Aguila Blanca
Staff
Do firearms manufacturers submit copies of their serial number and date records to the BATFE on a regular basis? If so, are these lists public record? They don't include any proprietary information, and they don't identify who bought the firearms, so I can't think of any reason why they would not be subject to FOIA laws.
I've been communicating with the owner of the M1911.org forum about their Para serial number project: https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=616869
John, the owner of M1911.org, was a personal friend of Ted Szabos, the founder and president of Para-Ordnance. I once met Ted, through John. Ted was a very nice guy, and extremely interested in making good firearms better. Sadly, he died unexpectedly, in the chair at what was supposed to be a routine dental procedure. We can only speculate what Para-Ordnance would be today if Ted had not died so unexpectedly and in such an untimely fashion.
As a Para-Ordnance shooter myself, I would like to see this build date project achieve critical mass. As some of you know, Para-Ordnance was a Canadian company. When Ted Szabos owned and ran it, they were in Ontario. A few years after his death, they moved production to North Carolina, then sold out to Remington. Remington moved production again, and then killed off the brand and ceased production of double-stack 1911 pistols.
Remington has, in the past, responded to inquiries regarding build date of Canadian Para-Ordnance pistols, but their data are generally wrong. They say they are providing what they received from ParaUSA, but I don't believe that Para-Ordnance or ParaUSA kept such woefully inaccurate records. (I know they are inaccurate, because some of my Paras were purchased new and had dated, fired cases with them.)
The thought occurred to me that I might be able to obtain complete lists from the BATFE -- if manufacturers are required to submit that information and , if so, if such information is considered to be a public record.
Does anyone know?
I've been communicating with the owner of the M1911.org forum about their Para serial number project: https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=616869
John, the owner of M1911.org, was a personal friend of Ted Szabos, the founder and president of Para-Ordnance. I once met Ted, through John. Ted was a very nice guy, and extremely interested in making good firearms better. Sadly, he died unexpectedly, in the chair at what was supposed to be a routine dental procedure. We can only speculate what Para-Ordnance would be today if Ted had not died so unexpectedly and in such an untimely fashion.
As a Para-Ordnance shooter myself, I would like to see this build date project achieve critical mass. As some of you know, Para-Ordnance was a Canadian company. When Ted Szabos owned and ran it, they were in Ontario. A few years after his death, they moved production to North Carolina, then sold out to Remington. Remington moved production again, and then killed off the brand and ceased production of double-stack 1911 pistols.
Remington has, in the past, responded to inquiries regarding build date of Canadian Para-Ordnance pistols, but their data are generally wrong. They say they are providing what they received from ParaUSA, but I don't believe that Para-Ordnance or ParaUSA kept such woefully inaccurate records. (I know they are inaccurate, because some of my Paras were purchased new and had dated, fired cases with them.)
The thought occurred to me that I might be able to obtain complete lists from the BATFE -- if manufacturers are required to submit that information and , if so, if such information is considered to be a public record.
Does anyone know?