What do you remember about the 1994-04 ban??

[Valmet]

Okie- yes, I have a few of those in my box of Glock mags as well. More .40 than anything as that was the most popular LE caliber.

 

[Arik]

I think this is a relic from that era.

Have a bunch of those. My carry gun is a 2003 (ban era) G19 and the mag I'm still using in it is LE restricted

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[Nighthawk0083]

All I remember from the ban is all the greed and fear at the gun shows I went too. I stopped going because of that. Then it happened again a few years ago. Sad part is nothing changed. No laws just fear and panic lead to the shortages. In the end for most of the sellers politics is second making money is first which makes sense that's capitalism. In reality they make way more when the other side is in charge. Think about it.

 

[Grayfox]

At the time, the only "Hi-cap" anything I owned was my Browning Hi-Power. When it looked like the ban really would pass, I called Browning and ordered three more mags. The rep on the phone kinda laughed and said :"Yeah, we're getting a lot of orders for those. It may take a while for you to get them." Three months later I got a very nice apology letter from Browning. They were very sorry, but they ran out of mags before my order was filled.

Just recently while going through my late friend's collection, I was surprised at the large number of 10 round and LEO Only mags he had in storage. But then, he had always preferred Hi-cap pistols for EDC.

 

[retiredbadge8091]

I think this is a relic from that era.

I remember buying loads of those Law Enforcement only magazines and a Colt Sporter .223...

 

[Frank46]

During the "ban" about the only cheap ar magazines you could find were the orlites made in Israel. Some kind of polymer with what looks like a metal mesh imbedded in the feed lips. Still have a few and they worked and were cheaper than what the dealers were asking for the aluminum colt type ar magazines. My Beretta 92fs was purchased during the ban and recall $40 for a Beretta 92fs military magazine. bought 2 so I could shoot some steel plate matches back then. When I bought the 92fs it came with two neutered 10 round mags. Frank

 

[RedPointGS]

It's a funny thing K22fan but ...

... I married a Democrat and I still have a houseful of guns. She believes in the 2nd Amendment strongly and she shot on her collegiate skeet team. The only woman on the team too. She also reloaded her own shells back then.

Nope, she's a dyed in the wool Democrat, but she's not one of those mamby pamby Democrats, she is a mental health counselor however and that's one of the reasons why she is a Democrat. She's always trying to look out for her client's best interests and that means they need health care. Trust me we couldn't be married if she was one of the gun grabber types, LOL!

One thing I have learned from her is that when we disagree about something, politics or whatever, then we just agree to disagree, unlike my ex-wife.

So not all Democrats are gun grabbing nutjobs, just as all Republicans aren't level headed thinkers either. Personally, I'm registered as an Independent these days.

Sooner or later even the gun grabbing types will get the idea that the only people who can't get guns when bad gun laws are passed are the law abiding folks like us on this forum. Lord knows that's the truth.

Just a quick note, if you check out the statistics, people with concealed carry permits are the most law abiding group of people in the US of A. I came across that statistic a few weeks ago and it didn't surprise me one bit, as I'm in that group too, LOL. The next time someone gives you a hard time about carrying a gun you might bring that up.

Thanks for your post K22fan! Be safe practicing our sport.

The only Glock magazines that I remember going that high were for the Model 20 10mm. Galil .308 magazines went even higher. On the good side the zillions of Browning High Power magazines around the planet were pre-ban and could be sold as surplus to importers so they remained affordable.

There was an enormous gun buying splurge in anticipation of a worse ban followed by a drastic collapse in gun sales after the ban took effect. Predictably that repeated before and after the last election.

As a consequence of their push for gun control the Democrats were slaughtered in the 1994 mid term election. Predictably that also repeated in the last election. That is the one thing that will convince some of our neighbors that passing more restrictive gun laws in not in their best interest.

