Drum Magazine Imports

[garlic_b]

As some here know I live in Beijing, China. Well I recently discovered an army surplus store near where I live. (Yup, they have those here) Anyway I found a Chinese made 75 round AK drum magazine, for pretty cheap.

My question is this, what are the current legalities regarding the bringing in (import) of high capacity magazines?

or ?

 

[sporter]

Illegal as hell to import the mentioned items from China.

As far as export (from China) I have no idea.

 

[garlic_b]

Illegal as hell to import the mentioned items from China.

As far as export (from China) I have no idea.

That part didn't sunset? Bummer. So, note to self. Don't buy and put into suitcase...

 

[INMIline]

Someone has to ask. How much are they over there? My guess is $20

 

[CountryBoy19]

Illegal as hell to import the mentioned items from China.

As far as export (from China) I have no idea.

Source?

Until I see a source for this I'm calling

There is no magazine import ban that I know of.

BTW, Chinese drums are much more valuable and sought after than other drums because they can be opened up in the back and I believe you can unwind the spring to relieve tension while loading, then wind it up. But I could be mistaken on that.

 

[E5RANGER375]

if its legal that would be awesome!!!

 

[Indy500]

Source?

Until I see a source for this I'm calling

There is no magazine import ban that I know of.

BTW, Chinese drums are much more valuable and sought after than other drums because they can be opened up in the back and I believe you can unwind the spring to relieve tension while loading, then wind it up. But I could be mistaken on that.

Other countries copied that design. I have some from Romania that function flawlessly. Load it up and put away. When you need it, wind it up 6 times and you are good to go.

 

[garlic_b]

I had two way back when... they worked pretty damn well. Next time I am there I'll ask again. (My memory is crap)

Reiterating what CountryBoy19 said. Source confirming would be awesome...

 

[garlic_b]

just sent the following email off to the ATF, hopefully will get an answer soon-ish!

I have read the FAQ's pertaining to Semiautomatic Assault Weapons and Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Devices at the following URL, but still have a question regarding my circumstances. ATF Online - Firearms - Frequently Asked Questions - Semiautomatic Assault Weapons And Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Devices (SAWs and LCAFDs) I am a US citizen currently residing in the Peoples Republic of China. During my stay here I have found a store which sells military surplus and curios. One item that they have is a 75 round drum magazine for AK style rifles. Now I know this is definitely considered a LCAFD and is as such subject to the provisions of the Arms Export Control Act, and for normal import it would require a Form 6. My specific question is this, can I as a tourist in a foreign country purchase something like this as a souvenir for personal use and bring back (not shipping, but in my personal suitcase) to the US? If I brought this back to the US would it be considered importing? What regulations would apply? Further how would an item such as this in ones luggage be effected by TSA regulations? Any further information would be greatly appreciated!

Sincerely,
Me.

 

[shooter521]

There is no magazine import ban that I know of.

I believe there's a trade agreement between the US and China that prohibits the importation of "war materiel," which includes military magazines, weapon parts, etc.

 

[nighthawk80]

I believe there's a trade agreement between the US and China that prohibits the importation of "war materiel," which includes military magazines, weapon parts, etc.

What about magazine parts?

 

[shooter521]

More info, from http://www.polytechparts.com:

About the 1994 Import Ban

On May 26, 1994, President Clinton announced the renewal of Most Favored Nation trading status for the People's Republic of China. At the same time, however, in light of "continuing human rights abuses" in China, he announced certain trading sanctions against that country. One of the sanctions was a ban on the importation of munitions from China.

China is one of the countries on the State Department's "proscribed list," a list of countries as to which it is "the policy of the United States to deny licenses and other approvals" for the importation of munitions. Although China's status on the proscribed list has varied through the years, it has been explicitly listed since 1993 as one of the countries with which the United States maintains an arms embargo. Arms may not be imported from any country on the proscribed list, including countries with which the United States maintains an arms embargo, absent a special exception or suspension of the regulation by the Office of Defense Trade Controls in the Department of State.

