Chineese made fake lowers?? Is it possible?

[sweetjeep]

Let em clarify.. this is TOTALLY my pea brain going off on a tangent during my 1.5 hour commute to/from work. I have seen ZERO evidence of this happening. On top of that the capability to pull this off would be staggering and as a result it is not likely a profitable endeavor.

But what I wonder is this:

Using ARs as an example. Is there any way to protect yourself from a fake lower?
In the past there hasn't been enough demand for Preban lowers for this to be profitable on any real basis. But what is to stop a company.. let's pretend it is a Chineese company, because history tells us that it is likely, from building X amount of replica Colt (for example) Preban lowers. Stamping them as Colts and serializing them as prebans. Then "getting them to market" and selling them for, in today's market, ungodly markups.

Before the proposed new bans I saw Colt prebans for going for $1500 - $1800 easy. I see no reason a person couldn't get a grand for a Colt Preban lower today.

Is there a way to check a receiver for copycat status?? I.e. there is no universal registry that I know of, but is there a way to determine if the same serial hasn't been sold in several states?? I.e a legit one from 1990 and a copycat that just HAPPENS to have the same serial but was really made in 2013, and not by Colt.

Or do I need to turn the radio up a little louder so the voices in my head aren't so able to communicate with each other?

- - - Updated - - -

Or have I just explained to myself, out loud, one of the myriad of loopholes in the AWB.. *facepalm*

 

[Rob Boudrie]

I'm skeptical it would be a problem, since the market is tiny compared to fake UGG boots; Guicci purses; etc. Plus, an importer is not going to get them past customs by claiming they are a legit shipment of firearms parts - they have to be "born" with a paper trail to sell them in legitimate commerce, and it would not be practical for a criminal enterprise to start selling large quantities of lowers on a "no laws followed, no paper trail" basis.

 

[calsdad]

The Chinese will copycat anything they can. I've read tales of factories in China that are there to "fake" just about anything you want.

I'm absolutely sure you could get an AR lower made in China if you wanted to - BUT - as soon as more than a few of them came into the US - with the same serial numbers as already existing REAL AR pre-ban lowers - I would imagine the US govt. would start catching onto the problem right quick.

They don't seem to have much problem faking our money supply - but guns, that would be a whole nother' issue.

 

[mark056]

Anything is possible and some pretty good fake ARs have come out of Pakistan (not all of questionable metallurgy). At this point I don't see the profitability for the Chinese to make them, as there are plenty of other durable goods that they can fake make and market much easier. (How many more Gucci purses and Rolex watches would they sell compared to lowers?) I suppose it is supply and demand. If an all out ban on ARs were to be enacted, then the possibility of Chinese or other foreign (as well as domestic) black market lowers and complete rifles become a possibility IMO.

 

[BriMac]

Are you thinking of the Airsoft guns that the ATF had a fit over.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/06/exclusive-toy-gun-sold-easily-turned-real-thing/

 

[sweetjeep]

I hadn't heard of the Airsoft thing. That's awesome.. you know.. in a way.

I used the Chinese as an example of a group of unscrupulous manufacturers who are happy to cheat lie and deceive to make a buck. Yeah yeah.. there are good ones blah blah blah, that's not the discussion.

Getting then into the country isn't as hard as one might think. So let's use Brimacs example. A company copies the AR lower and uses accurate serial #s of existing weapons. And the toy HAPPENS to be able to be converted.

A guy discovers this and converts it. Forgets (just pretend) and sells it. Now what? Now there are 2 ARs out there that are cosmetically identical and have the same serial.

So again, the question is: Is there any way to prevent/determine something like this? Or is it just so wildly unlikely to happen that there is no way for it to happen? Other than overt deceit and "hopefully it doesn't happen to me".

I suppose it's also a hypothetical that I derived when wondering how I would prove to someone that a preban is actually a preban. Or if anyone REALLY cares.

 

[Kevin_NH]

The difficulty with lowers is that they are the "registered part" so at least one transacation would need to go through an FFL at some point. How would the manufacturer introduce them into commerce in the first place?

 

[sweetjeep]

The difficulty with lowers is that they are the "registered part" so at least one transacation would need to go through an FFL at some point. How would the manufacturer introduce them into commerce in the first place?

I don't have a clue... I don't really know how guns get from the mfr to the dealer exactly. I casually understand there are middlemen brokers, but I don't know how the dealership system works.

Perhaps they would get to the market the same way that pile of counterfeit airbags made it.

I suppose the theory here is that it would be extremely difficult..

 

[BerkshireHunter]

They make shitty swiss army knife fakes.

 

[sweetjeep]

They make a lot of shitty stuff. But buying a fake Swiss Army Knife won't make me an accidental felon!

 

[Timber]

Getting then into the country isn't as hard as one might think.

It's a lot harder to get them in here than it is into other countries. Playing in this scenario, you're far more likely to see Chinese knock offs being sold as the real deal in places like Saudi Arabia, etc., to take advantage of the US backlog than you are to see them showing up Stateside.