 

[4T5GUY]

Well, one thing that has not been mentioned, so far, is what happened to all of the F.F.L. holders. Me included. I was a "gunsmith", and was trying to do things right. Log in, log out. I was working out of my home. That was not acceptable. I was treated just like a firearms seller. I dug my feet in for a while, but after too many very threatening letters, I gave up and just sent in by bound book. Even though I explained what I was doing, I was required to show a "store front" sign, and all of the security systems I had. The pictures of my house and my wolf dog was not good enough.

 

[RedPointGS]

Say, Yoda ...

... I had and still have a Ruger P-85. It's still a great gun but, that S&W 5903 SSV, now that's a GREAT GUN!

Nice to have that as a safe queen.

Thanks for your post~

At the time I already had a wonderful M1A and, at the time, I was not in the market for an AR or any similar milspec weapon. However, I did buy a number of 20 round magazines for my M1A, I think they were 45 dollars apiece before the ban. The only high capacity pistol I owned was a Ruger P-89. A huge thing!!! A friend of mine wanted it and around the time he wanted it I found a S&W 5903 SSV that I really liked so I sold him the Ruger and bought the S&W. Bought additional hi-cap magazines for it, too.

To this very day that 5903 SSV is still a safe queen, my only unfired weapon.

I will never forget Bill Clinton telling Congress that if they passed "the Brady Bill, I'll sure sign it."

 

[RedPointGS]

Wee Hooker ...

I remember it like it was yesterday. Mainly because MASS still has it in effect.
The sad part is that banning a firearm based on a couple of superficial features still makes no sense some 23 years later.



Nor has it had an effect on gun violence. Legislators can be notoriously slow learners.

^Now that's a true statement!

 

[nimbly]

I grew up in California and graduated high school in 2003. I remember not being allowed much. When I moved to Texas I was so stoked that I could buy a gun and walk out with the gun and ammo all in one on the same day.

 

[Fishinfool]

Well, one thing that has not been mentioned, so far, is what happened to all of the F.F.L. holders. Me included. I was a "gunsmith", and was trying to do things right. Log in, log out. I was working out of my home. That was not acceptable. I was treated just like a firearms seller. I dug my feet in for a while, but after too many very threatening letters, I gave up and just sent in by bound book. Even though I explained what I was doing, I was required to show a "store front" sign, and all of the security systems I had. The pictures of my house and my wolf dog was not good enough.

The close friend with an FFL I mentioned in my earlier post was a Waterbury, CT cop. Operating out of his home, I'd guess 98% of his sales where to fellow cops, word of mouth. He followed all the "rules", but with the left leaning bent of both the state of CT and the fed gov., he was harassed until his own department told him to give up his FFL, or risk his job. Nice. That happened to more than a few FFL's I knew back then, including guys who depended on their FFL's as their sole income.

Larry

 

[Fishinfool]

Another thought, how that ban has almost come full circle. After the ban ended, I found a distributor that had brand new FEG made Browning HP 10 round mags for a ridiculous price of like two or three bucks each. Owning a HP and an FEG copy, I figured why not, and ordered 25 of them. They came in a box, each wrapped in Hungarian news paper. Apparently you could hardly give them away at the time. I used a couple on the range, and the rest still sit in a tub with a bunch of old holsters and stocks.

Fast forward to today, and all the states and localities with 10 round mag restrictions, and suddenly these mags are bringing money again.

Larry

 

[C J]

Well, one thing that has not been mentioned, so far, is what happened to all of the F.F.L. holders.

I don't remember if it was connected to the ban or not but I remember a lot of F.F.L. holders letting their license go because of increased scrutiny by Uncle Sam. People who had their license so they could collect guns easier didn't want to give away the rights they were asked to give up.

I wish I knew the details better. It's been a while ago. But I do remember friends who had their F.F.L. for many years letting it go about that time.

