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Have up-armored humvees ever been sold to the public?

DanielP

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I am wondering about this. It would be great to have one, but I wonder if the gov't gets heartburn about civvies owning armor. ??
 

BLK HMMWV

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HMMWV's

Back in the early 90's they released some 85' s, 86's, and 87's
in Calif and Georgia ?

That was it most were 998's.

Since then scraped ones have been auctioned off .
Not for on highway use.

People have upgraded the 998's into 1026's . or pieced them together from parts.
 

dittle

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Short answer to your question about civis and armor is YES We can thank the idiot in CA (M60 rampage) and the guy who built up his dozer into an armored tank to thank for this.
 

BLK HMMWV

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:?::?::?::?::?::?::?::?::?:

I'm confused
What are you trying to say.

" Yes " the newer version uparmored HMMWV's have been sold ? When ?

And why are you thanking the guy with the Dozer and a nut who stole a Tank.
I don't believe either of them had anything to do with a HMMWV.

They stopped selling the HMMWV's without off highway use only stipulations at about the time GM came out with the H1 that passed all of the DOT reg's and complained because the HMMWV's don't.

You can still buy tanks if you have the money. So I'm confused.
Maybe the goverment doesn't auction off armor like tanks anymore but there are still tanks and armored vehicals for sale here in the states.
 

dittle

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You misunderstood my post as it was written with some sarcasm. No they are not selling the armored HMMWV; Yes the Govt is paranoid about civis having armor. Two examples of this are the guy in CA and the dozer guy -- the authorities didn't have any way of stopping either vehicle due to the armor. Yes you can buy foreign tanks (US armor is very hard to get) but I do not know what all is involved with the paper trail to be able to.
 

DanielP

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Interesting about the gubbermint and armor. I guess they are afraid of us? :oops:

A guy with some 3/8" plates of AR500 steel, a plasma cutter, a welder, and a LOT of time can up-armor a pickup truck cab somewhat discreetly. 3/8" AR500 steel is rated to stop 50 BMG ball rounds (not 50 BMG AP). I don't know what they use in armored Suburbans for VIPs, but I bet it is nothing more than that. So the government's concern about armor is probably misplaced.

As a side note, on any truck it sure would be nice to have good protection for the fuel tank. I keep looking at the tank setup on deuces and thinking about how to build an armor box around it just in case some wise acre has a foolish impulse.

As a follow up, do you guys know if the government sends armor off to be melted down and recycled? Or are they just hanging on to it indefinitely?
 
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dittle

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Not a problem George. Its hard to convey sarcasm through typing and I probably shouldn't do it as it just causes misunderstandings.

Daniel,

Read about the crazy dozer guy in Colorado (believe that is the correct state) and this is very similar to what he did to armor it up.
 

dm22630

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Although I am sure no one on this site may be "off balance"....there are plenty of people in the USA that are nuts. They have hate & uncontrolled rage that ends up being very deadly to them and many others. It would be an extremely poor decision to allow the release of armored vehicles, fully automatic assault weapons, body armor, etc. They are all tools of war & have no use to normal civilians.

Keep in mind, that even IF they did release them.....At that point they are no longer on a secure military base. They would be out in the open for any nutjob to steal & wreak havoc with.

I am glad they are not released.

2cents
 

Nonotagain

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Interesting about the gubbermint and armor. I guess they are afraid of us? :oops:

A guy with some 3/8" plates of AR500 steel, a plasma cutter, a welder, and a LOT of time can up-armor a pickup truck cab somewhat discreetly. 3/8" AR500 steel is rated to stop 50 BMG ball rounds (not 50 BMG AP). I don't know what they use in armored Suburbans for VIPs, but I bet it is nothing more than that. So the government's concern about armor is probably misplaced.

As a side note, on any truck it sure would be nice to have good protection for the fuel tank. I keep looking at the tank setup on deuces and thinking about how to build an armor box around it just in case some wise acre has a foolish impulse.
Very afraid of us.

