Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Cash for Clunkers!

Have you seen H.R. 226, the cleverly-backronymed "Support Assault Firearms Elimination and Reduction for our Streets Act"?

It proposes a $2k income tax credit for turning in an eeevil "assault weapon" OR (and here's the important part!) for turning in "A frame or receiver that is identical to, or based substantially on the frame or receiver of, a firearm described in any of subparagraphs..."

This is what comes of people who worry about "shoulder things that go up" writing firearms law. Were this to pass, longshot as it is, I see a flood of battered Hi-Point carbines, OlyArms stripped lowers, and un-finished Nodak Spud AK project receivers coming out of gun safes and being used to fund brand-spankin' new Daniel Defense and Arsenal carbines. Poor Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) might as well have labeled her proposal the "Milita Equipment Improvement Act of 2013".

Actually, given that Congress has the power to "provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia," it'd be a lot more constitutional than Cash For Clunkers, in that the government has a legitimate constitutional interest in ensuring that there's a properly-functioning AR-15 in every gun safe.

EDIT: Arma Borealis saw it Friday, and immediately noticed the profit potential. I'm thinking of the way it could revolutionize discussion on internet firearms forums: "Ah got me this here Hi-Point 'cause Ah cain't afford one o' them there fancypants Colt 6920s." My friend, does Uncle Sam have a deal for you!

48 comments:

staghounds said...

A $2000 income tax credit? I'll buy 30 new AKs and turn a profit!

Tam said...

Sadly, it's only one per customer, so there goes a surefire get-rich-quick scheme, since Hi-Point carbines are on the list...

Laughingdog said...

If I understand that right, I don't even need a full firearm then? Sounds like I can just buy stripped receivers and turn around and trade them in for a tax credit. Funny that I don't see a cap on the number of times you can use this, though they do make you split the credit between this year and next year.

Imagine funding your mortgage for the year by cycling through receivers and junked guns for this credit.

Laughingdog said...

"Denial of double benefit"

Damn, missed that part on the first reading.

Craig M. said...

If this passes, I will get a Highpoint and use my gov't sanctioned upgrade a Remington 700 in .308 with a decent optic for sporting purposes to keep within the spirit of the plan.

Bram said...

Dammit Tam! Before I even got to the comments I was thinking of what I would replace my Hi-Point with.

Bram said...

Oh wait, I misunderstood! They would actually give me $2 grand for my $199 Hi-Point carbine that! I always wanted one of the AUG clones.

Holy Crap, they have lost their minds.

Tirno said...

(F) A semiautomatic pistol that has the ability
to accept a detachable magazine, and has--
(i) a second pistol grip,
(ii) a threaded barrel,
(iii) a barrel shroud, or
(iv) the capacity to accept a detachable
magazine at a location outside of the pistol
grip.

Hmm... I have a S&W 910 with all sorts of stupid cop features on it that I don't particularly want to keep. I wonder how much threading needs to be done to that barrel for it to count? What's it cost to thread a barrel anyway, if you don't particularly care if the threading works?

Anonymous said...

Shhh! What ever happened to "Never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake"?

Samsam von Virginia

Jenny said...

Wait... $2K for "frames and receivers?"

... the DefDist guys are gonna be *rich* I think I might need a printer come April.

:)

Lupis42 said...

For $2k, I could make a stripped lower out of lumber scraps. Fingers crossed.

aczarnowski said...

My SKS does not merit an entry on that list? Bastards.

I do have a CavArms lower I'm not in love with though. Shouldn't take long to strip the lower parts out of that. I won't be able to find a usable upper for it in ages anyway.

Stephanie Belser said...

So, you find some guy with a 3-d printer, print out a lower, and get two grand?

Sweet...

zeeke42 said...

Even better, it also includes a 'conversion kit' to make something into an evil assault weapon. You could make a decent argument for a $3 pistol grip.

Robert McDonald said...

I'll have my machincist buddy do me up a sorta lower.

Armed Texan said...

Too bad on the one credit per person. I'm thinking that the company that sells 80% lowers would love this credit.

BTW, why limit to just one assault chunk of metal? Do they hate the children?

jon spencer said...

I think that Brownells sells a AK flat for around $20.
No need to even turn in a working weapon.

Anonymous said...

I have a shoulder thingy that goes up on a Frankengun I assembled for about $750 a few years go.

This might be the best ROI I've had in years.

Gerry

Ygolonac said...

Timo - if you already have a vise and the tap of sufficient size, it's nothing. And I expect you could rent the tap, either locally or possibly mail-order. (I know you can rent chamber reamers via the mail.)

Of course, now there's a real payoff for buying a shovel and making your own AK receiver...

Jumpthestack said...

I would assume this is intended to go along with a ban on new ones. They're not as stupid as we think.

Tam said...

"I would assume this is intended to go along with..."

Well, then she should have put that in the bill.

Incurvatus said...

Folks - think this through. The Romulan delegate to the Senate might be stupid, but she's not that stupid.

This just set the floor price (via arbitrage) for these weapons at ~$2,000. Your $1000 Bushy is suddenly $1,900 retail. Your HiPoint is now $1900. Your $1300 PTR is $1900. Your $800 Saiga is now $1,900. She just priced these weapons through the roof.

Tax credits subsidize the price of the goods; the price of goods goes up.

Bubblehead Les. said...

Hmmm. Since this applies to Pistols that can take more that 10 Rounds, suddenly my Keltec p-11 is worth 2 Grand? My Clapped-Out Universal M1 Carbine is worth 2 Grand? A Tapco "Conversion Kit" for an SKS is worth 2 Grand?

Decisions, decisions.

Tam said...

