Replacement bayonet legality

[echo83]

If this is the wrong section of the site, please move...

I'm in the US, and I found a company in Canada that has some pretty affordable blade bayonets for sale, and I'm considering purchasing one to replace the spike bayonet on my SKS. (It was imported and sold to me with a spike bayonet attached from Classic Firearms.)

Purchasing and installing a bayonet from this company is legal, right?

[echo1]

If they ship it, should be no problem. If they're cheap ($30), order 2 and I'll take one. PAX

[running-man]

Absolutely zero issues from a 922(r) standpoint.  You are replacing an original foreign part with an equivalent foreign part.  You are in no way 'assembling' a firearm from parts (domestic or foreign).

You also are keeping the firearm as C&R.  A simple bayonet swap from the incorrect field replacement done in Albania to the correct bayonet when it came off the line in China ones not change this status.  You could also remove the bayonet completely if you wanted for ease of shooting and not change the C&R status.   

Importation is possibly where things get a bit hairy.  Since this is not a firearm or restricted part, you are ok from a BATF standpoint.  Customs is a different story.  The part may or may not be covered under ITAR.  The lists that are out there are ambiguous and fully open to different interpretations.  The state dept. can and will drop the hammer at their whim.  A single, non-restricted part like this is probably not something that will ever be looked at though.  As the parts are coming from Canada and should go through US customs, theoretically they could be seized or returned to the sender.  If you are ok with this possibility, I would say go for it.  If any portion of this makes you in the least bit uncomfortable, find a different source.   

Good luck! 

[echo83]

Thanks for the clarification so far, glad to hear that I'm good with 922r.

This company will ship to the US, so I'm good there, too. The ITAR concern is interesting, though.

Worst case scenario, customs returns the package  to Canada, and I get a refund? Or is there further trouble?

[Larry D.]

Ask the company selling them, and do it by email so that you have a record.

And....if they're priced right, buy 10 of them to recoup your money by selling them either to members here, or to the general populace on eBay.

[running-man]

I've heard of people sending items out of the US having items confiscated w/o compensation and a nastygram sent to them explaining what law they broke.  I suspect this is also what could happen with any items coming in. 

Could they theoretically do worse than that?  I suppose there's always that possibility.   

[echo83]

And for what it's worth, the total cost including shipping and handling is $60.00 Canadian/$42.48 USD for a Russian bayonet. Pretty much impossible to find in the US, but not worth jail time either.

[Justin Hell]

I have purchased nearly every part on an SKS except barrel or receiver from Canada....never had a hiccup.
If the seller is ThisandThatBC they are a great seller as well.

I have even returned stuff to Canada...it takes considerably longer than it does for them to ship to us, but also...no issues. I am pretty sure every item was opened by customs. Stocks raise an eyebrow at customs.

[echo83]

I have purchased nearly every part on an SKS except barrel or receiver from Canada....never had a hiccup.
If the seller is ThisandThatBC they are a great seller as well.

I have even returned stuff to Canada...it takes considerably longer than it does for them to ship to us, but also...no issues. I am pretty sure every item was opened by customs. Stocks raise an eyebrow at customs.

That's awesome! (And definitely puts my mind more at ease.)

So the company is Collector's Source, they're based out of Ontario. Has anyone here ever dealt with them?

I've been e-mailing them, and they said they take care of all customs paperwork, and have shipped hundreds of bayonets to the US with no problems. Based on everything I'm hearing here, and from them, I think I might go for it. I'm going to get in contact with them, and I'll let you know how it pans out.

I appreciate everybody's input. Keeping track of all the laws and regulations, and making sure I'm on the right side of them at all times is a major concern of mine. I know I'm good on 922r (phew!) and I'm not breaking any other laws that I'm aware of.

I'm curious...why would a stock, of all things, raise eyebrows?

[Bacarnal]

Shaped like an actual firearm in the x-rays.

[Phosphorus32]

If they’ve shipped bayonets to the US before, as they said, I’d go for it. 35CAD is a very reasonable price for the Russian SKS bayonet, depending on the shipping cost. Their prices on just about everything else are very high 

I’ve received bayonets from Finland so they don’t seem to be an issue with US Customs.

[Larry D.]

So......remember my first reply in this thread........

[Justin Hell]

All this being said, but I forgot to mention. DON'T buy a bayonet from Russia.  First of all, if you can...they are most likely annealed and are useless for anything but very careful display...as they might as well be made of solder. If they are indeed legit, they are illegal for the seller to export. Russia is weird about that.

Folks in Russia can have an SKS all they want, but no bayonet.  If you have an 'intact' Russian SKS in Russia, it is likely demilled to be completely useless aside from being a wall hanger, and the bayonet is either annealed, or cut within a millimeter of it falling off under the throes of gravity.

[echo83]

All this being said, but I forgot to mention. DON'T buy a bayonet from Russia.  First of all, if you can...they are most likely annealed and are useless for anything but very careful display...as they might as well be made of solder. If they are indeed legit, they are illegal for the seller to export. Russia is weird about that.

Folks in Russia can have an SKS all they want, but no bayonet.  If you have an 'intact' Russian SKS in Russia, it is likely demilled to be completely useless aside from being a wall hanger, and the bayonet is either annealed, or cut within a millimeter of it falling off under the throes of gravity.

Interesting, and thank you for the heads up!

The company is based in Canada, and description says the bayonet is for a Russian SKS. I'm assuming the description specifies "Russian," because the majority of the SKSs sold in Canada are from Russia, and folks are looking for a compatible bayonet? And because a Yugo bayonet would be for Yugo SKSs only?

It would be a pain to go through all of the back and forth only to get sold a piece of junk, but if I'm reading what you're saying correctly, a bayonet from a Canadian seller is probably fine, but a bayonet from a Russian seller, based in Russia, would probably be garbage, right?

[teddybear1848]

you can buy just about anything thats not an actual firearm and import it here. Ive bought things that were illegal to sell in the sellers home country and had it shipped here. ITAR isnt really a thing unless you are shipping out of the states. Customs is pretty dumb and ive never had a problem ordering anything from bayonets to body armor and getting it here. Magazines as well.

[echo83]

Thanks for the info, all. Somebody snapped up the Collector's Source bayonet, which I'm pretty bummed about. The site had only one in stock.

I've since ordered one from Hero Outdoors...and now their site has none listed. I've gotten an order confirmation, but no shipping info. Really hoping I didn't get ripped off. The business reviews are all over the place, but there are some horror stories.

My inner conspiracy theorist says that somewhere, someone figured out that there is a killing to be made selling parts and pieces, bit by bit, as opposed to selling complete units.

"No, no comrade! First you sell rifle, THEN you sell pieces! Put bayonet in pile over there,  between cleaning rod pile and cleaning kit pile."

Or, in some demented variation of Enemy at the Gates:

"The one with the rifle shoots! When the one with the rifle gets hit, the next man picks up the bayonet and leaves the rifle where it is!"

[Bubbazinetti]

I love that film.