Ghost Gun

Yes, Senator, a convicted felon CAN order and own an 80% lower and all of the rest of a rifle.

As long as they leave it like that, they are in compliance with the law.  Laws that idiot anti-gun Senators like yourself wrote.

Want to know something, Charles?  It's still illegal for them to go past 80%, because the instant they do that 80% part becomes a firearm, and thus illegal for them to own and possess.

I checked, it's also illegal for a prohibited person to make a firearm.

Can't own it, possess it or make it.

Since the breathless reporting says that "criminals" have already noticed, I'm going to read that as two criminals total.  That's the minimum number to use plural.

Rifles of any kind are still statistical noise in gun related crime.

The presentation and set up of this article and the proven nesty nature of ATF and NFATCA make me wonder if the "former ATF agent Rick Vasquez" isn't actually a representative of NFATCA.  It matches their "potential energy = kinetic energy" thought process where they think that because someone might do something illegal it means that criminals ARE doing something illegal (therefore it must be forbidden).  He's also shown to have a pretty nice machine shop.  A couple of hours for him might be a lot slower for someone else.

The ATF agent they interview, Graham Barlowe, is from Sacramento, California.  Agent Barlowe, I have another theory for whom is making ghost guns in your area of operations, they're making guns that are "off list" to have a configuration that is banned by name, but not construction.

But let's talk about my "ghost gun" experience.

No serial number.  No background check.  4th attempt.  The Freedom 15 is a tedious process and easy to screw up.  The entry level kit is $340 and has enough material for 5 pours.  I used up one pour making color samples and three getting it wrong.  Yes, that makes it a $340 lower.  It took me an entire evening to get it right.  The rest of the gun is over $550!

Serialed.

Background check.  $269.55 for the lower.  $55 of untraceable cash purchase face to face at a loophole gun show for the 80% lower.  $85.80 to ship it to be engraved.  $133.75 to have it anodized after I'd done the carving.  This does not count the cost in tools, fixtures and jigs.  That's easily another $500 if you don't already own them, but they're reusable.

Notice the background check?  The place doing the anodizing mandated that.

Why did Marv and I make poured resin lowers?  For the experience and enjoyment.  We're not prohibited people looking to get around the laws.  We're indulging in our hobbies.

My 80% lower project was to get the markings pictured above.  The way I did it was literally the only legal way to get what I wanted.  The gun I was cloning is both actual government property and a machine gun not legally registered before 1986.  I cannot own the actual rifle I was issued, so this is what I made instead.

But notice in both cases it cost considerably more for me to get the "ghost" gun?  I cannot help but think that it's cheaper to get a non-felon buddy to do a straw purchase than go to the effort of an 80%.

Let's talk about effort.  Most criminals are not what we call hard working in the traditional sense.  Building a gun is real work.

UPDATE:

Remember this picture?

Do you remember which of these two items is a firearm and which isn't?  I know that the top one looks more like a gun, but it's the bottom one that's legally a firearm.