Maybe we laughed at the ATF a little too quickly...

[Guest GT_Rat]

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EXCLUSIVE: Toy Gun Sold in U.S. Can Easily be Converted to the Real Thing

By Diane Macedo

- FOXNews.com

Felons, illegal immigrants and all others banned from buying a gun in the United States have a new alternative if they’re looking to get their hands on a firearm: Just buy a toy.

A FoxNews.com investigation reveals that a popular recreational pellet gun can be converted easily to a real semi-automatic weapon. And while the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is already aware of the issue, these “toys†-- new, top-of-the-line airsoft rifles -- continue to be sold throughout the country.

Like paintball without the paint, the propane-powered airsoft guns are designed to shoot quarter-inch plastic pellets and are generally used for recreation or in military and law enforcement training.

When the ATF seized a shipment of 30 of these guns in October from a port in Tacoma, Wash., it said they could be “readily convertible†to machine guns. But gun experts called that claim absurd and said the ATF was overstepping its bounds.

Now one of those critics is reversing his position, saying at least one airsoft manufacturer has taken the quest to be authentic a little too far.

“The airsoft can be converted to an AR-15,†firearms manufacturer Leo Gonnuscio told FoxNews.com after testing the make and model of airsoft guns seized by the ATF.

Having concluded that several other airsoft guns could not be converted to fire real ammunition, Gonnuscio said he was surprised to find that he was able to to transform this particular gun to the real thing -- and with “minimal work,†because its bottom half, or “receiver,†is so similar to an AR-15's.

To make the airsoft receiver function just like an AR-15’s, Gonnuscio said, “All you have to do is drill one hole.â€

And once that's out of the way, the rest is even easier. The AR-15 receiver is the only part of the semi-automatic rifle that is given a serial number, and is the only part that is regulated. All the remaining parts of the real thing can be purchased by anyone – any kid, criminal or terrorist.

The cost of buying the Taiwan-made airsoft gun and all the parts needed to convert it to an AR-15 comes to roughly $1,100 -- more than the cost of some real AR-15s. But someone who can’t clear a background check or has been refused a gun for any other reason could use this method to make his own lethal weapon, Gonnuscio said.

Making it into a machine gun, he said, would require yet another conversion, and the makeshift gun would likely be able to fire only 15-20 rounds before it stopped working due to the pressure it would have to withstand while firing in an automatic fashion.

But as semi-automatic weapon, Gonnuscio said, “It may not last forever, but they’ve got a gun to get the job done that they were assigned to do, and nobody knows the wiser.â€

The ATF has made no reported moves to regulate or seize any more of the airsoft guns, which continue to be sold in stores around the country, and it appears to be bowing to critics and reconsidering its stance on the guns' convertibility.

“We’re having to take a serious look at this, so it’s just something that we’re reviewing, and I’m hoping we’ll have some information that we can make available to the public certainly very soon,†ATF spokesman Drew Wade told FoxNews.com.

But firearms expert Len Savage said the ATF is taking a “serious look†at the wrong issue -- or, more specifically, the wrong part of the gun.

The reason it’s possible to make these airsoft receivers function as real receivers is that all an AR-15 receiver does is hold the gun together, Savage said. So with enough gun knowledge, almost anything can be made into a receiver.

“There’s a line of AR-15 firearms out there where the lower (the receiver) is made entirely of injection molded plastic … It could be made of cardboard and scotch tape,†he said.

The most important part of an AR-15, and the most difficult part to replicate, he said, is the upper half of the gun -- which is unmarked, unregulated and readily available for purchase.

“The upper is what contains the barrel, the breecher bolt, that’s what contains all the pressure,†Savage said.

He said the reason the lower half of the AR-15 is the part with the serial number, and thus classified as the receiver, is that it was up to the manufacturer to choose the location of the gun’s serial number. Because the bottom of the gun has a flat surface, it was the easiest to mark.

And though federal law has since defined a gun’s receiver as the part “which provides housing for the hammer, bolt, breechblock and firing mechanism,†Savage says the bureau has continued to mark and regulate the lower part of the AR-15 to avoid confusion.

“In the stream of commerce, you’d have uppers that were marked and regulated and then lowers that were marked and regulated, you could see the confusion on a dealer basis†in determining which parts require licensing and which don’t, Savage said.

But even though the upper half of the gun can be bought by anyone, Gonnuscio still says that banning the airsoft receivers and implementing a few new rules for airsoft manufacturers could be a good start to keeping unregulated AR-15s off the street.

“I would hope that the ATF applies pressure to the manufacturers of these airsoft guns to redesign them so they cannot be converted," he said. "Make them move the pin holes ... so that an upper can’t be attached to it without major machining.

