The comment about the legality of removing an importer mark raises an interesting question. I have never seen any reference pertaining to tampering with such markings, and if anyone knows for sure that such a prohibition exists, I would be be grateful for the information. That being said, one thing we know for sure, that it is illegal to remove an original serial number from a firearm. However, it seems perfectly permissible to remove any other markings, such as caliber and manufacturer stamps. So why not importer markings? I would guess that once a weapon is legally imported into the U.S. the government requirement that it bear the stamp of the importer is no longer necessary.

I am not a lawyer but probably have more experience in reading and interpreting gun law than most of the younger crew on the forum simply because of my age and the fact that I have been in this game about 50 years. IMHO, I concur with Aaron's assessment just based on common sense. Many imported military firearms bear the required import mark on the barrel simply because ATF at the time wasn't specific about its location. If removal of the mark would be prohibited it would mean you could never replace the barrel to improve accuracy or otherwise effect a repair.

The scratched area under the barrel, even though it appears unreadable now, is typical of the size and location of the import marks placed by Century Arms International (CAI) in St. Albans, VT.

Just my $0.02. :cheers: