NRA Raises $200 Million as Gun Lobby Toasters Burn Logo on Bread

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61. Read further down the article you linked to...

The law banned certain feature combinations that many firearms experts[who?] considered to be arbitrary.[citation needed] Manufacturers complied with the law by removing the banned features while leaving the core functionality of the weapons intact. For this, they were criticized as attempting to circumvent the spirit of the law by many gun control groups and even by then-president Bill Clinton.[citation needed] Pro-gun groups responded by pointing out that the manufacturers made and sold exactly what was permitted, and that they could not be held to any standard higher than the law itself.[citation needed]

For example, the AB-10 was a legal version of the TEC-9, with barrel threading and barrel shroud removed; the XM-15 was a legal AR-15 without barrel threading or a bayonet mounting lug; post-ban semi-automatic AK-47s were sold without folding stocks or bayonet lugs, and with standard or "thumbhole" stocks instead of pistol grips. As the production of magazines holding in excess of 10-rounds for civilians had been prohibited, manufacturers sold their post-ban firearms either with newly manufactured magazines with capacities of ten rounds or less, or with pre-ban manufactured high-capacity magazines, to meet changing legal requirements.

The ATF technology branch determined in 1994 that muzzle brakes were not impacted by the AWB, and that muzzle brakes on threaded barrels were not an assault weapon feature, so long as they were welded or soldered in place.

The law prohibited newly manufactured detachable magazines with a capacity of more than ten rounds manufactured after enactment of the law from sale, transfer, or importation. One effect was the increased importation from other countries of large quantities of magazines manufactured before the ban.[citation needed] Former Warsaw Pact countries had large quantities of AK-47 magazines of various capacities that could fit a variety of both pre-ban and post-ban AK-47 variants. Existing stocks of pre-ban American-made magazines were likewise exempt from the ban; this resulted in a brief surge in domestic manufacture of high-capacity magazines before the law took effect. Large capacity magazines manufactured post-ban for military and law enforcement were stamped or etched with the logo "LEO" (for "Law Enforcement Only&quot and it was illegal for civilians to possess LEO magazines during the ban....emphasis added
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_weapons_ban#Provisions_of_the_ban

So what exactly did the AWB ban?

Assault rifles vs. "Assault weapons"

The term assault weapon is a United States political and legal term used to describe a variety of semi-automatic firearms that have certain features generally associated with military assault rifles. The 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which expired on September 13, 2004, codified the definition of an assault weapon. It defined the rifle type of assault weapon as a semiautomatic firearm with the ability to accept a detachable magazine containing more than 10 rounds, and two or more of the following:

Folding or telescoping stock
Primary pistol grip
Forward grip
Threaded barrel (for a muzzle brake or a suppressor, commonly called a silencer)
Barrel shroud...emphasis added

The assault weapons ban did not restrict weapons capable of fully automatic fire, such as assault rifles and machine guns, which have been continuously and heavily regulated since the National Firearms Act of 1934 was passed. Subsequent laws such as the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986 also affected the importation and civilian ownership of fully automatic firearms, the latter fully prohibiting sales of newly manufactured machine guns to non-law enforcement or SOT (special occupational taxpayer) dealers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_rifle#Assault_rifles_vs._.22Assault_weapons.22

So while you can correctly argue that the AWB banned the manufacture and sale of firearms that had a certain combination of features, it did not stop the sale of semi-auto black rifles. Most buyers really were not all concerned if their new weapon had a bayonet mount or a threaded barrel designed to accept one. Who needs a grenade launcher anyway? It might be nice to have a folding or telescoping stock and a pistol grip but the main thing was the semi-automatic feature and the versatility of the weapon. The black rifles sold like hot cakes at the country fair and so did semi-auto pistols.

During that time frame every almost every regular shooter at the range I shot at purchased assault weapons. I was amazed to see shooters who had absolutely no interest in owning a rifle that looked like a modern military weapon prior to the ban feel a need to run out and get one during the ban. They all had to get a bunch of hi-cap magazines to go along with their new weapon.

I remember these same people telling me prior to the ban how rifles such as the AR-15 were crappy inaccurate pieces of plastic junk that were worthless compared to their highly accurate bolt action rifles with walnut stocks. I found it fascinating how merely banning something makes it popular and irresistible.

I also found that I was the rare shooter on the line with a old fashioned revolver and I was surrounded by shooters with Glocks and 17 round magazines. I have still not bought a black rifle although I am considering it.