Is it Legal to Import Real Steel Handguards From the Us

[mcnugget]

I want to put an M-lok handguard on my g3 but only aimsport makes them, is it possible to import one to the UK?

[Adolf Hamster]

a handguard should be fine, it's recievers and pressure bearing components are going to be raising eyebrows.

[Iceni]

Fine to import, Problem is the USA has some really strict export rules on gun parts, So you might find that no store is willing to take payment and ship. 

I got my wood kit for the G3 from Zib militaria over in Germany, No issues on the import at all. Unfortunately I don't think they stock anything like the parts you are wanting.

http://www.zib-militaria.de/epages/61431412.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/61431412/Categories/Freie_Waffenteile/G3UziP1G36/G3

[Hatchet]

Brownells have bits and pieces like that in (in the UK), but typically it's expensive. I've used them for things like skinny M4 grips, etc. But personally have baulked at the idea of dropping £300 on a foregrip that may or may not fit because airsoft (MP5 handguards for example).

[mcnugget]

2 hours ago, Hatchet said:

Brownells have bits and pieces like that in (in the UK), but typically it's expensive. I've used them for things like skinny M4 grips, etc. But personally have baulked at the idea of dropping £300 on a foregrip that may or may not fit because airsoft (MP5 handguards for example).

yah, £300 is alot but that's the only place I've seen in the past 3 years of looking that's had mlok anything for a g3 in the uk.

2 hours ago, Iceni said:

Fine to import, Problem is the USA has some really strict export rules on gun parts, So you might find that no store is willing to take payment and ship. 

I got my wood kit for the G3 from Zib militaria over in Germany, No issues on the import at all. Unfortunately I don't think they stock anything like the parts you are wanting.

http://www.zib-militaria.de/epages/61431412.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/61431412/Categories/Freie_Waffenteile/G3UziP1G36/G3

you can say that again, if I get in contact with them do you reckon zib militaria would take the time and effort to import a part just for me, seems unlikely but maybe worth a try?

[Guest]

Best thing I’ve found is getting a US friend to buy it and ship it listed as parts for airsoft.

 

[Iceni]

11 hours ago, mcnugget said:

you can say that again, if I get in contact with them do you reckon zib militaria would take the time and effort to import a part just for me, seems unlikely but maybe worth a try?

I don't think they would, But all you can do is ask. The wood kit I got was one of his stock items from military surplus. And I don't believe the German army is selling surplus now, so it'll be destroyed rather than sold, And his stock on those items is probably never going to go up again.

LCT do make a weaver handguard firesupport have it in stock.

https://www.fire-support.co.uk/product/lct-lc038-lc3-rs-handguard

[Neptune]

11 hours ago, mcnugget said:

if I get in contact with them do you reckon zib militaria would take the time and effort to import a part just for me, seems unlikely but maybe worth a try?

 

If you're talking about Zib getting a part from the US then no, they would only be the middle-man as they can't export from the US themselves. It requires a US exporter who is registered to deal with ITAR exports, you'll have to fill in paperwork, end-user agreements etc, then they will file it to get an export licence.

 

I would say it's probably not worth looking at parts from the US.

[Cromulon1994]

As RDB pointed out the only way of doing it is with a private person in the US buying it and then forwarding it on to you.

 

Had to do so with a webley .455 stock. Made in the UK, perfectly legal here but unable to be exported from the US as it's not allowed.

 

He labelled it as an airsoft stock. Came straight through.

[Guest DrAlexanderTobacco]

1 hour ago, Cromulon1994 said:

As RDB pointed out the only way of doing it is with a private person in the US buying it and then forwarding it on to you.

 

Had to do so with a webley .455 stock. Made in the UK, perfectly legal here but unable to be exported from the US as it's not allowed.

 

He labelled it as an airsoft stock. Came straight through.

Damn, your mate has balls of steel for doing that - It's still an ITAR breach to straw-purchase something to forward out of the UK, legit "prison for years" type shit - even for a Webley stock!

[Cr0-Magnon]

I was thinking about this the other day and understand it for parts that are designed specifically to keep the gun together when it comes to live rounds etc but seems kinda pointless to include polymer handguards or stocks. Like the Pakse Sapper handguard for the Scorpion Evo, $50 in the US, £120 here.

[38super]

1 hour ago, Cr0-Magnon said:

I was thinking about this the other day and understand it for parts that are designed specifically to keep the gun together when it comes to live rounds etc but seems kinda pointless to include polymer handguards or stocks. Like the Pakse Sapper handguard for the Scorpion Evo, $50 in the US, £120 here.

 

The ITAR rules covered pretty much all firearms, parts and accessories although some things have now been moved to a different category. Everything still needs an export licence it's just the cost and paperwork that varies. For the vast majority of US retailers it isn't worth the cost, the hassle or the risk of getting it wrong. It's only worthwhile for wholesalers and companies like Brownells who ship a lot of stock out of the US.

 

If your desperate there are freight companies that will deal with exports but the cost is astronomical. Getting someone in the US to send stuff is a breach of the export regulations with the attendant consequences if caught.

 

The only really feasible approach is to take a personal trip to the US (or find someone who's going), get them to buy whatever or pick it up, ditch the packaging and hope you don't get someone official at the airport who takes the kit back off you. 

[Tommikka]

2 hours ago, Cr0-Magnon said:

I was thinking about this the other day and understand it for parts that are designed specifically to keep the gun together when it comes to live rounds etc but seems kinda pointless to include polymer handguards or stocks. Like the Pakse Sapper handguard for the Scorpion Evo, $50 in the US, £120 here.

Pricing is a matter of different markets - the combination of a larger population, more people involved in shooting hobbies, and a different economy - the first two giving economy of scale and the second where different things are more expensive / cheaper in different economies 

 

The other is how items are classified, a non critical element of a weapon that is classified differently, so it cannot be exported or requires approval for export.

 

Back in the olden days I received an illegal copy of PGP encryption as part of a security course.  This ‘strength’ was classified as weapons grade and illegal to export from the US.

The trainers were under a US parent company thus could carry the software, they were committing a criminal offence by allowing us to walk away with the floppy disk or copy to our own laptops. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Export_of_cryptography_from_the_United_States

[Druid799]

ITAR has some seriously weird criteria for what is and what isn’t covered , take for example when I was looking for an L1A1 flash hider . Only place I could find them was the states and of course it was covered by ITAR so couldn’t buy one BUT I could have bought a breech block from the same retailer as that wasn’t covered WTF ! 😳

[Neptune]

A real one? They're a controlled item over here, unless you mean an airsoft one in which case I would be surprised it was covered by ITAR.

Edited March 14, 2021 by Neptune