounds each through said modified toy. Then make it their department issued firearm.
Holy shiite! What happened there? Squib round followed by a real one?
What happened there?
Don’t know, just grabbed the pic off the web, but you’re prolly right about the squib. I dod see a fellow once who had one of those laser sighter’s you stick in the barrel. He dialed in his scope then pulled the trigger without removing the sighter. It split the barrel into ribbons.
I’ve seen that one too. But in that case the end of the barrel opened up like a flower, because by the time the pressure started to redline, the bullet was 4-6 inches from the end of the barrel.
Here, the splits started far back in the barrel, in its strongest part (...although, that looks like a bull barrel, so the normal decrease in strength toward the muzzle wouldn’t apply). If it weren’t a bull barrel, I’d bet the blockage was somewhere just downrange of the forward end of the splits.
Thanks for the clarification.
Also, I agree with you that the premise of their argument is horribly flawed. No gang banger or thug is going to blow $1000+ on a makeshift weapon when he can get something off the street for a heck of a lot less.
My thoughts are if someone wants to build something they may figure out a way to do it. It may be a temporary thing it may last a little bit. I think the drilling of a hole only in a airsoft lower is not the only thing that was done to make it a operational firearm. I would think ATF would be all over that and prevent it to be that easy.
lowerreceivers.com
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