The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives raided EP Armory, in Bakersfield, California Friday, along with owner Chris Cook's home. Details at this point are still very thin, but Cook says that agents indicated that they are looking for "illegal guns." From ABC 23 News:
The ATF was not able to provide information on the on-going investigation. Grahm Barlowe with the ATF declined to comment on why the store was targeted or exactly what agents were looking for.EP Armory is known mostly for its innovative "80% complete" AR-15 receivers. Such receivers, by virtue of still needing some machining in order to serve as the foundation of a firearm, are, legally speaking, just an inert hunk of metal--or in this case, strong (Kevlar-reinforced) polymer. That means they can be legally sold to anyone, without background checks, without the necessity of a serial number, without a requirement for records--almost as if there were a Constitutional amendment stating that by the absolute law of the land, we the people have a right to arms--a right that shall not be infringed.
Cook said agents told him they were looking for illegal firearms.
One of the innovative features of EP Armory's receivers is that the machining can be done without a drill press or milling machine, or even a jig. By using different color polymers for the portions that are to be milled away, a drill and a Dremel can be all that is needed to convert a hunk of plastic into Congressman Henry Waxman's (D-CA) nightmare (see sidebar video for the process).
It should be noted that the BATFE arrested no one, and in fact eventually permitted EP Armory to re-open later Friday, although they confiscated Cook's files, laptop, cell phone and iPad. While at this point it is impossible to know what gave them the idea that they might find "illegal guns," one can speculate.
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If he was smart, he still has copies of everything, just somewhere else.
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