Hi-cap magazine legal question

M

Maxwells pabbi

Inactive
My understanding of what Clinton did in 1994 is that the ban only applied to new magazines made in the USA. Does this mean that it is still legal for anyone to order and have shipped to them new hi-cap magazines from overseas? If anyone could shed some light on this it would be greatly appreciated.
 
If that's true then there are a lot of
people on another firearms forum who
are in for a rude awakening.
There is an effort currently underway to
import a certain brand of magazines for
sale. Orders and payment were solicited
last spring.
 
Just to clarify, 'HI-CAPS' were manufactured after 9/14/94 so imports are still permitted of any full cap mags which were manufactured prior to 9/14/94. This is why you see so many AK mags still being brought in. There was a provision added to the Juvenile Justice Bill, the Feinstein Amendment, to ban the importation of all full cap mags, but that has not passed.
 
US firms were not allowed to manufacture and sell hi-caps (more than 10 rounds) after the cut-off date. Any hi-caps manufactured in this country after that date must be stamped with the date and/or a statement to the effect that they are for LEO use only. Civilian possession of such a mag is illegal.

If a US importer had a contract in effect with a foreign manufacturer that was not fulfilled as of the cutoff date, the companies were allowed to fulfill the contract, even if that meant importing hi-caps manufactured overseas after the ban date. I am assuming that those contracts had to be filed with ATF, and I can't imagine that any of them extended mmore than a year or so past the ban.

Any hi-cap manufactured overseas after the ban date, excepting those exempted by contract, are illegal to import or own in the US. If you bought a SIG hi-cap on a trip to Germany, it would be smuggling for you to bring it back with you. If customs found it, they would assume that it was post-ban and therefore illegal. If you did bring it back and got it through customs, I'm not sure how ATF could tell that it was post-ban. I don't know if foreign manufacturers are cooperating with the US and marking or dating their post-ban production, since there is no such thing as pre- or post-ban in other countries. They would have to mark post-ban LEO mags imported into the US.
 
There are no 'hi-cap' magazines. There are only regular capacity and the reduced capacity 'Clinton Specials'.

LawDog
 
What Lawdog said. :mad:

And concering "..for LEO use only" -- possession of one of these lame restrictions is prohibited? Give me a break.

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What about old ones like for Schmisser or Bergmann autos? Seems like there would be way too many of those sorts of things out there to outlaw them. Do those fall under some sort of curio or relic provision?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by James Montes:
Sorry,

It is also illegal to have any "HI-CAP" mags IMPORTED into the U.S. as of the 1994 Crime Bill.[/quote]

Nope. They can still be imported IF the magazines were made before the cutoff date. However, there's a whole bunch of red-tape involved to get the importation approved by the BATF. Not something an individual could do.

M1911
 
From my understanding amy mag of any capacity can be imported as long as it was manufactured before 1994 ban. This means any military surplus mags manufactured before 1994 can be imported.

Did I understand correctly?
 
Are you suggesting I could buy a bunch of Glock or Sig mags from Mexico or Canada, and bring them in? How can you tell if they're pre-ban or not? Unlike guns, mags have no serial numbers or anything. Also, I doubt mags made in other countries are marked "LEO only".
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by branrot:
Are you suggesting I could buy a bunch of Glock or Sig mags from Mexico or Canada, and bring them in? How can you tell if they're pre-ban or not? Unlike guns, mags have no serial numbers or anything. Also, I doubt mags made in other countries are marked "LEO only".[/quote]

Branrot: You will have to fill out a whole bunch of paper work with the BATF. You will have to prove to them that the mags are, in fact, pre-ban. And you can bet your life that the BATF will drag their feet as long as possible.

M1911
 
If importing good legal pre-ban terrible hi-cap mags, should one wait for the steel to cool before crossing any borders?
 
I know one such officer that brought back about a half-dozen 30rnd Glock clips from Europe under the "its for LEO use only" excuse, only to turn around and sell them for a fortune.. how sweet.

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Don't forget state restrictions. Here in NJ, anything over 15 rounds is illegal - irrespective of when it was made. 11-15 round mags are OK if they are "pre-ban."
 
there are supposed shipping containers of foreign 30 rounders waiting to be imported but the BATF is holding up the paper work.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by pawcatch:
The ones made after the date are suppose to be stamped.[/quote]

True, but this only applies if the are made in/for the US Market. Don't for a second think that other countries will enforce our laws on products made in their countries.

(Abundance of caution reminder: Just because a magazine is not stamped with a date does not mean that its date of manufacture can not be determined! Machining marks, manufacturing methods, design changes and the fact that a magazine is for a model that did not exist before the ban could all prove that a magazine is post-ban)
 
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