Stripped Lowers as 2nd Amendment Insurance

Stripped Lowers as 2nd Amendment Insurance

I haven’t written anything for BBBY in some time, but I hope to be returning with a few posts in the near future. As a quick update, I have “Escaped from the People’s Republic of New Jersey (PRNJ)” and landed in the free state of South Carolina.

This should give me fodder for at least a few posts, but in the mean time I wanted to share a gloriously paranoid idea that occurred to me recently.

2nd Amendment

You are all aware of the fact that BBBY supports the 2nd amendment, while eschewing other domestic politics. I mention this so we don’t set off the 2nd civil war, as so many other sites are trying to do. In that spirit, I wrote about PRNJ gun laws here.\

Clearly, I am a fan of stripped lowers and building your own AR style rifles. I felt the reasons for using stripped lowers and assembling your own rifle were compelling in the states with crazy, ever-changing, gun laws, like PRNJ. Now one might think that having moved from PRNJ to a “free state” my plans for firearms might have changed to complete firearms, instead of building my own out of parts.

However, current events have caused me to think otherwise. You are probably aware of certain politicians’ proposals to confiscate AR-15s and AK-47s, e.g. Eric Swalwell, Beto O’Rourke, Michael Bloomberg, etc.

Essentially, this would require a new federal assault weapons ban (AWB), which would require an actual definition of an assault weapon, something that is notoriously difficult, especially for legislators who know nothing about guns. This would be followed by a “mandatory buyback”, e.g. a confiscation with payment in the form of WalMart gift cards.

States flipping from free state to nanny state status, e.g. Virginia, should also cause one to worry about future supply.

The Definition Challenge

Part of the problem for those trying to define assault weapons is most definitions of assault weapons start with “semi-automatic” which would not include a stripped lower, which has a serial number, but otherwise is just a part. If TPTB try to ban stripped lowers, they’ll be banning something that may legally be a firearm, but isn’t actually a firearm, let alone a semi-automatic firearm. (Hey, if they can’t define a stripped lower, how are they going to define a made-up term like assault weapon”?)

Furthermore, there are, bolt action, pump action, and even one lever action, uppers available for AR-15s. Should these be considered “assault weapons”?

Because of the variety of manufacturers of all things AR-15ish, AR-15 has become one of those terms that has both a narrow meaning and a broader meaning, sort of like the way people call all photocopiers, “Xeroxes” and even the copies themselves get called xeroxes.

The fact that manufacturers seem of have an endless variety of differences doesn’t reduce the confusion.

Strange Values

Let’s assume the banners win enough seats in Congress to pass a new AWB. A goofy possibility is that any confiscation scheme that tries to seize AR-15s, including stripped lowers, will actually pay compensation that exceeds the cost of a stripped lower. That presents a money-making opportunity to anyone with some stripped lowers around.

Imagine showing up at a “buyback” and being offered $500 for your “assault weapon”, which is a stripped lower you bought for $50. Ka-ching!

There is also a possibility of grandfathering, which means if you own it before the ban goes into effect, you get to keep it, especially for something that doesn’t actually fire bullets. Put these factors together and I see little likelihood of stripped lowers being banned. They don’t fire bullets, and a “buyback” would be a bad deal for the government if they tried. This provides a wonderful opportunity to guarantee the availability of rifles, based on AR-15 style lower receivers, well into the future. All one needs is a bunch of stripped lowers!

What is Available Today?

The market has evolved to the point that anyone who can order a few hundred receivers, can get them made with a custom logo. Do you have a gun club with a few hundred members? Order a bunch of receivers with your club’s logo.

Palmetto State Armory (PSA) has started to produce their own short runs of receivers. They recently advertised a “Frankengun-15” receiver, with a picture of the Frankenstein monster, in time for Halloween. I checked their website under “stripped lowers”, and found 52 products listed.

PSA Frankengun

PSA Frankengun-15

Then there are all the other AR-15 manufacturers. There are hundreds of different AR-15 receivers, all with different branding. “No officer, that is not an AR-15 receiver, as those are made only by Colt.

That is a Frankengun-15” receiver.” There must be hundreds of different AR-15 lower receivers available. Why not start a lower receiver collection? Try to collect as many different stripped lowers as you can! With a little luck one or more will get missed by an AWB.

Alternatively, you could acquire a quantity of your favorite stripped lower receiver pattern. I like receivers with closed trigger guards, but you might like something different. For instance, you may still be worked up by Robert Francis O’Rourke, burglar and failed candidate for President. For you, there is the “No Beto” lower.

PSA No Beto lower receiver
Or perhaps you’d rather have something that will still make sense a few years from now, when Beto has faded into obscurity, like this:

PSA A-Salt 15

Store a few of these, along with a good supply of magazines and you’ll be ready for the Boogaloo. or maybe just SHTF.

Conclusion

While I previously recommended stripped lowers for those who lived in restrictive gun states. I am now expanding that recommendation to anyone who simply wants to insure access to an AR-15 in the future.

Buy a stripped lower, or a bunch of stripped lowers, and set them aside for future use. You will be spending much less, and can acquire other parts later. The lowers are likely to survive any attempts at an Assault Weapons Ban and make great conversation pieces.

Salty’s Note: Paranoid Prepper is right, we do avoid politics here at 3BY with the one exception that we are (obviously) Pro-2nd. The management here at 3BY is equally opposed to anti-firearms sentiment from all parts of the political spectrum, from the extreme right to the extreme left. We make no comments about any other parts of officeholders and candidates platforms, simply commenting on whether they are pro-2nd or anti-2nd. 

If in doubt, remember that Bullets is a part of our name and our mission.