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Law change drives the high price of machine guns
Atlanta Journal Constitution ^ | 10/20/07 | Steve Visser

Posted on 10/20/2007 8:52:35 PM PDT by sig226

Randy Powell has a .50-caliber machine gun he would like to sell you — but he can't afford to.

The monster, sitting in a cage in back of his gun store and shooting range in Lawrenceville, can cut down a tree — and could easily fetch $30,000 in a perfectly legal sale. But for Powell, the sale would be the equivalent of hawking a Picasso or vintage wine.

The gun increases in value exponentially each year.

"I bought that gun for $10,000 about 10 years ago," he said. "I could make a lot of money if I sold it but it's an investment more than anything. There is no wholesale market. If I want another one, I may have to pay more than that."

If Clifford Harris Jr., the budding hip-hop mogul known as T.I., had lived a more law-abiding life he could have used his fortune to legally buy the .50-caliber, the silencers, the M60, Uzis or other machine guns that Powell has in his shop. "It is a real adventure to shoot it," said Robert Thornton, a machine-gun expert, of the .50-caliber. "You can hear the bullets strike the target 1,000, 1,500, 2,000 yards away."

Instead Harris is facing federal charges that include illegally possessing three machine guns and two silencers and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He pleaded not guilty to the weapons charges in court on Friday.

Most people, while they have the right, don't have the ability to buy a machine gun like Powell's. For instance, a Heckler &Koch MP5K machine pistol would fetch $15,000 on the civilian market, Powell said.

(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: banglist
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To: Sender
Don't worry, just like housing prices or the stock market, there will eventually be a "substantial correction" in the prices of class 3 firearms.

Guess again. This market is definitely finite and supply is squeezed. But there is no shortage of buyers. Look at the law of supply: When supplies are down and demand is up....prices are up. Supply is never going to improve since the law that governs it was reformed in 1986.

When the price of survival exceeds the price of illegality, such as after a major catastrophic event, the price of these items will drop substantially.

In fact under such a circumstance, the prices will rise still further. So will the price of ammo. Of course that's for the legal markets. If you want to try sniping the national guard that becomes a whole 'nother issue. Of course by that time (heck this is prolly true NOW) most national guardsmen will be veterans of several combat scenarios in different theatres. That makes taking them out a far riskier propisition!

21 posted on 10/20/2007 11:43:21 PM PDT by ExSoldier (Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on dinner. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.)
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To: SFC Chromey
...but, but , but, you don’t need ‘thousands’ of rounds of ammunition for hunting! ;)

I hunt mosquitos, when I'm not on the boat, fishing for plankton.

22 posted on 10/21/2007 12:31:45 AM PDT by Riley (The Fourth Estate is the Fifth Column.)
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To: sig226
When the government makes legal transactions untenable, they openly encourage the black market.

When government tyranny crosses the line into criminal actions, then they make criminals of all citizens.

In this case, the law deserves no respect and should be openly discarded.

The idiots who are creating this situation are obviously ignorant of history or they would have learned from prohibition.

Such is the consequence of permitting ignorant fools the power of federal office.

23 posted on 10/21/2007 4:19:57 AM PDT by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: SFC Chromey

Depends what you are hunting. here commie commie commie.


24 posted on 10/21/2007 4:40:15 AM PDT by Total Package (TOLEDO, OHIO THE MRSA INFECTION IN THE STATE)
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To: sinanju
I think a .50 BMG was actually used in a bank holdup once, once, in the sixties.

If they're using a .50 BMG, let them have the money!

25 posted on 10/21/2007 4:42:58 AM PDT by Retired COB (Still mad about Campaign Finance Reform)
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To: padre35
The Atlanta CJ had a good reason for fact checking those laws, they are trying to gin up support for TI.

YEAH! If TI hadn't unfairly and unjustly been turned into a felon by "the man" due ONLY to the color of his skin and the way he dresses, he'd be able to use his fortune to buy the same dangerous "toys" that the rich white folks are, unfairly, able to buy.

TIME TO MARCH AL AND JESSE!!!

26 posted on 10/21/2007 5:48:18 AM PDT by DocH (RINO-rudy for BRONX Dog Catcher 2008!!!)
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To: ExSoldier

I was referring to the fact that if illegality no longer mattered, weapons could be converted for $50 or less. The legal ones will, of course, always be expensive and rare.


