I was not fortunate enough to be heavily into AR-15’s 10 years ago when the AWB first went into effect. So, I draw upon the collective experience of the members of this board to compare what happened then, to what may happen now.
I was reviewing a number of articles that I saved over the last 4-5 years and found a common statement. It basically states, A LOWER RECEIVER MUST HAVE BEEN ASSEMBLED INTO A COMPLETE RIFLE PRIOR TO THE SEPTEMBER 1994 BAN AND THE MANUFACTURER MUST BE ABLE TO DOCUMENT THAT ASSEMBLY TO THE BATF IN ORDER TO QUALIFY AS A PRE-BAN LOWER RECEIVER!
So flash forward to now. Since it appears that the AWB is dead, all AR’s will be able to mount pre-ban components, regardless if you purchase a stripped lower or a complete rifle. But, what happens to stripped lower owners if (here we go again...) a ban is reinstated at some point in the future? In theory, without proving that the rifle was complete, then the lower would revert to post ban. How did you stripped lower owners in 1994 prove to the BATF or Manufacturer that they had a complete rifle at the time of the ban?
So I guess the root of my question is, does it pay to invest in stripped lowers? Or is it going to require that full rifles be purchased to ensure that you’re protected from any future laws?
I realize that there are a couple of ways around this based on more radical laws, which I would prefer not to think about. But let’s use a similar situation to 1994 and assume the AWB is reinstated as is.