"Fill in some of that gap so that they would literally have to chuck this thing up in a mill and totally reconfigure it to work. Tighten up the magazine well so a regular magazine won’t fit in it.â€

And because the U.S. is such a big market for these airsoft guns, Gonnuscio said, a foreign manufacture would change the product if its current design were banned here.

“There are tons of good uses for these guns: We use them for training, kids do reenacting with them, kids get out there and play just like the old days. We played BB gun wars when we were kids and we survived. These are little plastic balls that are shot by electricity or propane.

"So let them have their toys. Just make sure they’re still toys.â€

[Guest 6.8 AR]

There are cheaper alternatives for the criminal than buying an Airsoft and spending that much money to convert it to a real gun.

The BATFE must not have enough people to harass and incriminate.

[robin48]

[kb4ns]

I can convert my toaster into a fully functioning AR-15, too. I just have to replace the body with a complete lower receiver and replace the little handle and knob with an upper receiver, barrel, and a few more parts...

[Guest Glock23ForMe]

I can convert a bifold leather wallet full of cash into an AR15 too...

[Guest db99wj]

There are cheaper alternatives for the criminal than buying an Airsoft and spending that much money to convert it to a real gun.

The BATFE must not have enough people to harass and incriminate.

IMO this is a legitimate concern. Anyone trying to pass off a real gun as a fake :whistle:or converting a fake gun into a real one should be against the law.

[Magiccarpetrides]

IMO this is a legitimate concern. Anyone trying to pass off a real gun as a fake :whistle:or converting a fake gun into a real one should be against the law.

Starts with a K and ends with a U

[Guest db99wj]

Starts with a K and ends with a U

:p:D

[enfield]

All this 'rationale' is from the people who declared a 14" shoe string to be a machine gun.

Clowns . . .

[kb4ns]

Starts with a K and ends with a U

[Raoul]

I can convert my toaster into a fully functioning AR-15, too. I just have to replace the body with a complete lower receiver and replace the little handle and knob with an upper receiver, barrel, and a few more parts...

All for about a thousand bucks.

[Guest GT_Rat]

And probably only good for a couple of mags before it blows up in your face. But still....

I'm assuming you have to swap in a real upper receiver since there's no way in hell a plastic barrel is going to hold up to the pressures of real ammo. I wonder if you couldn't swap in a real lower parts kit and have it last longer. It could be an option for a determined and somewhat technically savvy criminal that has obstacles to purchasing legally.

[Dolomite_supafly]

If you look at some of the airsoft replicas their fire controls look exactly like the fire controls from a FA AR. I have seen them and I was amazed at how the lower parts passed muster.

In the airsofters quest to make the guns as real as possible they are using internal controls that are nearly identical. They work identical and have a bolt that actaully operates the same way a FA AR works.

And yet another version:

Here is a picture of an AIRSOFT:

http://6mm-mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/ino-m4-3.jpg

Looks just like the fire controls of a real FA AR with a trip.

http://6mm-mag.com/

If you are familiar with the controls of a real FA AR you will see a disturbing similarity between a real MG and these airsoft guns. These are all airsoft guns in the video and pictures. Do a search for Inokatsu or Western Arms airsoft if you don't think these are airsoft rifles.

Now a real round will not chamber or fire from the airsoft upper but in the quest to make them real I bet a REAL upper will indeed fit onto the lower. I would not want to even try it or own one of these with a real AR or even an upper in my possession. The hammer spring is likely very weak, in fact probably not strong enough to light off a primer but with a spring change it might be possible.

I am not sure of durability but if the lower is made out of aluminum and a REAL upper would fit I can see where it could be a valid concern. There are some mainstream AR makers who are using cast lowers so these would airsoft lowers should hold up at lest for a little while if some decided to try it. Like I said you would probably have to step up the springs strengths to get it to fire a primer but I do believe the similarities are close enough to be a real concern.

Now realistically, if someone really wanted to convert a real AR the parts are available online as well at most shows and the mods needed on a semi lower are minimal for the parts to be installed. The fire control parts themselves are not against the law to have but having them while owning or possessing an AR is constructive intent and in that case is a machine gun. It is up to the end user to have a REGISTERED MG in order to posses the FA fire controls. I am not talking about a RDIAS but the parts that can legally be put into a registered lower. A RDIAS, Lighting Link and a registered lower are all seperate items. It is possible to have a RDIAS or a LL and move them between different guns as long as they are married. With a registered receiver that is the registered part.

Honestly, I can see where this would raise some eyebrows. These are not the older gear driven airsoft so many people think about. These have reciprocating bolts as well as a full auto trip just like real FA AR's.

Just my thoughts on this

Dolomite