What was the '94 ban like?

[Jayne]

I was finishing up college when the '94 ban rolled around and knew nothing about it until after it happened (the school blocked alt.guns and other subversive usenet groups so even us tech nerds were out of the loop on a lot of things).

How bad was the panic before? Were ammo/mags/guns gone like they were now? How long before non-banned things were back in stock? Did prices recover?

 

[HugoStiglitz]

Re: What was the '94 ban like?

As an Old Guy, I wasn't a fan of computers then. I don't know if there were forums like this out there or not back then. The "Gnashing Of Teeth" becomes opressive when you visit more than a few Firearms Forums on a daily basis. I'm trying to break myself of the habit.

As an Arizona resident, I didn't feel very constrained during that period. Things were referred to as "Pre or Post" Ban. The Progressive States were outlawing "High Cap" Mags that were sold "Post"-Ban. Mag prices and availability did seem to reflect a shortage, but were still available. The were still plenty of EBRs to be had. Ammo was easily found.

I don't recall the panic buying scenario, but then as I said, I don't think the Internet was as pervasive as today, as a result the "Drum Beat" wasn't there as much to fuel panic buying. I do recall some friends saying they would buy "Pre-Ban" items for resale at a profit if needed.

 

[RFtinkerer]

Re: What was the '94 ban like?

I had bought an H&K USP 40 before, all I had at 21, then tried to buy an extra mag. It was limited to 10 rounds and I was like WTF is this shit? That's all I remember, though.

 

[Blueclawz]

Re: What was the '94 ban like?

It was not that god awful....but when somebody brought a BETA mag out..people took notice.

Its funny because everybody would chase down "colt 30rd mags"...and then the Okays and Sanchez and Centerlines were considered shit...

I doubt any future bans would be as easy to live in...

 

[HBAM1]

Re: What was the '94 ban like?

Nothing like today.
the internet makes information almost instant, so even BAD information is passed quickly and before you know it, there is a panic.
this time it seems there are more knuckleheads buying shit "just to have it".
I think we will see a HUGE selloff in a few months when mama sees the credit card bills come in for all the shit Jethro just had to have before it gets banned.

 

[desertrat1979]

Re: What was the '94 ban like?

I was 15 when it went into effect. Growing up in NJ really didn't make a difference when it expired. I purchased my first pistol in 2005. It was kind of a limbo period where NJ didn't have much state restrictions on mag capacity and the 94 ban was no longer in effect. So if it came with one, it was good. Now, their state laws mirror the AWB.

 

[2Shots]

Re: What was the '94 ban like?

I was competing in matches at that time using high capacity handgun mags. It really was more of a bother than anything. We could buy "replacement" parts for the mags, all of them, and put them together, they had to come from different sources also. We had about 70 bucks in a mag but once you had four or five it wasn't a big deal. And you could buy used military AR mags pretty cheap, 20's or 30's. Remember it wasn't a ban to own them just the new manufacturing of mags could only be sold to law enforcvement and military, there were still plenty of preban mags, just a little more expensive. But I am sure they will be smarter this time because the work around was not a big deal.

 

[Sgt. 0811]

Re: What was the '94 ban like?

94 ban sucked ass! AR-15s were horribly expensive, glock magazines were anywhere from 80.00-130.00 a piece. Stuff like steyer augs were selling for about 4k as were HKs. S.W.A.T. teams locally were using Mini-14s since no one could afford ARs cops had to wait for about 3 weeks to get spare magazines, they needed letterheads to order them and were only allowed to order 2 at one time. The repercussions to the military were astounding and carried over to this last war. That's why our military now sub-contracts tons of different builders. Colt used to have the deal but after the bans were unable to produce the amount of rifles needed by the military. Speaking of that, the military had a hard time getting parts for rifles so most of our rifles were in terrible shape and in need of service. The firearms market was a feeding fest, this is when all the small autos made their appearance too since they couldn't make hi-cap guns anymore they made little easy to hide ones instead.

Guess what? It did nothing to decrease crime it just cost the tax payer a lot more money for the same damn thing, worst idea ever.

 

[E. Bryant]

Re: What was the '94 ban like?

My recollections:

- The really cool semi-auto rifles were no longer sold due to the '89 import ban, so the '94 AWB <span style="font-style: italic">in comparison</span> seemed like a relatively minor hassle with regards to black rifles.

- Full-capacity magazines were expensive and difficult to find (exception: HK91 mags could be had for $2-3/each, because there were far more mags than rifles).

- Pistol designs changed from big full-size double-stack "wonder nines" to smaller carry pieces with mag capacity of 10 rounds or less (the Glock 26 is a great example of this downsizing). There also seemed to be a large resurgence in the popularity of the 1911, and larger cartridges (the idea at the time being that 10 rounds of .45ACP was better than 10 rounds of 9mm, all else being equal).

- All of the wild "assault pistols" disappeared from the market. The guy that would occasionally show up at the range with a Tec9, MAC-10, or Calico drew a lot of attention, and these pistols went for kinda stupid money when they came on the market.

- Big revolvers because rather popular, in lieu of high-cap semi-auto pistols.

- There was a big gap in price between "pre-ban" and "post-ban" ARs and other black rifles; a far bigger gap than most shooters were willing to pay for a collapseable/folding stock, bayo lug, flash hider, etc.

- A lot of people argued about what constituted a "muzzle brake" and what was a "flash hider". I seem to recall that the ATF Tech Branch would issue rulings on this.

Keep in mind that one could still walk into a gun shop and buy a brand-new AR; it was just a bit neutered compared to what we have today. This new ban, if it passes, will be much worse.