Most VIP armor is Kevlar/fiberglass based due to the weight of steel and the forming of the panels. Higher levels of protection are available when combined with ceramic plates.

If looking at protecting a fuel tank, look at the guards used on school buses. Here in MD they are 2x2 box tubing steel or larger in size.

VIP armored vehicles also require run-flat tires as well as complete suspension up-grades due to the extra weight.

Armor guys are always behind the projectile guys when it comes to stopping power and it will always be that way.
 

Chief_919

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Although I am sure no one on this site may be "off balance"....there are plenty of people in the USA that are nuts. They have hate & uncontrolled rage that ends up being very deadly to them and many others. It would be an extremely poor decision to allow the release of armored vehicles, fully automatic assault weapons, body armor, etc. They are all tools of war & have no use to normal civilians.

Keep in mind, that even IF they did release them.....At that point they are no longer on a secure military base. They would be out in the open for any nutjob to steal & wreak havoc with.

I am glad they are not released.

2cents
Huh?

Armored vehicle= perfectly legal, with thousands owned and no problems at all. Some in civilian hands even have perfectly legal functioning armament. The US demil restrictions have nothing to do with legality.

Full auto= perfectly legal in the majority of states, with hundreds of thosuands in civilian hands, with exactly 1 crime committed with a legally owned full auto in the last 75 years- by a cop.

Body armor= perfectly legal, I sell it in my store. Millions upon millions of pieces of body armor in civilian hands.
 

B3.3T

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I love it when someone throws out "the Government" this or that. There is NOTHING restricted about owning armor in this country. You can buy a Sherman, or Scorpion, or brand new Level IX Mercedes SL-500. It is nonsense to state otherwise. As stated, it takes little to do it yourself, too. Surplus vehicles and aircraft of many types are not sold to the public and has as much to do with modern civil liabilities as anything.
 

wreckerman893

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Restricting the sales of certain items and vehicles only increases the value of the ones that are "grandfathered" in when the ban takes place....witness Title III weapons and US armored vehicles.
If the gooberment were to drop the ban on the sale of items (such as the tracked vehicles that supported the self-propelled artillery pieces or the plentiful M113 and variations) the value of the old armor would plummet. The same goes with full-auto weapons. The old M-2 heavy machine gun is due to be replaced and those in private hands now would be a dime a dozen if the old ones were released for sale (not very likely under a liberal administration).
That is prob why none of the big time collectors and dealers have put their time and money into lobbying for an overturn of the bans.
As mentioned above the instance of armor and legal fully automatic weapon abuse is almost nil.......if it were a problem the powers-that-be would already have made an issue of it and collected them.
The genie is out of the bottle as far as building any type of weapon or vehicle (google "ripsaw") is concerned. If you have the tools, materials, equipment and the knowhow you can build anything you want. The amount of information out on the web is almost limitless.
 

820jeep

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Fort Worth Texas
It would be an extremely poor decision to allow the release of armored vehicles, fully automatic assault weapons, body armor, etc. They are all tools of war & have no use to normal civilians.
Sorry you feel that way.
 
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B3.3T

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wreckerman,

You are suggesting the value of a Sherman would plummet if m-88's were released to the public? Or for that matter, a 1928 Thompson if M-2HBs were sold off?
 

Chief_919

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wreckerman,

You are suggesting the value of a Sherman would plummet if m-88's were released to the public? Or for that matter, a 1928 Thompson if M-2HBs were sold off?
If the 1986 ban was overturned and new full autos were once again allowed to be added to the registry, ALL full auto values would indeed drop. The fact that the supply is fixed by law increases the price for all full auto toys. The Thompson would not take as big a hit as somethink like a Sten, but they would take hits. There are tons of Thompson parts kits around, and if the ban was lifted new Thompson recievers would be in production. That would satisfy some of the demand for full auto thompsons, dropping the prices paid.

Right now if I want to play with full auto, I am limited to only the same ones that were available in 1986, and no more. If the availability was increased, prices we pay now would drop.
 
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