Restricted high capacity post-ban magazines are in most cases identical to their pre-ban equivalents except for a small date stamp and serial number. The magazines which were sold to my "friend" as completely unregulated pre-ban magazines were in fact law-enforcement restricted post-ban high capacity magazines. It makes no difference that they were misrepresented prior to the sale or that the seller may have attempted to conceal or remove the date stamp, my "friend" was in violation of a federal felony punishable by what I believe is 10 years in prison and $250,000.
They same danger is also present with 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill restricted rifles, shotguns, and pistols. By adding certain accessories or stocks, firearms made after September of 1994 can be converted to equally illegal configurations identifiable only with reference to its manufacturers production records.
Making all of this even more confusing, having a firearm made before the ban went into effect does not necessarily make it "pre-ban". The firearm in question must have been in a restricted configuration at the moment the law went into effect or it can not be legally put in that configuration thereafter. This means that whoever has purchased a pre-ban firearm in the last eight years is risking a federal felony unless they have some proof that their firearm was in a pre-ban configuration on that fateful day in 1994 (and how do you prove that?). Otherwise, a record may exist with some dealer or distributor (and the ATF) that they it was possessed on that date in a non-restricted configuration.
The arbitrary and confusing nature of these restrictions has created a high level of uncertainty and fear among many otherwise tax paying, law-abiding citizens. But that, after all, was the main rational purpose of the law. It's a shame that the President has decided to support its renewal; and if he looses in 2004, history may also record his decision as a tragedy.