Vietnam "bring-home" Weapons

S

smince

Moderator
We were discussing at work the stories we've all heard about the vets who claim they snuck home with an M16 or AK47 in a duffle bag.

I know it is way too late for the amnesty day. So, if any of the stories were to be true, really nothing could be done with one, correct? Would it even be legal to make it a Dewat?

Some interesting and totally outrageous suggestions were brought up in the break room at work(as you might imagine).
 
A guy I know from college was recently a Marine door gunner in Iraq. He told me how his buddies smuggled back full-auto Aks inside of their Hueys. Some guys in Desert Storm hide AKs and AKMs inside of the fuel tankes of M1 Abrams tanks.
 
If true, just buy a legal reciever and transfer parts

Wow - thats a little easier said than done. If someone did indeed have an AK stashed away from Vietnam, it would cost a LOT of $$$ to get a legal receiver. Last time I looked they were going over $10k. And more likely closer to $13k - $15k.

But raises intereting question, could a vet chop up the AK and sell it as parts kit? Or would he be stuck with just surrendering it, or selling off the non-receiver parts (or burying it until TEOTWAWKI)?

To my knowledge there is no way in world that you can make DEWATS now. ATF's opinion is that its contraband and sadly little will be done to change their mind of that.
 
Wouldn't it be cheaper and safer to buy an NFA AK-47 when you got home, what with hazard pay and the military providing most of what you need to get along?

Edit: I originally meant this in a modern sense, i.e. Iraq and Afghanistan, but this could also apply to Vietnam. Even more so, since you didn't have the 1986 cutoff and the inflation it caused in the 60's and 70's.
No point back then, really.
 
Just curious my dad considered sneaking back an AK when he was coming home from Vietnam, but he chickened out. He just wanted to get home and not get into any trouble. What is the penality if you get caught?
 
Folks, there is so much wrong with the stuff printed here that I'm surprised the thread is not locked yet.

1. Importation of firearms into the United States without jumping through the legal hoops is a Federal CRIME.

2. Smuggling the firearms back through military conveyances or through any other method, while on duty with the Armed Forces is a CRIME, and subjects you to severe punishments under the UCMJ.

3. If you got that AK back to the States, you have an unregistered full-auto. If you transferred the parts to another receiver, you'd STILL have an unregistered full-auto. Say hi to Club Fed.

A guy I know from college was recently a Marine door gunner in Iraq. He told me how his buddies smuggled back full-auto Aks inside of their Hueys. Some guys in Desert Storm hide AKs and AKMs inside of the fuel tankes of M1 Abrams tanks.
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Now ask him how many troops are CAUGHT doing it.

Yes, we all like full auto. Yes, we all want full auto.

But to risk your liberty, your reputation and your future to bring back a prohibited item is just plain STUPID.
 
Wow - thats a little easier said than done. If someone did indeed have an AK stashed away from Vietnam, it would cost a LOT of $$$ to get a legal receiver. Last time I looked they were going over $10k. And more likely closer to $13k - $15k.
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Just about every firearms distributer site on the net has semi auto, AK compatible receivers for from $20 to $80 which would be legal for all adults who are not prohibited in some other way, to own
 
Wouldn't it be cheaper and safer to buy an NFA AK-47 when you got home, what with hazard pay and the military providing most of what you need to get along?
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Even with the modern pay, that is a pipe dream. I make an extra $843.46 a month for being over there on top of what I normally pay, plus $3.50 per day which I receive when I get back. Grand total of extra combat pay when I return? $12,242.48 or thereabouts as a single E-7 with over eight years in. Where's that money going? To pay off the credit card bills I racked up with Wildalaska preparing for deployment, of course. :p
 
You're forgetting all that money you earned, that, IIRC, you didn't need to spend on food, housing, or vital things like that.
I could be wrong, I suppose.
 
You're right...You COULD choose to save your money and eat military food and live on base/on ship.



You could ALSO lick a live electrical socket...Doesn't mean it's a good idea :P
 
2. Smuggling the firearms back through military conveyances or through any other method, while on duty with the Armed Forces is a CRIME, and subjects you to severe punishments under the UCMJ.
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Is that just full autos or firearms in general? Looking at the about of WWII era Lugers floating around in the US I'm assuming this was not enforced regularly back then.
 
