Wrote my Congressman about ITAR

[David2011]

Dear Honorable Representative Pearce,

There is a provision in the Department of State’s ITAR regulations that is oppressive to some small business operators or those who would like to have a small business. I can understand the need to regulate military grade items destined for export. I applaud the effort in general. The problem I’m writing about is an item in the regulations that is neither military grade nor destined for export. It is the regulation of the simple cast lead bullet that draws my attention. Cast lead bullets in military weapons met their demise when smokeless powders were developed in the late 19th century.

In order to make and distribute “for consideration” any ammunition reloading component there is a requirement for a Type 06 Federal Firearms License that costs $40 for four years which is affordable to almost anyone. The fly in the ointment is the ITAR permit which is also required that expressly applies to cast bullets and the regulations expressly state that the permit is required even if no items are exported. It is my personal belief that the Department of State is overstepping their bounds in regulating commerce within the borders of the United States and that their authority should only extend to items destined for export.

The majority of cast bullets made today are used to reload ammunition for target practice and in competition in the shooting sports like Cowboy Action Shooting and the United States Practical Shooting Association matches. They are hardly a threat to world peace.

There are many hobbyist bullet casters that would willingly apply for the Type 06 FFL to legally cast for consideration but cannot economically justify roughly $2500.00/year to ITAR.
Would you consider sponsoring a remedy that exempts the cast bullet from international regulations if it is not destined for export? Although it is my personal belief that the cast bullet should be exempted unless exported, I would even find a permit declaring that the items are not for export to be acceptable as long as the fee is reasonable. I think an exemption certificate to apply only to the cast bullet with a term of four years to run concurrent with a person’s Type 06 FFL at a cost of $10.00 for four years would be suitable.

Respectfully,
David2011
New Mexico Native

OK, so the name has been changed here. . .

[Crash_Corrigan]

Good luck with that. You are likely to get a form letter "Thank you for your interest in this situation and rest assure Congressman Blah Blah Blah will give this matter his earliest consideration."

That will happen when the polar ice cap melts completely...........

[dilly]

How reasonable.

I wish these methods worked well.

[dondiego]

Your letter makes perfect sense to a somewhat normal person such as myself..................and there lies the problem.

[twc1964]

Well it may do no good at all but try anyway. i get so tired of having dung rammed down my throat so i raise cain with em too! Lol

[mj2evans]

Dondiego hit it on the head

[David2011]

I've been communicating with the representative on several issues. It's a rural state and I really believe the conservative representatives pay a little more attention. His home office is only a short distance away, so he is accessible. Our senators are both libs and deaf to anything but liberal spending.

One thing is for sure. If you don't try, the outcome is a guaranteed nothing.

David

[whisler]

"One thing is for sure. If you don't try, the outcome is a guaranteed nothing."
As my wife loves to say"If you aim at nothing, you hit it every time." Keep on keeping on.

[MaryB]

If everyone on here sent that letter, and sent it to friends to have them send it... email bomb their offices.

[Cag40Navy]

Good luck with that. You are likely to get a form letter "Thank you for your interest in this situation and rest assure Congressman Blah Blah Blah will give this matter his earliest consideration."

That will happen when the polar ice cap melts completely...........

SO how about that Global Warming eh?

[Handloader109]

Excellent. If you start to get somewhere with this, we need to get a list of members that support this. That way we could get some support from other districts/states. I'm not currently thinking of selling, but it would be an option for a lot of folks to at least sell locally.

[Shiloh]

Good luck with that. You are likely to get a form letter "Thank you for your interest in this situation and rest assure Congressman Blah Blah Blah will give this matter his earliest consideration."

That will happen when the polar ice cap melts completely...........

Sad but true.

Shiloh

[MtGun44]

Sorry, all attempts to apply logic to a government regulation are totally futile. They
operate in a logic free zone, and even if some logic is imported, it will not function in
that environement.

Bill

[Keith Sacane]

I was reading your post thinking, "Wow, that sounds like my home state of New Mexico, with the two liberal senators." Then I saw your profile. Where are you in New Mexico? I'm from Clovis. Love to find other like minded boolit casters nearby.

[LAH]

If you don't mind I'll send it to my congressman & senators? And guys if you don't have yours on speed dial you need to. Talk to your people once a week about things which concern you. The people who answer the phones for my representatives are easy to speak with. Remember they aren't there to debate you. They take notes & do addition. And yes your call may very well make a difference.

[sapper_eng]

If you think ITAR affects you guys, come up to Canada and see how bad it affects us. Half of the things you guy have down south is unavailable here, even though its completely legal to own. For example, I'm trying to get my hands on a number of different 12 gauge wads. Twink they're available? Nope. Why not? No one imports them because of ITAR, so instead we are stuck with the big brand names like Federal and Winchester at almost double the cost for half the number of wads. Try finding Claybuster wads north of the border.

Its created a huge void in the Canadian firearms market. There's hundreds of millions of dollars trying to go to the US from Canada, but very few are willing to deal with the BS ITAR regulations. So those that do carry items that came out of the states have a very small selection.

[dbosman]

Are you allowed to purchase bean bag refill plastic in the USA and bring it back to Canada?

[David2011]

I was reading your post thinking, "Wow, that sounds like my home state of New Mexico, with the two liberal senators." Then I saw your profile. Where are you in New Mexico? I'm from Clovis. Love to find other like minded boolit casters nearby.

Keith,

I'm in central Lea County. Shoot me a PM, please.

David

[David2011]

If you don't mind I'll send it to my congressman & senators? And guys if you don't have yours on speed dial you need to. Talk to your people once a week about things which concern you. The people who answer the phones for my representatives are easy to speak with. Remember they aren't there to debate you. They take notes & do addition. And yes your call may very well make a difference.

By all means, anyone and everyone willing to try to make a difference please alter my post as appropriate for your legislators and let them know your stance. This isn't just about commercial selling. As written the law could put a damper (HAS put a damper) between friends sharing boolits.

I was willing and intended to get the FFL until the Department of State butted in. Because of the complication of ITAR, if friends want cast boolits I usually require them to be participants in making the boolits they use. They bring raw materials. To expedite things I'll swap a negotiated percentage of raw WW or whatever they have for ingots and let them use the ingots that are now theirs to cast their boolits. If they aren't willing to learn to cast them, no boolits. The exception is if they are an outright gift or the one older gentleman who can no longer cast for himself that I mentioned in another thread. He brought some metal to me and I'll make him boolits for as long as he needs them.

David

[MaryB]

My gun dealer knows I cast bullets so he scrounges lead for me. Gave me 85 pounds of lead sheet. I gave him 500 45ack boolits in return for finding me the lead. All a gift between friends.

[kryogen]

Your letter makes perfect sense to a somewhat normal person such as myself..................and there lies the problem.

1-0 I do agree.

[sapper_eng]

Are you allowed to purchase bean bag refill plastic in the USA and bring it back to Canada?

Lol. Yeah I'm sure that's allowed. Its not Canadian law thats the issue. I can bring primers, powder, bullets, brass casings, scopes, red dot sights, magazines, flash suppressors, even rifles across the border into Canada. Customs wont even bat an eye. Its the check points at the border setup by DHS who may decide to search your vehicle. And if they find out your exporting it - you're on your way to a holding cell. If it attaches to, fires through, or is used to reload for a fire arm, I cant bring it out of the states.

Odd thing is they have no issues with me bringing it into the US. I don't even need a permit to do so.

[Keith Sacane]

I don't know what the chances are, since my congressman is a democrat, but I wrote him too.