 

[Stevie]

I wanted an M1A/M14 rifle then...and the impending ban forced the issue. I borrowed some dollars from my wife and bought a new Polytech M14...Then during the ban I bought another Poly M14 cheaper at a gunshow...then a Springfield M1A...and several hi-capacity pistols and numerous hi-cap mags both pistol and rifle at gunshows. I always shopped gunshows then and never felt I paid too much for any of the guns and mags I bought. I even bought a relatively rare and banned Daewoo K1A1 carbine(Stoeger import Max I) for cheap!

At least in Oklahoma the ban wasn't that big an issue. I do miss the Daewoo cheap Daewoo assault rifles and missed out entirely on the Chinese AK's

 

[BigBill]

Things were great before, we had the new to our shore Chinese and Russian sks's, cheap Chinese norinco ammo. A $59 sks? Man I was fat dumb and happy. Then slick Willy stopped the imports from China. Then the ban hit. But the flood gates for the military surplus ammo opened up.
This was awesome, we had a flood of cheap surplus military ammo to shoot up. Feed those old surplus military rifles that had history behind them. On another forum years later we talked about what would dry up first. The surplus guns or surplus ammo? A few months later the surplus ammo started selling out one caliber at a time. The 8mm Mauser, 7.65 argentine, 303 Britt, 7mm Mauser, 6.5 Swede, all started drying up. I think we only have the 7.62x54R Russian left now, there was handgun ammo that was cheaper than cheap, the 9mm largo, the 7.62 nagant, the 7.62x25 tokarev, ext that's all gone.

When I got into the surplus stuff I thought there was a gazillion supply of endless guns and ammo. I thought wrong. The bans put on us didn't help either.

The new imported ammo from Europe seems here to stay. The Yugoslav company FOM was the first to offer the new French mas 7.5 ammo here then they increased the calibers, the Russian Barnaul was really accurate, and affordable, the wolf ammo is still somewhat affordable. The Winchester metric, wolf gold, is made in the former Yugoslavia. The S&B ammo is loaded we're it should be while the American suppliers cut back on the power charge for the military surplus guns. I find the S&B ammo very accurate too. The brass from the former Yugoslav is excellent for reloading. If you stay away from the higher powder charges you can reload the 6.5 Swede up to 15 times.

Overall it was nice for a decade or so shooting the military surplus ammo and not reloading it.

Ah the good old days came and went away in my lifetime. But I haven't used up my very first 1440rd case of norinco yellow box 7.62x39 yet. It's very accurate like 1 1/2" groups in a sks at 100yds, iron sights.

If you missed these times, they were great times, enjoy.

 

[arjay]

I remember a friend paying through the nose for a pair of ARs.I also remember him paying top dollar for a little stockpile of gold around that time.A few years later after watching real estate prices skyrocket in his area he bought a house right at the peak of the market.
Dan had terrible timing!

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

I remember seeing a lot of "pre ban" AR15s at gun shows for $1500+ and $40 30rd mags. Then I saw pretty much the same thing a few years ago during the panic. I reckon we'll see it again... I already had a Block17 with plenty of 17rd mags before the ban but during the ban I purchased a Glop19 and paid a premium for 15rd mags. There was a ton of pre ban stuff everywhere.

 

[mrchuck]

The latest shooting in New town, Connecticut is when I bought my last AR-15 at our local Walmart for 998 Dollars.
I still have it still in the box un-fired.
It is a Beast master.

 

[TTSH]

I remember it like it was yesterday. Mainly because MASS still has it in effect.
The sad part is that banning a firearm based on a couple of superficial features still makes no sense some 23 years later. Nor has it had an effect on gun violence. Legislators can be notoriously slow learners.

Yep. Reading this thread doesn't bring back any memories for me because this is still our pathetic reality today.

Think of how many folks bought pistols chambered in 45ACP thinking that if I can have only ten, then let's make them big ones!

Some of us still think that way. I like my .45's to be 10+1 standard capacity (hence my M&P45, my HK45, my RI 1911A2 and my desire for a P227 and not a P220). The same thinking applies to newer "post-ban" 9mm compact pistols... 10+1 is as good as it gets for us.