20 years ago in Idaho my buddy who is a Marine took me into Walmart. The only restrictions on our purchases were the bounds of our debit cards.
this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2025
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Except for state laws-- usually california, no limits on ammo purchases. Purchase 5 million rounds if thats what you need for um, deer hunting. Nothing over 50 cal, but 50 cal is fine. Mount it on your pickup truck or your own armored vehicle I guess. 50 cal ammo is 3 bucks per round for the cheap stuff so that adds up. Not a gun for the poors to own. You can own a tank if you want to, but theres a lot of laws around making it street legal, depending on the tank's weight.
Operating a tank is a paperwork nightmare, which is another reason why Americans are so cynical about their government.
(/s)
What do you mean I can't have a Warhammer 40k type of missile launching bolter?
It was in the 80's. The only way he wouldn't have gotten a gun was if he was a stereotype of a gay man and came into the gun store kissing his boyfriend.
I enjoy posts like this where Americans get hooked into the legalities of what guns can be bought, the ammo, whether it's permitted in some states, etc.
It's a movie about a robot from the future which time travelled. And people are questioning the legalities of buying guns in the 80's.
And also the answer is easy, yes. Then, now, tomorrow, yes you can just buy any gun anywhere you want at any time. To be clear, I am American. Living in Amerikkka. Before posting this I went into my local Starbucks and bought a mortar launcher and a semi automatic pistol. After that I went over to fed ex and printed 3 luigi pistols in 4 different colors.
Could you just imagine the suppression people face in other countries? Calling them colours or whatever it is in the metic system.
Can confirm. I got the two mortar round special to go with my vinte mocha frappachino. I showed them my 'merica card and got an extra tube launcher thrown in because I drink a lot of fancy overpriced coffee as is 'merican tradition. Two more punches on my card and I get a drum magazine for the rifle of my choice with 2 pallets of ammo. Also back in the 80's you could just buy your guns out of vending machines at K-Mart. Terminator is using rookie numbers and clearly from the future.
Well, he did come from the future after all. It wouldn't be hard for Skynet to dig through criminal records, court cases, sales records, bank info, etc... and pinpoint where to get an optimal shopping experience for this mission.
Part of the plot was that Skynet didn't have great records. The terminator had to use a phone book and go down the line killing Sarah Conners because it didn't know which one was the target
He also asks for an "Uzi 9mm" a full-auto machine gun, which you could NOT just buy over the counter at a retail gun store.
There was a ban on selling machine guns to civilians that was passed in 1986.
The original Terminator film came out in 1984. So now? Yes, but then?
Probably accurate.
Not entirely. Machineguns have, since 1934, been required to be registered with the federal government, and for a normal person individually require a federal approval to buy (a "stamp").
What happened in 1986 was the machinegun registry changed from open to closed. This means, that new machineguns are no longer added to the registry, meaning that for the average person (ie not somebody involved in the industry with their own special licensing) the number of machineguns for sale is limited and supply over time will always be going slowly down.
The process for buying a machinegun is as simple as buying any other NFA item like a silencer/suppressor or an SBR. The cost has skyrocketed thanks to limited supply.
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1984? In some states, yeah, It would have been that easy.
In 1984, a full auto would still have been on an NFA registry. Open, rather than closed like today, but still not a simple one step sale.
This is of course, fact checking the finer points of gun law in a movie about a time traveling robot.
If you find a one in a million firearms store who buys their own stock and resells out back illegally, it still is.
Also some pawn shops, technically anything made before a certain date is an Antique and skips a lot of regulations.
They'll pry my right to sell a late medieval firearm to children from my cold dead hands.
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Damn not very 1984 of them
I mean kinda, but you gotta sit for a background check
Question about the pistol here, is the mount reliable enough to keep it zero'd and accurate? That's a huge pistol and the kickback on the slide would be nuts, lots of energy moving around there to knock something loose, or at least a little off center, I feel like.
Modern day, sure no problem. Today's micro red dots can be mounted to the moving slides themselves and survive.
In the 1980s? Maaaybe...
The laser in the movie is mounted to the frame by way of the grip, so it will shake around much less than if it were on the slide. Mounting optics to the frame is how competition guns were (and sometimes still are) set up.
The question comes down to the durability of a laser device made in the 80s. The movie's laser was a specially made prop. On one hand it was made by the precursor to Surefire which is known for quality equipment, on the other hand I doubt the movie cared about it actually holding a zero.
I mean the accent isn't really relevant (though it would probably get a comment) but the large quantity of guns and ammo would raise suspicion.
American Police: "Want to buy some guns? Go right ahead."
Also American Police: "Withdrawing more than $10,000 in cash to pay for it? Get'm boys!"
That depends heavily on where you are in the country.
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In the 80s it was. Nowadays you'd have to pass a background check.
No. That wouldn't happen in a gun store.
You'd have to go to a gun show.
Edit: a gun show is like comic con, only for guns.
I mean Terminator 1 takes place in 1984. As far a quick search goes, there were no background checks, no assault weapon ban, no waiting period, ..etc
The NFA existed.
Background checks started in '68, they didn't become instant until like '93 because internet but they still existed, I think it was by phone back then. The rest of that isn't around now either except for some states, the national AWB expired 21yr ago, and there's never been national waiting periods.
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"Phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range."
"Hey, just what ya see, pal."
"Hey wait a minute. Those haven't been invented yet. What are you? Some kind of time traveling killer robot with incomplete historical records. Hang on just one second pal, I gotta go to the back."
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