Incurvatus,

As a point of order, this thing stands a snowball's chance in hell of passing, and deserves every bit of mockery it gets on the way down.

Kristophr said...

Nodak spud bent AK flats are $50 each, last time I checked.

Oh, and screw supplying people with AR-15s as militia weapons. State governments should be supplying M-16 lowers and full auto bolt carriers to anyone with a CCW. Bet they could do it for under $100 each in bulk.

Incurvatus said...

Tam - yep. Giving a $1,000 tax credit for *children* gives Democrats the hives.

Cormac said...

I know one blogger down here with BOXES of 0% lowers

Mill them most of the way, and he could afford a new mill!

WBFF088 said...

This is a good deal if you've ever ruined a lower putting the roll pins for the trigger guard in.

Anonymous said...

>I'm thinking that the company that sells 80% lowers would love this credit.

And all of a sudden MSCdirect.com , McMaster.com , MidwayUSA - and Brownells all sell completely out of 1-3/16" taps, 16 tpi.

-SM

Geodkyt said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Geodkyt said...

Screw using Nodak AK receivers.

An AK flat with all holes punched and ONE bend is a "receiver", according to ATFE. Don;t even need rails, IIRC. . .

Besides, the supply of AK receivers is limited by the supply of 1mm thick sheet steel, copier paper & spray glue for templates, a hammer, a file, and a drill. And I already have the hammer and file as capital purchases. . .

No one said they have to be high quality builds.

The denial of double benefits means you can only cash in one every other year, but that's roughly $990/per year ongoing tax credits for the REALLY Evil Gun Budget.

I didn't notice -- are these refundable credits?

I oughta call my Senators and Representative to tell them to get behind this and PUSH!, so long as it stays exactly the way it's written.

{chuckle}

Steve Skubinna said...

How about you turn in a shovel?

Might have to point them towards YouTube.

perlhaqr said...

Fire up the 3D printer!

Geodkyt said...

Steve,

Shovels cost more than AK flats. . . {chuckle}

hooper said...

My one concern here: this bill includes all of this as a part of the definition of "assault weapon". If it gets on the books, then they have a working definition in a federal law.

If they actually know what they're doing, then this is a one- or two-year payment to gun people to go along with the bill in order to get an "assault weapon" definition in place so that they can use that definition later on in the pursuit of an assault weapons ban. If that ban happens, then everything on that list gets outlawed.

I have no idea if she's actually being that smart, but that's the part of the whole thing that worries me.

Angus McThag said...

What perlhaqr said...

Limit one though...

Cybrludite said...

Am I the only one who noticed that the acronym spells SAFER S.A.?

Personally, I want things as unsafe as possible for any present-day Sturmabteilungen.

Tam said...

hooper,

" If it gets on the books, then they have a working definition in a federal law."

They already have that in Title 27 § 478.11

red said...

(F) A semiautomatic pistol that has the ability
to accept a detachable magazine, and has--
(i) a second pistol grip,
(ii) a threaded barrel,
(iii) a barrel shroud, or
(iv) the capacity to accept a detachable
magazine at a location outside of the pistol
grip.


I'd make some good coin from my Charter Arms Explorer II pistol. Detachable mag and it's outside of the pistol grip. Technically, the barrel is threaded too, just not on the shooty end.

Anonymous said...

If they thought this through, then it is just further evidence that the Left regards borrowed money spent on feel-good stuff as irrelavant .... it's not like it's even paper- it's on an electronic balance sheet somewhere, and we are just borrowing it from ourselves, right?

Unless this a refundable tax credit, then I don't think they thought it through, as the pore'n starvin' have to OWE 2K to benefit at all ..... no help to them at all.....

Anonymous said...

OMG. Time to start melting pop cans on the grill and casting AR lowers in kitty litter...

Anonymous said...

If we can get them to drop the one per year provision, I'm retiring.

I know it drives the price of unfinished lowers and 80% lowers up, but raw metal and a little machine time would have the biggest ROI I've ever seen.


SiliconGraybeard @ work

Will said...

SiliconGraybeard:

I'm thinking the value of a mill would increase by X10, at least!

John Richardson said...

Hmmm. A $2K tax credit for a $26 Polish AK receiver that just needs a couple of more holes drilled in it. I like it! Nothing like the Law of Unintended Consequences biting a politician in the ass.

http://www.wideners.com/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=100000564&dir=

Geodkyt said...

We should call the law "Obamagun".

'Cause that's what I'll be buying with the money I save on taxes.

Probably suppressors at first; it'll be easier to convince myself to pony up the pesos for on-gun ear pro if it comes from a source that makes Chuck Schumer cry. . .

Sigivald said...

I like how it includes Street Sweepers.

And requires that they be lawfully owned.

Since every one of them is a Destructive Device anymore, that means all the lawfully owned ones are on the NFA registry.

Who on earth is going to "turn in" one of those for a tax credit?

(Makes me wonder why they didn't specify the USAS as well...)

Divemedic said...

Read the statute. It allows the credit to also be paid for a "conversion kit," which is defined in the statute as "any part or combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a firearm into a semiautomatic assault weapon, and any combination of parts from which a semiautomatic assault weapon can be assembled if the parts are in the possession or under the control of a person."

This means that, under the definition in the statute, adding any one of the following to a semi-automatic makes it an assault weapon" pistol grip, a folding or telescoping stock, a forward grip, or a barrel shroud.

So buying and turning in a new stock for a Ruger 10/22 that costs $120 at Bass Pro will get you the credit.

Ed Foster said...

Last time Connecticut did that, I bought a $95 dollar Chinese SKS and got $300 for it, which became a downpayment for my lovely M1 Garand.