14 replies to this topic

[kyle]

http://www.sturmgewe....cgi?read=47564

"...beautiful Thompson M1A1 kits that have just arrived..."

[TommyFan]

I emailed about the kits. Question is, can they provide something to show these are legal to have?

[Sig]

TommyFan
What would in your opinion be "something" that would show these are legal to have?
I have NEVER heard of such a thing. The ad CLEARLY states all the parts EXCEPT the receiver.
I have NEVER heard of a legal requirement to prove parts are legal EXCEPT some states do have BANS against such parts, I think WA is one of them.
Confused.
michael

[Lancer]

QUOTE (Hawkeye_Joe @ Jul 27 2004, 02:08 PM)

QUOTE I have NEVER heard of such a thing. The ad CLEARLY states all the parts EXCEPT the receiver. I have NEVER heard of a legal requirement to prove parts are legal EXCEPT some states do have BANS against such parts, I think WA is one of them. Confused. I believe what he means is are these imported thompson parts that were exported that are not legal to bring back into the USA..

I agree with Sig. How does anyone PROVE that their kit was legally imported?

[gijive]

Hawkeye Joe,

At the risk of sticking my foot in my mouth again, I'd suggest that it is very unlikely that the Government has a record of the individual serial numbers of Thompsons that were exported sixty years ago.

These may be parts from importers that brought them back years ago before the Clinton ban on U.S. Lend Lease parts returning. If the person selling them obtained them in violation of current law it is doubtful he would be advertising them on a public internet forum.

IMA is still selling parts kits and I don't recall anyone here asking for proof that they are legal to possess. If they are in this country already, the only concern would be if the possession of the parts violated state or local law.

I see no difference between these parts and parts kits previously sold on Ebay before they recently changed their rules about machine gun parts.

[ODS9091]

Good point gijive..Even if the gov't did have a serial number list that would only be the receiver and you are not getting that part anyway..maybe the lower might have a serial number on it but who is to say it was stillmatched to the upper after 60+ years...unless we're talking about '21 parts the barrel, etc...are not going to be serialized so the gov't would have to prove that yours is here illegaly.

[gijive]

Hawkeye Joe,

The dewatted guns on Gunbroker are not in the US, they are being sold from Europe. That is a problem if you try to receive one of these. The parts being sold on Sturmgewehr are already in the U.S. apparently, by virtue of the seller's email address. If they are already here then they must have gotten here legally otherwise the seller wouldn't have them. If they are already here then they should be okay. At the risk of repeating myself, IMA apparently has not had a problem selling their kits in the past year.

Although grip frames on WWII 1928A1's and early M1's do have the serial number on them, the Government would have no way of checking the serial number of a grip frame to determine if it was exported after WWII and reimported. Many records were destroyed after WWII as has been discussed many times on this list.

There is nothing wrong with being cautious when purchasing guns and gun parts, but it is unlikely that the seller could provide any proof in the form of Government documents as to where the guns have been for 60 years. My guess is they are surplus guns that were imported many years ago if they are in good condition. They were probably not used and must have been stored properly.

[Hawkeye_Joe]

QUOTE

then I'll just keep my trap shut..

[gijive]

Hawkeye Joe,

You don't have to keep your trap shut. I was just trying to point out that sometimes emotion takes over on chat lists and sometimes it pays to research the topic a little instead of believing everything that is written on an internet site. If the seller purchased the items illegally, he will get caught. There are law enforcement officers that read and contribute to this list. I don't know where he got them, but if you are legally able to posses the parts where you live and purchased the items in good faith, it is unlikely the Government would prosecute you as the purchaser. They would be more concerned with illegal importation and seize the seller's supply of the parts.

This is alll my opinion anyway. If you or other list members felt uncomfortable purchasing the parts, then by all means don't buy them.

[TommyFan]

Thanks for all the input guys! I agree with Sgt and glad somebody was able to verify this is a valid US email address . I KNOW there's no proof of where the parts come from but "reasonable doubt" is all that is legally required to beat any possible prosecution in case the ATF gets nosy. If you guys would feel safe buying this stuff, then so would I. Like everybody else here, I'm not putting my ass on the line and risking jail time. I wanted to get a 2nd opinion before giving anybody my money.

John

[Waffen Und Bier]

Just think of all the children this regulation has saved. I feel so much safer knowing that those lend lease parts won't be on the streets of America. Scuuze me while I go puke now.

[TommyFan]

TRUE DAT!

It just proves the point that the laws only restrict the honest people who are no threat anyway- if I was crook, I'd take my chances and import whatever I wanted, because I would consider myself outside the law anyway.

Waiting on any government to accept this and prosecute the law would be one big waste of time-it's not about keeping people safe (or the laws on the books would be better enforced) its about controlling people.

JMHO

[az_gun_nut]

I bought one of these from AZWalt at the Crossroads gun show this past weekend. Beautiful parts kits to say the least and at $450 I was extremely happy.

[TommyFan]

Do you have another way to get in touch with him besides email? I have sent 2 emails and have not heard back.

[atmow]

Here's the telephone number for Don @ Omega: 520-889-8895. I also e-mailed him and it took some time for him to respond. They don't take credit card, so you'll have to send payment by mail.