Prior to 1994, China was exempted from the effects of its inclusion on the proscribed list, which meant that for as long as the exemption was in effect, arms could be imported from China by licensed importers who obtained import permits. On May 28, 1994, however, two days after the President announced the arms embargo against China, the Secretary of State advised the Secretary of the Treasury that China's exemption from the proscribed list was terminated "effective immediately on the basis of U.S. foreign policy." In light of the decision to revoke China's exemption from the proscribed list, the Secretary of State requested the Secretary of the Treasury to "take all necessary steps to prohibit the import of all defense articles enumerated in the U.S. Munitions List."

The two Treasury Department agencies principally responsible for administering and enforcing arms import regulations -- the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) and the Customs Service -- thereafter embarked on a series of steps to implement the Chinese arms embargo. Immediately after the President announced the embargo, the Customs Service directed that all shipments of arms from China be detained. Customs subsequently advised its field agents that the embargo was effective as of May 28, 1994, and that all permits for importing arms from China had been rendered null and void. On June 27, 1994, BATF advised companies holding permits to import munitions from China that the embargo became effective on May 28 and that their permits were revoked as of that date. Congress subsequently enacted legislation that ameliorated the effect of the ban by providing that it would not be enforced with respect to shipments that, as of May 26, 1994, were in a bonded warehouse or foreign trade zone, in port, or in transit to the United States.

 

[irishfan]

Throw it in the suitcase and give it a shot...what is the worst that can happen

 

[rambone]

Put it in the mail!!

 

[Bill of Rights]

If you find you can bring these back for your personal use and later determine that there might be one or two that you do not want to keep, I might be interested.

Please note that I am not asking you to bring any back specifically for resale to me, in violation of US import laws, only that, as I said, if you do bring some back for yourself and later find yourself with more than you want, keep me in mind as someone to contact.

I consider this about as likely to happen as someone buying a Kimber and later determining he does not want it and selling it to me for $250-$300. It could happen, but I ain't holdin' my breath.

Blessings,
Bill

 

[CountryBoy19]

More info, from http://www.polytechparts.com:....

Thanks for the info. I wasn't aware of that.

So the issue is not that it's a LCAFD, it is that it's coming from China.

So why can't it be exported to another country, and then exported from that country to the US?

Also, what if it was disassembled and in pieces. Would it then just be considered piece-parts and permissible for import? Sort of like CA laws on hi-cap mags, they can buy parts, but not completed magazines. I once sold a collectible AK mag to a guy in CA and he insisted that it wasn't a magazine and that it was parts (even though all parts were there) and that it had to be in parts when I shipped it.

 

[shooter521]

So the issue is not that it's a LCAFD, it is that it's coming from China.

Correct. "Large capacity ammunition feeding devices" are imported from other countries (Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, etc) regularly and without incident. Scuttlebutt is that some of these may actually be of Chinese manufacture, routed through third-party countries in an end run around the above-mentioned embargo.

So why can't it be exported to another country, and then exported from that country to the US?

IIRC, the US Munitions Import List specifies that an item manufactured or located in a prohibited country must reside in a non-prohibited country for a minimum length of time (think years) before it would be deemed importable. That's how the surplus Russian AK-74 mags came in via Bulgaria in the past several years. Then you have the "end run" stuff mentioned above (obviously Russian mags with "made in Bulgaria" stickers on them, or "Yugoslavian" drum mags with Chinese proof marks, etc), which is another matter entirely.

Also, what if it was disassembled and in pieces. Would it then just be considered piece-parts and permissible for import?

No; the advisory on the Polytechparts website pertains to all parts for military-type weapons from China; I don't imagine drum mag bodies or followers would be somehow exempt.

 

[E5RANGER375]

if it were me, id send it to a budy in another gun loving country from china, and then have the buddy in that other country send it to a buddy in the U.S. i dont see anything wrong with that. no laws broken? give it a try. if you want. not like your trying to send a rocket launcher. if you want one of those you can go to central america and buy one in the market, cheap, lol