cold iron Loc: White House

ATF To Ban AR-15 Ammo

In a move clearly intended by the Obama Administration to suppress the acquisition, ownership and use of AR-15s and other .223 caliber general purpose rifles, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives unexpectedly announced today that it intends to ban commonplace M855 ball ammunition as “armor piercing ammunition.” The decision continues Obama’s use of his executive authority to impose gun control restrictions and bypass Congress. Obama knows he can not take over if we can fight back.

It isn’t even the third week of February, and the BATFE has already taken three major executive actions on gun control. First, it was a major change to what activities constitute regulated “manufacturing” of firearms. Next, BATFE reversed a less than year old position on firing a shouldered “pistol.” Now, BATFE has released a “Framework for Determining Whether Certain Projectiles are ‘Primarily Intended for Sporting Purposes’ Within the Meaning of 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(17)(c)”, which would eliminate M855’s exemption to the armor piercing ammunition prohibition and make future exemptions nearly impossible.
By way of background, federal law imposed in 1986 prohibits the manufacture, importation, and sale by licensed manufacturers or importers, but not possession, of “a projectile or projectile core which may be used in a handgun and which is constructed entirely . . . from one or a combination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper, or depleted uranium.” Because there are handguns capable of firing M855, it “may be used in a handgun.” It does not, however, have a core made of the metals listed in the law; rather, it has a traditional lead core with a steel tip, and therefore should never have been considered “armor piercing.” Nonetheless, BATFE previously declared M855 to be “armor piercing ammunition,” but granted it an exemption as a projectile “primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes.”
Now, however, BATFE says that it will henceforth grant the “sporting purposes” exception to only two categories of projectiles:

Category I: .22 Caliber Projectiles
A .22 caliber projectile that otherwise would be classified as armor piercing ammunition under 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(17)(B) will be considered to be “primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes” under section 921(a)(17)(C) if the projectile weighs 40 grains or less AND is loaded into a rimfire cartridge.

Category II: All Other Caliber Projectiles
Except as provided in Category I (.22 caliber rimfire), projectiles that otherwise would be classified as armor piercing ammunition will be presumed to be “primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes” under section 921(a)(17)(C) if the projectile is loaded into a cartridge for which the only handgun that is readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade is a single shot handgun. ATF nevertheless retains the discretion to deny any application for a “sporting purposes” exemption if substantial evidence exists that the ammunition is not primarily intended for such purposes.

BATFE is accepting comments until March 16, 2015 on this indefensible attempt to disrupt ammunition for the most popular rifle in America. Check back early next week for a more in-depth analysis of this “framework” and details on how you can submit comments.

How to comment – from the BATFE
ATF will carefully consider all comments, as appropriate, received on or before March 16, 2015, and will give comments received after that date the same consideration if it is practical to do so, but assurance of consideration cannot be given except as to comments received on or before March 16, 2015. ATF will not acknowledge receipt of comments. Submit comments in any of three ways (but do not submit the same comments multiple times or by more than one method):

ATF email: APAComments@atf.gov

Fax: (202) 648-9741.

Mail: Denise Brown, Mailstop 6N-602, Office of Regulatory Affairs, Enforcement Programs and Services, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, 99 New York Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20226: ATTN: AP Ammo Comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denise Brown, Enforcement Programs and Services, Office of Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, U.S. Department of Justice, 99 New York Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20226; telephone: (202) 648-7070.

If you will not fight back, who will?

PeterS

You can. Grab your AF15 and teach them a lesson!

bahmer

Just another back door approach to gun control. If you can't ban the gun ban the ammo. I hope this backfires in his face as well.

Mollypitcher1

Get your Senators and Representatives into the act. Decrease their funding! Decrease the funding of ANYTHING that touches the Second Amendment!

"A well regulated M*****a"....well regulated meaning Trained and Equipped! You can't be equipped without ammunition to train and to defend the right to keep and bear arms. Arms meaning the vehicle and the projectile as a unit!

JMHO Loc: Utah

Ignorant liberal....AR-15 nit wit, not AF15...sheeeesshhh....

buffalo Loc: Texas

What? And not ban 7.62X39 AK47 ammo? What about .308 AR10 ammo?
Why just .223 with all the other rounds> What if one had a .308 upper for his AR15? There are so many calibers and interchangable uppers, this post is bulls**t!

bahmer

We sure wouldn't want those clowns on our side that is for sure. They wouldn't know the front to the gun from the rear and they sure wouldn't know where to put the bullets in at. AF-15 right.

DamnYANKEE

BAN the ATF . PERIOD

DamnYANKEE

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

buffalo Loc: Texas

Maybe the "big brother" government is just putting bulls**t rumors out like this one to be repeated on forums like this so they can find out who talks against the ban of certain ammo and put them on a list of gun owners and possible white male terrorists against big brother. You know they spy on all that goes on on the internet.

buffalo Loc: Texas

Bulk .22 calber shells have been impossible to find in the last year or so. I have had to severely curtail my plinking.

Kevyn

I think you have it wrong, if the ammunition providers and the press that covers firearms and shooting sports stokes up a good case of the fear, paranoid gun nuts will go crazy in a hoarding frenzy the resulting scarcity combined with rising prices will re assure the paranoid that their feeling of impending doom is well founded and that regardless of price it is time to buy more! The folks selling and advertising will laugh their way to the bank. As they say follow the money, in double wides across the land there will be little ammunition money squandered on rent and groceries once this gets out.

pafret Loc: Northeast

*********************

That has been a major problem since almost every department of the government is stockpiling ammunition. I read somewhere that the Social Security Administration is also stockpiling ammunition. Do they intend mounting an armed assault against enraged seniors? Can't you picture a bunch of us old geezers pushing our walkers in an attack on the Soc Sec building?

This is simply an attempt to turn every gun into as club.

pafret Loc: Northeast

*********************

That has been a major problem since almost every department of the government is stockpiling ammunition. I read somewhere that the Social Security Administration is also stockpiling ammunition. Do they intend mounting an armed assault against enraged seniors? Can't you picture a bunch of us old geezers pushing our walkers in an attack on the Soc Sec building?

This is simply an attempt to turn every gun into as club.

buffalo Loc: Texas

Maybe both.eh?