Sabre Defence Raided
Feds Raid Nashville’s Sabre Defence:
Federal law enforcement agents, led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, descended on Nashville’s Sabre Defence Industries this morning and closed down the facility for at least the day.
Sabre manufactures firearms and firearm parts and accessories. It is contracted by the U.S. armed forces for parts and mounts for the M2 Browning .50-caliber machine gun and Minigun. In addition to its government contracts, it produces the XR15 rifle, non-standard M4 Carbines, and non-standard M16A4s.
Law enforcement officials were seen escorting employees one by one of the company out of their 35,000-square-foot facility on Allied Drive. Each employee was searched next to their personal vehicle, had their vehicle searched and, when cleared, were allowed to leave the premises. No individuals were witnessed being arrested.
After almost all of the employees had left the premises, agents brought in a trailer and backed it up to the company’s loading dock.
Reached for comment, federal law enforcement officials declined to comment on their actions and would not specify what the focus of their investigation is.
Rumors were Sabre was looking at acquiring Cavalry Arms polymer product line since CavArms was getting out of the firearms business.
Regardless, another AR maker getting hit by ATF. And probably due to technical violations again.
ETA: I’m guessing this pretty much shows that the Firearms Freedom Act didn’t stop anything.
Update: Rumors now of missing guns, parts, and employee theft. But just rumors.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
Considering that ATFE believes that it cannot account for 10K to 15K guns a year I would imagine they are looking for employees with sticky fingers.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
they do?
February 17th, 2010 at 1:33 pm
The ATF is nothing but a bunch of government sanctioned thugs, IMO. I’d be seriously surprised if Sabre actually did something wrong.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Oh Oh, I know! I think someone is stealing parts!
I’ll shut the whole damn company down and search everyone in it at the time! Then I’ll seize everything in the building!! That’ll stop the thefts!
I guess we should feel lucky they didn’t burn it down….
February 17th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
What does the FFA have to do with this situation? Sabre Defence is a federally licensed dealer and is not subject to the FFA.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
no one is subject to the FFA.
February 17th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
Only young farmers are subject to the FFA.
February 17th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
This is a little wierd, Sabre is a very reputable company. I think ATF is making its move very discretely so that the people dont get up in arms(literally) Cav arms, sabre def, whos next? It appears that it may be time to put at least (1) in the ground. Not an advocate of burying guns, if it is time to bury them then its time to use them, but having one stached with some ammo food and a good sharp knife may not be a bad idea. BUY MORE AMMO………and some PVC PIPE:)-
February 17th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
BATFE is flexing their muscle, The last 10 years they have been less and less frightening. Now they are showing force to ensure a level of fright. The IRS did this about 10 years ago. I don’t think that they understand what they are about to cause… lawsuit after lawsuit will follow.
Their is enough case president (RIA vs US, Dalton vs US)against the NFA laws and even more against the Commerce Clause.
There will be blood ….. the ATF is in a very fragile state … legally speaking.
February 17th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
SO! I don’t know how the whole Justice Department works, so this might be silly (please tell me if it is), but I’m starting to suspect that Holder hasn’t been able to get BO to move on the whole assault weapons ban that he had his panties all wet for so maybe he’s pushing to get at least something of what he wants by having the ATF shut down as many manufacturers as possible.
Smith & Wesson
Cav Arms
now Sabre Defence.
Who wants to play a little game of “who’s next”?
Or maybe the ATF just got a new pair of Jackboots and is keen to get them worn in.
s
February 17th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
True, but only because (as far as I know) there isn’t actually anyone in an FFA state that is manufacturing guns only for sale in that state. But really, that’s irrelevant in this situation because Sabre Defence sells outside of TN – the legality of the FFA doesn’t matter in this case, because it doesn’t apply.
February 17th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
I hope they got the shop dog to cover in time… (if they had one)
February 17th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
I’d bet this will be a more common event, like the FDIC bank take-overs on Fridays. We’ll see BATFE come down on a gun maker every few weeks until they’re either gone or play the game. I wonder who’d be left if that were the case?
February 17th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
“SO! I don’t know how the whole Justice Department works…”
BATFE is part of Treasury, not Justice…
February 17th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
“BATFE is part of Treasury, not Justice…”
That changed in 2002 with the passage of the Homeland Security Act. They’re DOJ now.
February 17th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
Holy cow! Look at all the misinformation.
“they do?”
Yes, ATFE cannot account for tens of thousands of firearms from manufacturers every year. The 10K to 15K is the number ATFE used at the Firearms Law seminar in Louisville during the 2008 NRA Annual Meeting.
Just based on missing guns, ATFE could shut down nearly every single gun maker in the USA.
““SO! I don’t know how the whole Justice Department works…”
BATFE is part of Treasury, not Justice”
Incorrect. ATFE is part of the Justice Department.
February 17th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
You original comment:
Lead me to believe that ‘it’ was Sabre. Not ATF. Hence, my question.
February 17th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Nope; when it went from being ATF to BATFE, it switched from Treasury to DOJ.
February 17th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
“Lead me to believe that ‘it’ was Sabre. Not ATF. Hence, my question.”
Aha, I see! I regret that my response was not happily drafted.
February 17th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
WEll, at least they didnt BURN T DOWN AND SHOOT EVERYONE!……….YET. BUY MORE AMMO
February 17th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
ATF was split up sometime in the last little while. Enforcement went to DOJ. The taxation part stayed with Treasury.
February 17th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
For the record, the Smith & Wesson case referenced above involved the FBI, not the ATF and the only thing it had to do with guns was the goods involved in an allegedly corrupt deal with an alleged foreign government official were firearms. The attempt to bribe a foreign official was the crime, not the guns. In fact, most of those arrested were not employees of firearm manufacturers, but rather of body armor and other shooting/tactical industry companies.
We don’t know enough to judge this case, but it does seem like the BATFE is getting a bit uppity in the last weeks. Designating the GSG-5 SD suppressor an NFA item, shutting Cavalry on technicalities and now this…all very odd, but all perhaps justified. That’s a mighty big perhaps, though.
February 17th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Did the women & children get out alive ????????
February 17th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
Bison was raided by UPS today. They backed up their truck to my door and everything. Then they dropped off some 6.8 barrels and my dog attacked the driver with much licking. We made the wife update news when I told her about the situation.
February 18th, 2010 at 12:19 am
I suspect that SOME of the pressure on Cav Arms and their successors is that they can crank out lower receivers CHEAP. A local dealer was selling naked receivers for $100 retail a couple years ago. Injection molding with sonic welding is a low-cost manufacturing technique that can turn a couple bucks in raw materials into a gun without much labor.
I wonder if the other manufacturers are losing sales to the competition, and ratting out their competition?
February 18th, 2010 at 1:45 am
I wonder if anyone has ever raided the BATFE? I bet they still have some juicy documents on the truth behind the Good Ol’ Boys Roundup… and on all the other abuses perpetrated by the most corrupt gov’t agency there is.
Uncle, you are kinda down on the FFA, aren’t ya? I understand the frustration, but Rome was not built in a day. Baby steps to freedom.
February 18th, 2010 at 11:55 am
I don’t think sabre def.did anything wrong, they have trustworthy employees, there was maybe an employee stealing parts, and if that’s the case then they need to go and as people for receips.