Why buy multiple AR lowers?

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Nugilum

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OK, I'm reading posts all over the internet that people are buying as many AR lowers as they can afford in leu of the anticipated second AWB.

Uhh, I think I missed something here... :confused:

I can see having two lowers for redundancy, but wouldn't it be more economically efficient to purchase as many different uppers as possible? Wouldn't the ATF see someone with multiple AR lowers as a potential unlicensed dealer and "take an interest" in that individual? :uhoh:

Please educate me. :)
 
Resale my boy.....

Resale. A lot of folks think that they will be able to turn a quick buck if the AWB II goes through by reselling a $200 lower (the part that the ATF considers the "gun") at inflated prices due to the artificial lack of supply and the consistent or increased demand.
 
This is the idea:

A proposed ban would probably affect rifles sold or manufactured after a certain date.
The lower on an AR is what countas as a "rifle."
If you buy multiple lowers before the ban then you may be able to put whatever you want on it after the ban.

They won't ban the features on uppers because uppers are "just part" whereas the lower "is" the rifle.

Of course, this doesn't matter if the ban requires you to prove that the gun was purchased in a preban configuration.

The supply of AR lowers won't decrease after a ban...but the supply of preban lowers would.
 
On an AR, the lower is the gun. The upper is just machine parts.

On an FAL, the upper is the gun, the lower is just machine parts.

But they are buying the "gun" now, and worrying about the rest later.
 
It's not resale for me. I want to be able to build up 1 or two of every different configuration I can think of... :evil:
 
What makes you think that assembly will be legal.
Click to expand...

That's just the thing...We don't.

BUT, it is worth a few hundred to me, to have a couple of extra lowers as an insurance policy if the EBRs(the lowers) actually do get banned. Since uppers are the expensive part, I can't afford to have every configuration I want, but for pretty cheap I can have a few extra stripped lowers lying around in case assembling them isn't illegal.
 
Even if they make a law that makes it illegal to build up more after the ban, having some lowers on hand would make it much easier and faster to build them up quickly before that ban takes effect...
 
How would the ATF know? Even if you bought several the same day a multiple disposition report would not have to be filed unless they were registered as pistols.
 
As I remember in the previous ban, a gun assembled with a legal pre-ban lower and illegal scary features in the upper is still illegal unless it was sold that way prior to the ban. Assembling a gun with scary features may not be legal post the next ban. A gun bought complete with scary features ought to be ok. I would buy guns instead of lowers.
 
I remember the first AWB as beemerphile described it.

So basically people are betting that AWB2 will be different from AWB1, mainly with the cessation of new civilian owned ARs.

But don't you think that the gun control politicians remember what happened to them in the 1994 elections after the AWB was passed? The ARs were not outright banned in AWB, just prevented the "evil scary features" configurations (remember those drive-by bayonetings are getting out of hand) That AWB was one huge factor for Congress to swing Republican for the first time in over 40 years.

Wouldn't an outright ban cause a tremendous back-lash, even greater than 1994?
 
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Didn't HR1022 outlaw evil uppers and accessories as well?
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No. It was just illegal to put them on post ban lowers. Most manufactures had a disclaimer saying so on the website, BM's would pop up every time you opened the pre-ban uppers page. You check out an upper, hit the back button, and it would pop up again...

As I remember in the previous ban, a gun assembled with a legal pre-ban lower and illegal scary features in the upper is still illegal unless it was sold that way prior to the ban. Assembling a gun with scary features may not be legal post the next ban. A gun bought complete with scary features ought to be ok. I would buy guns instead of lowers.
Click to expand...
It was supposed to be assembled before the ban. So, take your no ban upper, and put on on your new lower. SAW. Put it on another, its another SAW. Then later on, you're not building them, youre restoring them to a previous configuartion:p
 
Wouldn't an outright ban cause a tremendous back-lash, even greater than 1994?
Click to expand...

Absolutely, especially since the ownership of "assault rifles" has been gaining steam since the end of the ban on 2004...

But why wait for them to take them away? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...
 
A lot of folks think that they will be able to turn a quick buck if the AWB II goes through by reselling a $200 lower (the part that the ATF considers the "gun") at inflated prices due to the artificial lack of supply and the consistent or increased demand.
Click to expand...
I am buying multiple lowers for me-n-mine, not for resale.
 
The reason is that the lower is the rifle, for legal purposes. Any new AWB is most likely going to restrict sale of lowers. It may well do something else as well (see below), but it will almost certainly also place some restrictions on lowers. Since the lower is the cheaper/easier part to assemble, it makes sense to hedge your bets and get a few now. Bonus points if you buy it via private transaction.

Now, the real problem is that no one knows what this hypothetical new ban will look like. We have the old AWB and the current HB1022 to use as guidelines, but the final product, if it ever gets passed, may look nothing like either. So, just buying a few lowers and thinking you're safe is a bad idea. Fight the legislation, pay attention to the bills, and make sure you can do what you want to do if the stupid thing passes.

One thing you can do, and MAY help, is to buy a few stripped lowers and assemble them (use one parts kit if you're super cheap, moving from one to the other) and then mate them with a functional upper. Voila! Your stripped lowers are now fully functional "assault weapons", assembled in February 2008. Take pictures. Make sure you get the S/Ns. Have them notarized. Put it all in your safe deposit box, just in case.

Is this 100%? Absolutely not. But it's relatively cheap and easy, and it MAY help in the future.

Mike
 
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