M16s sent to home by mistake

[Ringel05]

A couple who buys bulk military surplus for resale on Ebay ordered a large lot of supposedly empty boxes that the military uses to store weapons in. Seems at least one of the boxes was never emptied.........

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Federal authorities are trying to figure out how at least a dozen fully-automatic M16s ended up among military surplus equipment sold to a Houston couple.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) executed a search warrant in a Richmond-area storage facility on Monday afternoon. However, that only came after the couple voluntarily notified authorities of their highly-unusual find.

Only on 13: Couple finds fully-automatic M16s in storage cases bought online

There, now you all can start with the obligatory partisan finger pointing.

 

[Canon Shooter]

That's crazy.

Someone done fucked up...

 

[Auld Phart]

I never have that kind of luck

 

[The Duke]

The ATF should have been disbanded after prohibition was over. This is a strange one. The most modern military M16s fire only 3-burst rounds. What time period are these things from?

 

[fncceo]

The most modern military M16s fire only 3-burst rounds. What time period are these things from?

Don't put too much stock into how the weapons are described in the article. News reporters consider every firearm to be fully-automatic, and military-style.

 

[whitehall]

A fed setup?

 

[1srelluc]

A-2s

 

[airplanemechanic]

Damn I would only be so lucky.

 

[whitehall]

If your lifestyle and your way of making a living appears to be right wing and you deal in military surplus and you suddenly get a gift in the mail of fully automatic weapons you need to find a lawyer because you are being set up for 20 years in prison by the federal government.

 

[MisterBeale]

I'm confused.

Did the Houston couple really report this?

Was this a set up by the feds to see if they were honest, or what? What is the gag here? Why would some one report this if they were given this gift?

Is it illegal to keep them if they are given them?

 

[White 6]

That's crazy.

Someone done fucked up...

Absolutely someone done fucked up, and it was the couple that bought the government surplus empty boxes, found the case of M-16s and reported it. I would have kept the weapons and sold the empty boxes, in a heartbeat. M-16 is a good tool.

 

[ThunderKiss1965]

A couple who buys bulk military surplus for resale on Ebay ordered a large lot of supposedly empty boxes that the military uses to store weapons in. Seems at least one of the boxes was never emptied.........



Only on 13: Couple finds fully-automatic M16s in storage cases bought online

There, now you all can start with the obligatory partisan finger pointing.

The Military hasn't fielded a full-auto M-16 in a while.

 

[Ringel05]

The Military hasn't fielded a full-auto M-16 in a while.

I never said it was a full auto, the author of the article did.

 

[AZrailwhale]

I never said it was a full auto, the author of the article did.

If they were M-16s they were full auto, or at worst three round burst.

 

[Ringel05]

If they were M-16s they were full auto, or at worst three round burst.

Still I never made any claims about the firearms other than they were sent to a private (non military) address.

 

[toobfreak]

Absolutely someone done fucked up, and it was the couple that bought the government surplus empty boxes, found the case of M-16s and reported it. I would have kept the weapons and sold the empty boxes, in a heartbeat. M-16 is a good tool.

Ironically, you could be very right. Though the couple was most likely doing something entirely legal and not intending anything illegal in any way at all trying to do the most honest aboveboard thing with the best of intentions, the actual net result of their actions could very well end up being the ATF crawling up their butts looking through every i and t of their side business, history, records and activity going back years, now and into the future plus an entire shake up of the sales which made their side business possible resulting in the loss of it all plus almost as much headache for themselves now and into the future as someone who was intending to or caught running an illegal firearms racket because now first and foremost, the government will want a total covering-of-its-ass first and answers second. This usually involves finding a suitable scapegoat to blame.

After all, it's nothing new for Biden's military to lose things, just a year ago, they left behind 28 billion in weapons in the hands of a terror organization! No problemo.

Also, does anyone suppose this was not the first or only case full of rifles the military has accidentally let slip through it's hands? We only know of this instance now because the receivers CALLED the ATF and told them of the mistake. Or maybe there was something even deliberate and insidious here going on! And I'm not talking about the couple who found the guns.

 

[Esdraelon]

I'm confused.

Did the Houston couple really report this?

Was this a set up by the feds to see if they were honest, or what? What is the gag here? Why would some one report this if they were given this gift?

Is it illegal to keep them if they are given them?

Owning a full auto weapon is legal IF the person jumps through all the government hoops. To be in possession of one without that process is damned serious. I'm not sure what I'd do if I received one of those out of the blue. I might just take a sledge hammer to it.

 

[toobfreak]

Owning a full auto weapon is legal IF the person jumps through all the government hoops. To be in possession of one without that process is damned serious. I'm not sure what I'd do if I received one of those out of the blue. I might just take a sledge hammer to it.

You can buy a federal stamp. $200 last I checked.

 

[ThunderKiss1965]

I never said it was a full auto, the author of the article did.

I'm just saying if they where full auto they had been "lost" for a while. Firearms are considered a sensitive item. I've seen entire companies go on lock down when one is lost.