27 posted on 10/21/2007 7:23:34 AM PDT by Sender (Can I just post until I need glasses?)
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To: Sender
if illegality no longer mattered, weapons could be converted for $50 or less.

If legality is no longer an issue it would seem wasteful to bother converting semis to full unless you're just dropping in a selector switch. Why not just gather from the source? That's the usual source of supply for any budding insurgency.

28 posted on 10/21/2007 9:58:28 AM PDT by ExSoldier (Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on dinner. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.)
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To: ExSoldier

Well, you have a good point, but for the record I have no plans to ever buy one, steal one nor illegally convert one, as even in the direst chaos, I would rather use ammo sparingly and accurately.


29 posted on 10/21/2007 10:24:37 AM PDT by Sender (Can I just post until I need glasses?)
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To: ozzymandus
It’s been illegal to register any more of them since 1986.

Since the government never appealed the Rock Island Armory decision, shouldn't it be legal to register them within that district? Or does the feral government simply ignore that court ruling?

30 posted on 10/21/2007 10:25:49 AM PDT by supercat (Sony delenda est.)
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To: supercat

I don’t know about that particular ruling, but I do know the Feds ignore laws they don’t like.


31 posted on 10/21/2007 1:50:03 PM PDT by ozzymandus
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To: ozzymandus
..but I do know the Feds ignore laws they don’t like.

Well, more and more, so do I. If it is good enough for my employees....

32 posted on 10/21/2007 3:36:02 PM PDT by MileHi ( "It's coming down to patriots vs the politicians." - ovrtaxt)
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To: ExSoldier

HKs are pretty easy, from what I hear. Same with uzi.


33 posted on 10/21/2007 3:42:54 PM PDT by mamelukesabre
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To: Sender
Well, you have a good point, but for the record I have no plans to ever buy one, steal one nor illegally convert one, as even in the direst chaos, I would rather use ammo sparingly and accurately.

ROFLMAO! Me, too....buddy. Me too. Actually the term is spray and pray for a reason. If I ever make somebody mad enough to take shots at me, I hope he's on full auto so I'll have a reasonable chance (I almost said shot) at escaping unscathed. OTOH, if I've made somebody mad enough to use a scope sighted rifle and he knows what he's doing....gulp.

34 posted on 10/21/2007 4:46:25 PM PDT by ExSoldier (Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on dinner. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.)
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To: Sender

There was a video a while ago that showed exactly what one could do with a machine gun and several full size silhouette targets. The machine gun emptied a 30 round magazine and winged one of the targets. A guy firing semi auto double tapped each target center of mass in the same amount of time. Of course, he also had about twenty rounds left and the other guy was empty.


35 posted on 10/21/2007 5:27:55 PM PDT by sig226 (New additions to the list of democrat criminals - see my profile)
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To: ExSoldier

LOL, I agree, never make anyone mad who shoots one shot at a time with a scope! An ordinary deer rifle is much deadlier than spray and pray.


36 posted on 10/22/2007 8:17:01 AM PDT by Sender (Can I just post until I need glasses?)
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To: supercat
Clarification: The RIA case ruled that one could not be charged with not registering a new MG because owning one is flatly illegal.
Rephrased: You can't register them because you can't have them even if they were registered.
37 posted on 10/22/2007 8:28:05 AM PDT by ctdonath2 (The color blue tastes like the square root of 0?)
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To: sig226

I believe that video completely. For me, the best compromise is semi-auto with a good red-dot sight or a holosight.


38 posted on 10/22/2007 8:28:30 AM PDT by Sender (Can I just post until I need glasses?)
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To: sig226

Merely proof that “spray and pray” doesn’t work.
I’ve passed the DEA qualifier for MGs; with a little training, the benefit of full-auto is primarily being able to get faster double/triple-taps accurately.
Just emptying the mag doesn’t help with either full- or semi-auto.


39 posted on 10/22/2007 8:31:47 AM PDT by ctdonath2 (The color blue tastes like the square root of 0?)
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To: ExSoldier

Why do you wish to “try sniping the National Guard”?


40 posted on 10/22/2007 8:39:03 AM PDT by Scotsman will be Free (11C - Indirect fire, infantry - High angle hell - We will bring you, FIRE)
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