https://www.wsj.com/articles/g...aCl-UwT0uIkVUzw1nP0I

Bet we see more of this soon.

Well, I don't have a subscription to the Wall Street Journal.

Still, I got the gist. Sounds like BS.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
Well, I don't have a subscription to the Wall Street Journal.

Me either, and you have to have a membership to read that WSJ article.

Leemur - Please be so kind as to copy and paste the article text, or provide a link to a non-members-only source.

TFB:

https://www.thefirearmblog.com...0-raided-ghost-guns/

The Wall Street Journal, 11Dec20
============================

Ghost-Gun Company Raided by Federal Agents
ATF suspects Polymer80 of breaking firearms laws, a sign that law enforcement is looking closer at makers of DIY gun kits

Federal agents on Thursday raided one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of ghost-gun parts, a sign that federal law enforcement is cracking down on kits that allow people to make weapons at home.

The raid target, Nevada-based Polymer80, is suspected of illegally manufacturing and distributing firearms, failing to pay taxes, shipping guns across state lines and failing to conduct background investigations, according to an application for a search warrant unsealed Thursday after the raid took place.

The probe focuses on Polymer80’s “Buy Build Shoot Kit,” which includes the parts to build a “ghost” handgun. The kit, which Polymer80 sells online, meets the definition of a firearm, ATF investigators determined according to the warrant application. That means it would have to be stamped with a serial number and couldn’t be sold to consumers who haven’t first passed a background check.

Polymer80 chief executive David Borges didn’t return phone calls or texts seeking comment Thursday evening.

Agents seized records and other evidence in Thursday’s raid in Dayton, close to Carson City, a law-enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation said. No Polymer80 employees were arrested and no charges have been filed.

The raid by agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives comes after ghost guns have been used more frequently in high-profile attacks. In September, two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies were shot while sitting in their patrol vehicle by a man using a handgun built from Polymer80 parts, according to the documents. Last year, a 16-year-old killed two fellow students and wounded three others at Saugus High School in Southern California with a homemade handgun.

Thursday’s raid is the most significant action against a ghost-gun company to date, according to the law-enforcement officials, and suggests the federal government is scrutinizing the growing industry.

Homemade ghost guns have grown in popularity in recent years and can’t be traced in criminal investigations because they lack serial numbers. Law-enforcement officials say they appeal to people who can’t pass background checks.

When people buy fully made guns from dealers, the weapons have serial numbers and purchasers must go through a background check.

Approximately 10,000 ghost guns were recovered by law e nforcement in 2019, according to the warrant application. As part of the investigation, the ATF identified multiple Polymer80 customers who were prohibited from buying guns because of prior criminal convictions.

The starting point for building a ghost gun is an “unfinished receiver,” a metal or polymer piece that houses the firing mechanism. It can be purchased without a background check, because the ATF doesn’t classify the part as a firearm. Buyers can finish the receiver with a drill press or a computerized metal-cutting machine and then add the remaining pieces to complete the gun.

The ATF previously gave Polymer80 permission to sell unfinished receivers. But the Buy Build Shoot Kits, which are advertised as having “all the necessary components to build a complete...pistol” weren’t submitted to the agency for approval, according to the application for the search warrant. These kits can be “assembled into fully functional firearms in a matter of minutes,” the warrant application says.

Write to Zusha Elinson at zusha.elinson@wsj.com

LINK

Changing definitions on the fly to suit the agenda of the moment. Who'da thunk?

If every ATF agent were to fall dick first into a woodchipper tomorrow, I'd have to take the day off to celebrate. Two days off if the bureaucrats that run the place were to be eaten alive by badgers.

So, these are basically disassembled pistols, sold for $590.00?

https://www.polymer80.com/pistols/bbskits

I am curious about the “kit” the company was selling. If it was more than just the unfinished receiver, as I assume, then that was probably the basis for the ATF’s action. Not that it makes it any more valid, but it could have been sufficient to convince a judge. (Added: Yes, I see that that is true.)

In any event, I’m not the least surprised that the “ghost gun” thing is being targeted, only by how long it took.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
1) The Buy Build Shoot Kits, which are advertised as having “all the necessary components to build a complete...pistol” weren’t submitted to the agency for approval, according to the application for the search warrant.

2) These kits can be “assembled into fully functional firearms in a matter of minutes,” the warrant application says

Too broad a brush to condemn the action and not enough information to judge. I can legally buy a gun and don't see a reason to live on the edge of legality. Or even get close to it for that matter.

The time for talking is over

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:


In any event, I’m not the least surprised that the “ghost gun” thing is being targeted, only by how long it took.

This.

Just looked at what they were advertising. I can't believe their legal people (if they had any) OK'd it. It's a ready to assemble kit, including frame, slide, and all other parts needed to assemble, including the bits to drill needed holes to complete the receiver.

I'm not surprised at all they got a visit from Uncle Sam.

The ATF is also shutting down a lot of "Solvent Trap" companies.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:
So, these are basically disassembled pistols, sold for $590.00?

https://www.polymer80.com/pistols/bbskits

It sure looks like it from their own advertising. Sig-Sauer certainly isn't stepping over the line when they market their P320 FCUs, since these are serialized, are sold through FFLs, and are treated in the same manner as any other "frame." Companies such as "Polymer80" are circumventing numerous laws, including shipping firearms to purchasers through the mail when they themselves admit these firearms can be built within "minutes."

I'm not sympathetic towards this company at all.

Their web site has a letter from ATF from 2017 stating that their products, as submitted, did not meet the definition of a firearm.

https://www.polymer80.com/CMS-...s/ATF-DetLetters.pdf

That was for the frame, not the "kit." Note that in the letter it even mentions that there is no guide to assist in making the holes to complete the receiver. Now look at the orange block around the frame in the ad for the "kit." It's CLEARLY a gig to guide the drill.

This is what happens when you find a loophole in the law and then start waving it in the Government's face and stretching it more and more. You find yourself in a bull pen and just out of the bull's view, you don't start flapping a red cape. If you do, you get gored.

Ah, I stand corrected. Thank you for the additional part I missed.

I see what it might look like now.

quote:

Originally posted by SigSAC:
Their web site has a letter from ATF from 2017 stating that their products, as submitted, did not meet the definition of a firearm.

https://www.polymer80.com/CMS-...s/ATF-DetLetters.pdf

Yeah, that doesn't include the kits. Anyone know when they started selling "kits" that made it "easier" to turn their products into actual pistols?

My original understanding of their products was that you had to purchase all the additional required hardware, separately. The kits they were selling include EVERYTHING needed to make a functional pistol, quickly. As alluded to above, that's the game breaker to me as well.

I guess their legal team was a little too loose with their advice to their marketing dept. But other than the frame, you can buy every one of those parts on eBay or Amazon and have them shipped right to your door, no FFL or 4473 needed. So I don't know what the problem is by bundling them all to save on shipping and to capture more of the marketshare from other parts makers.