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Autoweapons/ASI anyone deal with?


Dean

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All of their prices are POR.  I inquired about a polytech .223 SWD converted gun on the price.  They responded with $53k!  Which is more than twice what they go for.  Just wondered if I a missing something or do they cater to a certain clientele where price is no concern?  They have a lot of nice guns on website but it seems pointless to ask the prices if they are all unusually high.

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I once inquired about buying a Mac from them. Mac’s at the time were routinely $5-6k (probably 6-6.5 years ago.  They told me their cheapest Mac started at $8500, and I would never find a Mac for $5-6k, b/c they were currently paying more for them then that, in a very condescending tone. I thanked them for their time and moved on. I bought a Mac w s/n matching two stage can, half a dozen mags and a bunch of other accessories a week later for $6k. 

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They have a checkered history.  Currently their inventory is being handled/sold by another dealer due to loss of their license.  That said, I did find one suppressor at a good price, and the transaction was ok.  They were not responsive after I made payment, but I did receive the item in a (reasonably) timely manner.  In general, their prices are well above the market.  Personally I would probably not do business with them again.

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So I looked at Autoweapons a while back.. Has his website ever changed?  Any case common responses about the company was their prices were too high and they were jerks. Some people said they shot with him and he was pretty nice.

Back in 2015, wasn't the owner indicted with some type of machinegun and laser fraud dealing with the sheriff's department.

I think this was the article about it: https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/federal-judge-sentences-a-former-east-coast-gun-dealer-to/article_f8949955-f941-5a28-9c9c-33bfbf4e2cf3.html

Quote

 

HAMMOND — A federal judge sentenced a Pennsylvania gun dealer to prison Monday for conspiring with corrupt Lake County police officers to illegally obtain machine guns and laser gun sights.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen imposed a 100-month sentence on Vahan Kelerchian, 58, of Richboro, Pennsylvania, for his role in a gun-running scheme that damaged the reputation of the Lake County Sheriff's Department.

The judge also levied a $100,000 fine on Kelerchian and ordered him to pay an additional $28,200 in restitution. He also must complete one year of supervised release on the completion of his sentence.

U.S. Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II said Kelerchian, who held a Class 3 Federal Firearms License, "abused the authority entrusted to him for criminal purposes. The eight years he will spend in federal prison, which began today, should be a deterrent to others similarly situated that act for illegal purposes." 

A federal jury in Hammond convicted Kelerchian in October 2015, after an 11-day trial, on eight of nine counts of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering to evade federal regulations on firearms and accessories to buy 71 machine guns and 74 laser gun sights between 2008 and 2010.

Kelerchian, the former owner of Armaments Services International Inc., in Warminster, Pennsylvania, bought the restricted items with the help of three former county policemen: Joseph Kumstar, then the third-highest ranking administrator, Ronald D. Slusser, the department's former armorer, who bought and administered the county's weapons, and Edward O. Kabella.

Kumstar used department letterhead — without official permission — to make the machine gun purchases appear to be exclusively for law enforcement use by the county sheriff and the laser sight purchases for use by the Sheriff's Department and the Lowell Police Department.

They fabricated county documents to make it appear the purchases were by government agencies, but instead the conspirators bought the firearms and sights with their own money and sold gun parts and lasers on the internet for an estimated profit of between $100,000 and $200,000.

The U.S. attorney's office said the laser aiming sights "had a visible laser that could be seen in excess of 50 feet and an invisible laser that could be used for targeting, with infrared goggles, in excess of 1 mile."

Kumstar is still serving a 57-month sentence and Slusser a 70-month sentence at minimum security federal institutions in Kentucky and Arkansas, respectively. Kabella has completed a 24-month sentence.

Defense attorney Kerry C. Connor said Monday she will file an appeal on behalf of Kelerchian within the week.

"Mr. Kelerchian maintains his innocence. I feel strongly about this case and am confident about the appeal. Vahan Kelerchian is a patriot and a devoted family man. His conviction is a tragedy."

Connor stated, “Although the sentence imposed by the Court was significantly below that requested by the government, we are saddened that Mr. Kelerchian was not permitted to voluntarily surrender to his designated facility directly.

"The government’s demand that Mr. Kelerchian go into custody (Monday) cost the taxpayers a lot of unnecessary money. Mr. Kelerchian has been out on bond for almost five years without a single misstep. Permitting him to self-surrender would have saved taxpayer dollars and valuable resources," Connor said.

 

Edit:

Oh here's the link I read about that company.
http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18507

 

Just note I know nothing about this company except what I read on the internet.. Sounds like I would avoid them.