The hazardous fire pay and tax free are nice and add up if you don't spend it, but living on just what the army issues you and eating at the chow hall are possible, but not wanted. I did two tours in Iraq and 1 in Afghanistan and each time I went over with my ta-50 and a few personnel items(plus extra uniforms etc..) and when I got back I had shipped 2 foot lockers through apo and then had a couple of duffels bags extra as well. Basicly the only bastion of sanity if being able to relax after the end of the day/night and read a book, watch a dvd, play a video game, etc.. and have some snacks (all bought at the px/bx) . You can get tired of mess hall food real quick and I personally never ate any of the food that the Hajii's were selling on the side of the road, but my buddies did and they were always compalining of stomach problems. The only time I ever spent big buck was when we went to the brits FOB and they had real beer and even whiskey, also good for trading them our MRE's for real food.

Basicly when you are deployed you somehow seem to spend a lot of the "extra" money and what's left over my wife spent. Also those of us with families have a hard time making ends meet, heck, before I got out I was a Staff Sergeant with 6 years in with 2 kids and a wife and I qualified for food stamps (didn't take them because of pride thing), pretty sorry , Now I make 5 times as much when in the military. So that "extra" money is spent before we even get it, if I hadn't been deployed 4 out of 6 years I don't know how we would have made ends meet without the extra pay.

As far as bring backs, I know of guys that tried and got caught and I know of guys that didn't get caught. I never did it, but I did find a couple of grenades and loose ammo in my LBE when I got back and I promptly turned it into the provost marshall and they only asked me why I hadn't turned it it sooner and made me fill out some forms and that was it.

If you do have an old "bring back" from NAM I would keep it hidden and don't brag about it and don't be stupid and shoot it at the range. Otherwise don't try to bring one back now for all you guys that are over there now, unless you like to spend a lot of time behind bars.
 
In the early days it wasn't all that hard to bring something back. The "tighten up" period started in mid to late 68. I know many guys that brought things back but were smart enough not to advertise what they had.
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Mess not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup..
 
When I was an EMT I took a cardiac patient out of his basement home bar, he was a well known local vet of our escapade in southeast asia. Above the bar were not 1 but 2 very intresting wall decorations --- one from our side and one from their side, no barrel plug / rods or any other modifications visable and no one including the responding officers said a dang thing about it.

Did I mention this was in NJ???

It can, and probibly still does happen, if the net product is a wall decoration you are unlikely to get found out and have a problem, if you ever try and sell / use / brag about it then you are tempting fate something fierce.

As others here have mentioned in other threads even the ATF behaves in a quite cival manner when old unregistered peices come up, they simply come and take them in a polite fashon....

There exists a near zero likelyhood that there will ever evolve a mecanism for making such pieces legit in todays climate politically though it would be nice and a boon to many who I ahve no dbout are secretly holding on to pieces waiting for this.... face it but for a tax stamp that M16 would be worth what a cheap care is worth....
 
There is a bill in Congress that would allow war veterans who brought back illegal weapons to surrender them without penalty. IIRC it does not allow the guns to be welded or anything and kept, just surrendered.

A lot of guys think they can or should hang on to illegal weapons in case the SHTF, but there is one thing to consider. The S really HTF for you if you have a heart attack or get hit by a truck. Then your loved ones are left with an illegal weapon; if they don't know what it is (and they probably don't), they could sell it at a yard sale or to someone who will misuse it. If they fail to handle things properly, they could end up with severe penalties for possession/sale/transfer of an unregistered NFA item, not to mention whatever problems might arise out of state or local law.

Not a very nice legacy to leave a grieving widow or children.

Jim
 
I personally am not that desperate for full-auto. Besides, it wastes ammo and shows how much of a poor shot you are if you can't use controlled aimed shots for the most part. Besides, it's not that difficult to blast away on a semi-AR and only a little more difficult with an AK-clone. Blasting away may look cool in movies, but in real life it is limited in effective use. Besides, if the SHTF, I'd grab my Mauser with a scope and stake out a good spot to lie low. Anyone coming better do it quick or taste 7.62mm in the chest. Not to mention nothing like sniping to instill panic in punks. Blasting away will give your position up.
 
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