More Proof That Knuckle Dragging Gun Nuts Are Smarter Than California Legislators

More Proof That Knuckle Dragging Gun Nuts Are Smarter Than California Legislators

I mentioned the new American made copy of the Steyr AUG; a reader tells me that he saw a couple of them offered for sale at a gun show in California. What? How could that be? To original California assault weapons law adopted in 1989 was defective because it banned most guns not by function, but by name and model. As a result, there was a series of revisions to the law in the 1990s as gun makers made trivial changes to the guns that did not affect functionality--and ended up with guns that were exempt from the ban. The last set of revisions apparently sought to ban guns based on functional characteristics--such as a detachable magazine. This is what California should have done in the first place, if the functional characteristics of the assault weapons were actually a problem, but that would have banned milions of guns that Californians--and some California legislators--owned, such as the Ruger 10/22, the Ruger Mini-14, the Auto-Ordnance M1A1 (the semiauto version of the Tommy Gun).

And what defines "detachable magazine"? One that can be removed without a tool. If there's a button you push, that's a detachable magazine. If you have to use a screwdriver, or even the tip of a bullet to do so, it's not a detachable magazine.

So:

Now, here’s the good news: a commonly-accepted definition of a “detachable” magazine is one that can be removed without a tool. And…a tool can be almost anything, even a cartridge for the gun. Enter the Bullet Button from Prince Industries (no web site), a clever invention that honors the law while preserving most of the convenience of a detachable magazine.

The Bullet Button is just a few small parts that alter the behavior of the magazine release. Parts 1, 2 and 3 in the photo make up the Bullet Button. Part 3 fits inside part 2. Part 4 is the magazine release that comes with an AR-15 parts kit. Parts 5 and 6 are the standard magazine release spring and button; these can be discarded after installation of the Bullet Button.

Apparently AR-15s, Steyr AUG clones, and a variety of other weapons are now being sold in California with this alteration--and thus not violating the California Assault Weapons Control Act. And not surprisingly, it isn't terribly difficult to replace this with the standard parts on short order.

UPDATE: A reader gave me this update, with some warnings to avoid falling afoul of this incredibly stupid law:

I use these when assembling AR’s with an off-list lower. But, and this is a big but, you must use a magazine that holds no more than 10-rounds.

Here is the relevant provision of the AW Ban.....

Generic Characteristics Defining Assault Weapons:

12276.1 (a) Notwithstanding Penal Code section 12276, “assault weapon” shall also mean the following:

Rifles

(1) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and any one of

the following:

(A) A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon.

(B) A thumbhole stock.

(C) A folding or telescoping stock.

(D) A grenade launcher or flare launcher.

(E) A flash suppressor.

(F) A forward pistol grip.

(2) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10

rounds.

(3) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has an overall length of less than 30 inches.

The controlling clause for off-list weapons utilizing a bullet-button is PC 12276.1(a)(2).

By restricting the fixed magazine to 10-rounds or less, all other characteristics are free; ie, you can have a pistol grip, a thumbhole stock, a telescoping stock, a flash suppressor (I skipped grenade launcher – I wouldn’t want to challenge them on that), and a forward pistol grip.

The key is the fixed, 10-round magazine.

The catch-22 though is, if you remove that magazine, you then have a rifle capable of accepting high-capacity magazines; therefore, an AW. People at public ranges have been busted for this when they removed the magazine to reload, instead of breaking open the AR, and refilling the magazine while it is fixed in the lower receiver. People need to be very careful when they are around people they don’t know.