Edited by Ryo
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Avoid this company.  I bought an OSS greasegun suppressor from this company several years ago.  Paid top price for a POS!  Not as represented.  No baffles.  Noisy as hell.  Owner refused a refund.  Manufacurer denied anything wrong.  I prepared a lawsuit which was not filed when I learned the feds acted first in indicting the owner.  I had the suppressor rebuilt twice.  It now has baffles and proper blast chamber patterned after the original wwII model.  Autoweapons suppressor was merely a stepdown shell with no effective internals. They still might be attempting to sell these to unsuspecting buyers.  Beware.

 

Update: They still are  - awc mark 9 oss suppressor $2195.00.  Ask them about my unresolved  complaints.

Marty Seidler

Edited by guntrustlawyer
Updated info after review of autoweapons website
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1 hour ago, Ryo said:

I thought another family member got the FFL, like his wife or son.. If I remember what I read about it before. 

I think the wife got an LOA to run the original license, but it was later revoked also, if my memory is correct.

5 hours ago, MontanaRenegade86 said:

Anybody know the FFL/SOT who is handling all of their inventory? 

Shooter's Outpost in Hooksett, NH

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On 5/28/2022 at 9:30 PM, guntrustlawyer said:

Avoid this company.  I bought an OSS greasegun suppressor from this company several years ago.  Paid top price for a POS!  Not as represented.  No baffles.  Noisy as hell.  Owner refused a refund.  Manufacurer denied anything wrong.  I prepared a lawsuit which was not filed when I learned the feds acted first in indicting the owner.  I had the suppressor rebuilt twice.  It now has baffles and proper blast chamber patterned after the original wwII model.  Autoweapons suppressor was merely a stepdown shell with no effective internals. They still might be attempting to sell these to unsuspecting buyers.  Beware.

 

Update: They still are  - awc mark 9 oss suppressor $2195.00.  Ask them about my unresolved  complaints.

Marty Seidler

I got stuck with one in 2014! Anyone who can sell something that they know is not what it is advertised to be, deserves what's coming to them.

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Well I took the bait and sent funds in the thier M60 D conversion kit @ $3500.00 yep that's right! But funds went out this Tuesday 2nd day priority mail and today Saturday, UPS just left, and the conversion kit is mint mint mint, brand new stock. Could not be happier. Now on a bigger ticket item, who knows but $3500.00 isn't chump change, at least for me. I would definitally do business with them again...

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I was looking for some magazines for my MPL and while they are hard to find they had one ! it said 600 but I figured obviously they meant 60 and it was a typo... figured 60 is a good deal because at that time some were going for 175 to 200 (now theyre 200 to 250) ... I emailed and NO... they ACTUALLY meant 600.. I said... but its a magazine??? Guy said they are impossible to find and its a good deal... I said I can get some for 175.. he said you find em for that price I would buy em all.. so a few weeks later I bought 12 for 100 a piece... I went back (to be a smart ass) showed him a picture and said ok so you want these for 175 a piece? ... no response 

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  • 9 months later...

Apologies for resurrecting a thread from the great beyond.

I purchased a small item from Autoweapons recently. I emailed them, told them what item I wanted, got a price, sent a check, and received my item a short while later. All in all, it was a drama free experience and I would not hesitate to do business with them again.

They have some items that are damn near impossible to find elsewhere. The item I purchased was a S&W M76 sear. 

-KristopherH

Edited by MontanaRenegade86
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On 5/27/2022 at 9:30 PM, guntrustlawyer said:

Avoid this company.  I bought an OSS greasegun suppressor from this company several years ago.  Paid top price for a POS!  Not as represented.  No baffles.  Noisy as hell.  Owner refused a refund.  Manufacurer denied anything wrong.  I prepared a lawsuit which was not filed when I learned the feds acted first in indicting the owner.  I had the suppressor rebuilt twice.  It now has baffles and proper blast chamber patterned after the original wwII model.  Autoweapons suppressor was merely a stepdown shell with no effective internals. They still might be attempting to sell these to unsuspecting buyers.  Beware.

 

Update: They still are  - awc mark 9 oss suppressor $2195.00.  Ask them about my unresolved  complaints.

Marty Seidler

Yes there were a number of these sold, and I would ask if they had rebuilt them into a "real" suppressor before purchasing one. Story I heard is that A.S.I. sent tech drawings to AWC for them to produce a M3 faux suppressor. AWC built what the drawings required. Nice looking faux suppressor but overpriced for what it is and what it doesn't accomplish!

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Wow, glad I found this thread. I was going to purchase one of their suppressors ( awc mark 9 oss gg suppressor $2195.00 ). On the website they stated e-mail is a quicker form of communication. So I e-mailed them...never received a response. I guess I dodged the "proverbial bullet"...Thanks for the info and saving me $$ and a headache.

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