MGTedFL Posted May 19 Report Share Posted May 19 (edited) HR4332 40 years ago today. FOPA, I feel so much safer and "protected" now. A moment of silence, and a tilt of the head, please. Enough said..... Edited May 19 by MGTedFL had to wipe the tears away..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Zeek Posted May 19 Report Share Posted May 19 I was in high school. I recall laying hands on the occasional issue of Shotgun News at the time, but didn't understand the impact of the Hughes Amendment for another five years or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGTedFL Posted May 19 Author Report Share Posted May 19 I was just finishing up undergrad & heading off to Med School at UMiami. Had no money for T2 guns (just my subscription to SGN)....I clearly remember in 1985 that a M16 in Miami was cheaper than an AR-15, as no LEO was signing paperwork, in Miami...in those days.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPFiveO Posted May 19 Report Share Posted May 19 I was just 16 so I couldn't even buy a gun yet. I remember visiting a gun shop in the 80's in the Clearwater mall. It was called the Shooter's Shack. They had a rack on the wall with what must have been a dozen M16's. With my dad's permission they let me hold one. I played with the selector and imagined being able to actually shoot it. I think they were around $600 at the time and I begged my dad to get one but the reply was "We don't need that". I bought my first machine gun in 1992, an HK sear for $500. I bought my first M16 in 1997 for $3900. I still have both. My how things have changed in 40 years. I'd love for the Hughes Amendment to be struck down but it looks like it's here to stay. We had a day of shooting Subguns at my range on Sunday to mark the passing of the anniversary. 40 years of denying freedom. We're still free to buy the ones that were made before the ban, they just cost a lot more. Freedom is expensive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGTedFL Posted May 19 Author Report Share Posted May 19 (edited) We also went shooting on Sunday, at Shoot Straight in Clearwater. Lots of NFA stuff out to play, with others sadly toasting the 40th Anniversary of HR4332. We brought the MP5, V51, M16 and Bulgy Krink. Was trying to tune-in my Aero 300BLK upper, 200gr S&B Subsonic, with my Omega300 on the M16. Super sweet when all dialed-in. Almost as quiet as the SD. On the other hand.....the V51 in FA always draws a crowd...especially indoors Edited May 19 by MGTedFL ....still cryin' ...... Willaim J. Hughes, Damn you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPFiveO Posted May 19 Report Share Posted May 19 I remember taking my HK 53 to Knights Shooting Sports many years ago. The the concussion from the Vollmer brake was knocking dust off the ceiling even though there wasn't any dust. The muzzle flash drew all kinds of attention to the observation window. I think they thought we were setting off flashbangs at 700 rpm. Our Sunday assembly included HK MP5's, Uzi, MAC 10's, M11's, MK760's, Spitfire, Suomi, Hotchkiss Universal, Skorpion .32, Colt 635, Sig MPX, MP40, Sten, M16, M3 Grease Gun and probably a bunch more I forgot. This hobby would be a lot more fun if it weren't so dang expensive these days. Can't blame the cost of ammo on Hughes but the transferable guns are all his doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KickStand Posted May 19 Report Share Posted May 19 This past Sunday, Mike Senn hosted a great MG shoot at his property. The date eluded me for the shoot but I should’ve known it was the 40th anniversary of the disastrous Hughes amendment passing. He had a beltfed shoot, sub-gun shoot and a pond shoot and was a really cool event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thumpy Posted May 19 Report Share Posted May 19 On the bright side the NFA is changing for the better and i believe the NFA will one day reverse what happened may 19th 1986 … we are pretty darn close with FRT’s my friends… not exactly the same thing… but we are making progress 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrocoyote Posted May 22 Report Share Posted May 22 I remember the day, I had been buying the Voere 2005 open bolt rifles then. The dealer had been getting them from an importer from Texas and I had already bought 2 of them and ordered another. The rifle came in on may 19th. He called me about it coming in so I left work and went to pick up the rifle. After I got there, he told me that he could not sell it to me now because of the stupid law had come in effect. There it was looking at me and all I could do was say good bye. He had to send it back to the Texas dealer. Yes I remember that day. Ohhhhh wellllll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill in Bama Posted May 22 Report Share Posted May 22 I have to confess I knew nothing about it at the time. I had had my FFL for two years at that point, but I originally got it solely to buy reloading supplies for myself, since they were regulated then. I didn't really get the CIII bug for a few more years, when a new, young gun dealer opened and he was an MG owner himself and instructed me in the ways of all things full auto. By then it was too late for the really good deals, and I bought my first, an M16 lower from Johnny Walker in Birmingham. Built my own and then started collecting other toys. Sad day for all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OkcPuckfan Posted May 22 Report Share Posted May 22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGTedFL Posted May 22 Author Report Share Posted May 22 That's Awesome. I need one for my truck window..... Had this one up just a bit too long...and I don't have a cat (5 dogs). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thumpy Posted May 23 Report Share Posted May 23 gun owners of America just backed this GOA-backed Firearm Freedom Act of 2026, H.R. 9009. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signal_4 Posted May 23 Report Share Posted May 23 Yep. And here we have May 22, 2026 REP. PATRONIS' BILL: THE "FIREARM FREEDOM ACT OF 2026" Rep. Patronis' Bill, the Firearm Freedom Act— would repeal the worst part of the 1986 Firearm Owner Protection Act: The Hughes Amendment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPFiveO Posted May 24 Report Share Posted May 24 You know when people say that when they win the lottery they won't tell anyone, but there will be signs. Same with this, if they repeal Hughes, I'm not going to say anything, but I'll be showing up at the range with a lot of cool new toys. Going to have to dip into the investment account to pay for all the tax stamps. Maybe they'll zero out machine gun stamps too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGTedFL Posted May 24 Author Report Share Posted May 24 (edited) IMO, Hughes HR4332 will never be repealed, nor will there ever be another amnesty. Our representatives don't have the B*LLS to do it. They don't want to be featured in a 30-second attack ad saying, "they legalized machine guns" My other great concern is this...for SBR, SBS, AOW and Cans, the tax stamps were dropped to zero $$ as part of a partisan reconciliation budget act. NOT congressional legislative action. When the Dems retake power (not making any political statement...as to when or if this will happen), but history suggests we will again be under the left-leaning oppressive rule of the Demagogues, er...... Democrats. (So much for no political statement ) They will be able to just as easily adjust the cost of the stamp, which inflation adjusted based on 1934 currency value, would put a NFA Tax Stamp at about $3500. Get those SBR's and Cans finished sooner, rather than later, or you might not get the chance..... Finally, I hope that everyone enjoys their Memorial Day Holiday, and also takes a moment to think about why we have just such a Holiday. (not just the Indy 500). If you have a moment, say Thank You to someone who has sacrificed and served, or their widow, husband or children. FWIW, Ted Edited May 24 by MGTedFL 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeRanger Posted May 24 Report Share Posted May 24 They kicked open the door without considering what might be on the other side. The inadvisability of setting a precedent by tampering with the NFA for exactly that reason was pointed out but they did not care/listen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaRenegade86 Posted May 24 Report Share Posted May 24 While I have to (begrudgingly) concur that the Hughes Amendment is most likely here to stay, I do think the probability of it going away is more than zero. How much more than zero is the question. Politics has become so friggin' extreme that it is the "in-thing" to do the exact opposite of whatever the opposition is doing. If the opposition is pushing for an assault weapons ban, it might just be okay to push for full-auto legalization, especially as the Old Guard starts to get replaced. As always, politicians will be politicians. They are always running a cost-to-benefit analysis of any position they take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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