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From the ATF Press Release:

“Beginning in November 2011 to February 2012, ATF conducted a proactive firearms trafficking investigation and made undercover purchases of numerous firearms from Estes including two suspected Machine Guns, AR 15 Type Weapons, AK-74 Rifle, silencer, as well as other long guns and hand guns, and approximately 450 rounds of .223 ammunition. Webber aided and abetted the dealing of firearms without a license. Estes attempted to purchase an M-60 Machine Gun on Friday during the pre-arranged undercover meet with ATF undercover agents just prior to his arrest. After Estes was taken into custody ATF seized eight additional firearms, and alleged controlled subtances. Subsequent to the service of a search warrant at Estes’ residence ATF located and seized several more firearms.”

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14 COMMENTS

  1. Sucks to be Mr. Estes.

    For the rest of us, don’t do it. What exactly ‘it’ is could be anything from a pal’s illegal SBR he wants to sell to an M60 and a complimentary package of grenades. The BATFE loves people who say ‘yes’ to shady gun transactions like that, because every bust is another reason to increase their budget.

  3. “including two suspected Machine Guns”

    I can tell in 10 secs if it’s a machine gun or not, less than 5 minutes without firing it. How are they not sure if they are machine guns or not? Sounds like someone hyping up 2 perfectly legal ARs by calling them suspected machine guns to me. Either that or the BATFE is caught in it’s own web of complicated and confusing laws and rules and can’t even tell themselves if it’s legal or not.

    • +1 on that, “suspected” means they’re lying about the machine gun part.

      when can we just make full auto legal again and get rid of this bs?!? seriously, while i personally wouldn’t be able to afford feeding a full auto rifle and question it’s actual usefulness, who care’s? What actual negative impact on society (and safety) would they really incur?

      • “What actual negative impact on society (and safety) would [machineguns] really incur?”

        Well, judging buy the crime statistics on REGISTERED machienguns used in crime between 1934 and 1986, I believe it is safe to say that the answer is statistically zero.

  4. I’m glad a suspected “bad guy” has been caught, but I’m concerned about the use of “proactive firearms trafficking investigation” … Given that firearms are a Constitutionally-protected right, what is the justification for a proactive investigation? On the face, it seems like a Fourth Amendment violation.

  5. You know what bugs me about these reports? The incredibly ordinary amounts of ammunition reported as if they’re some major stockpile. 450 rounds is a couple trips to the range.

    • Nominally.

      At the gun show earlier this month I picked up two 420 round packs of XM855 on stripper clips, along with 2,000 rounds of 9mm target ammo.

      Additionally, my brother and I are looking into doing a bulk order of at least 10 cases (1,000 rounds each) of a variety of calibers in the next month or so.

      Sometimes I get ammo so cheaply that it’s almost not worth it (time, effort, mess, additional junk) to reload.

  6. So, they caught a couple of criminals selling illegal firearms. What does this have to do with the vast majority of decent, law abiding gun owners who not only did not do anything illegal, they wouldn’t even contemplate anything like this? But then, the ATF has to point to the odd criminal to justify ts own miserable existence, and its own history in trafficking arms to the worst killers in North America – the Mexican drug cartels in a patently hairbrained scheme that left at least two Federal officers and likely hundreds of innocent Mexicans dead. If anything, the entire outfit deserves to be institutionalized for mental retardation considering what it has “Achieved” on the whole.

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