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On Those Pesky ARs
Washington State has been my home for nearly 50 years. I’ve been to many other states, none of which I love so much as home. I live in a part of the state which is simply breathtaking in its natural beauty. Even so, I have begun thinking seriously about moving. The reason is something known as I-1639. This is an initiative that would, if approved this fall, implement firearm regulations that I am not sure I can live with. The initiative is aimed at preventing people from getting “assault rifles”, though it imposes its restrictions on all semi-automatic rifles, regardless of caliber or type. So my Del-Ton 5.56 AR, and my daughters Mossberg .22 Plinkster, both fall under the provisions of the proposed law.
In honor of I-1639, I have decided to provide each of my children with an AR-15 rifle, which I plan on building from parts. Now, I have put many rounds through the AR platform, but I had never, prior to the last few weeks, spent any time looking in to how to build one, the laws and rules around procuring the various parts, etc. I knew there was one part you needed to go through the normal checks to get, while other parts you could simply order online and have delivered. Having now studied all of this, I’m even more convinced that I-1639 is nonsense, and will not do anything to keep “assault weapons” out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them.
To explain my point, see the below diagram of the typical AR-15 style rifle.
Basic AR Diagram
You can see it is made up of four basic parts: the upper receiver, the lower receiver, the barrel, and the stock. Now, this is pretty simplistic, for you AR novices. The lower receiver is the only part of the firearm for which you need go through any legal approval process to obtain. But, that’s not completely true. Because the actual part that is covered is known as the “stripped lower receiver.” Here is another photo just to give you an understanding of what that is.
Ruger Stripped Lower
The stripped lower receiver is a milled or forged hunk of metal that in no way resembles a firearm. It could not, by itself, cause a bullet to go flying in anyone’s direction. It doesn’t have a trigger, nor a hammer, nor any mechanism to hold the magazine in. It’s useless by itself. But this is the part that has the serial number. And you can buy one today for as little as $50. And nobody on this earth knows how many of these are in existence. Anyone with the skills and tools can mill their own lower, and there are many kits that provide you with legal, un-serialized lowers which can be easily turned into a “stripped lower” by drilling a few holes. Once I-1639 goes in to law, and I’ve no doubt it will, there is nothing whatsoever to stop folks from transferring these things to whomever, and no way to prove it was done illegally. And once you have a lower, you can build a complete AR, mail order.
The fact is, the gun lobby is so ignorant regarding the issue for which they display such passion. For them, enacting any law, regardless of whether it has merit or results, is enough. And it’s driving many of us out of this state.
Published in General
The law will pass because the Government must be seen as Doing Something. It is immaterial that the Something they Do accomplishes nothing.
Will it have the intended consequences? No.
Will it have unintended consequences? Yes.
Okay, let’s do it!
If you want any tips or tricks on putting these together, let me know. I’ve built one each for 3/4 of my kids so far, and a couple for fun.
Something must be done!
This is Something.
Therefore, This must be done!!!
Well, here’s an unsolicited tip: buy yourself a good set of roll-pin punches. These are different from regular drift punches in that they have a little teat on the tip, and that teat keeps the punch centered on the roll-pin (and both AR lowers and uppers use several roll pins). And when I say a good set, I don’t mean any of the el-cheapo punches they sell at Home Depot or Lowes – those are made of soft metal and you’ll break the smaller punches in no time at all. A good set can be found at Brownells, Midway USA, or McMaster Carr. It’ll run you $60.00 or so, but it’s absolutely worth it, especially when a little bastard of a detent spring sends itself, the detent, and the roll pin flying under your fridge. Now, those parts may only represent $5.00 lost, but you’ll also spend $7.99 in shipping and lose several valuable days. Buy it, it’s worth it, and soon you’ll be finding roll pins in other places too.
Thanks for the tip. I’ve purchased two complete lowers so far, just because the price was right. Might do the others “from scratch.”
The ignorance of gun policy is mind blowing.
If the AR-15 is the weapon of choice for mass murderer, therefore what?
i.e.
Move up here to Alaska where the mountains are larger, the guns are plentiful , and even the liberal legislators own one or two.
These laws are the weak threads out of which the sturdy noose will be fashioned.
Be careful.
If you build the AR using an unfinished “80%” lower you are not allowed to transfer the weapon to anyone else under federal law. Ever.
Of course it’s 100 % non traceable, so I would suggest you have your children do the actual “construction” if you get my drift….
Not entirely true. You can transfer it if you do the following:
The BATFE does allow for hobbyist builds of weapons (I’ve looked into doing this with some parts kits I’ve acquired over the years), but make darn sure that you don’t do this too much. If you register such home-built weapons, don’t try to sell or transfer more than 2-3 per year, otherwise the BATFE will treat you as an unlicensed manufacturer, and the IRS may come after you too for taxes. The moment you start to look less like a hobbyist and more like a small-time manufacturer, that’s when the trouble starts.
There is an entire home-built subculture in the guns hobby – guys who make fully legal semi-auto versions of historic, experimental, or otherwise impossible to obtain guns. Lots and lots of people build semi-auto STENs, PKMs, PPSH’s, PPS43’s, and so forth, in addition to the 80% ARs, and 80% Colt 1911’s more commonly seen.
Kind defeats the purpose of a home build…..
I don’t get why any type of tax over a consumption tax is an improvement. How does this net out for us?
Depends on why you’re doing the home build in the first place. Lots of hobbyists do them for the fun of firing something the looks and feels a lot like something else unobtainable. Sure you can find Class III transferable STENs out there, but they’ll set you back $10k, and you’ll wait for a year while the paperwork clears.
Or, if you’re handy with tools, you can build a semi-auto firearm that looks and feels like a STEN. It all depends on what you’re trying to get out of it.
And even if your home build is to keep under the radar of nanny states, it’s not a bad idea to stamp a serial number on the thing anyway (even if you don’t register it), just on the grounds that if you take it to a range, and an off-duty cop is also there, you won’t suddenly find yourself having to answer a bunch of questions. I’ve known guys who have taken their unserialized home builds out on the range, and then found themselves detained by officers who very likely have a great deal less knowledge of firearms laws than the hobbyist. Better safe than sorry.
This interesting. No questions really ought to be asked, though, right? There’s nothing wrong with having asn un-serialized AR, so long as you manufactured it yourself?
Correct. You do not need to serialize it, much less register it. That being said, it doesn’t hurt to add a serial number, but that does not obligate you to then register it.
Ok, thanks. I’m not likely to do an 80% lower just because I don’t have the milling tools to do so.
Also, Brownell’s roll pin set is $110, you sunnuvuh…