YouTube

I've been watching YouTube since the start of the month, trying to see what their announced policies that went into effect on 4/1 actually mean in real life.

To begin with, let me quote their policies, pasted from this page:

YouTube prohibits certain kinds of content featuring firearms. Specifically, we don’t allow content that:

• Intends to sell firearms or certain firearms accessories through direct sales (e.g., private sales by individuals) or links to sites that sell these items. These accessories include but may not be limited to accessories that enable a firearm to simulate automatic fire or convert a firearm to automatic fire (e.g., bump stocks, gatling triggers, drop-in auto sears, conversion kits), and high capacity magazines (i.e., magazines or belts carrying more than 30 rounds).
• Provides instructions on manufacturing a firearm, ammunition, high capacity magazine, homemade silencers/suppressors, or certain firearms accessories such as those listed above. This also includes instructions on how to convert a firearm to automatic or simulated automatic firing capabilities.
• Shows users how to install the above-mentioned accessories or modifications.

The way I read the first one, none of the manufacturers' sites should be allowed.  They don't offer direct sales of firearms, but they can't.  They're FFLs, after all, but what else are the gun manufacturers trying to do on YouTube except sell their firearms and accessories?  It's up to you to find the local shop to buy them from.  I find all of the channels I subscribe to (Mossberg, Ruger, Savage, Sig Sauer, and Springfield Armory) are all up and all look like they did last month.  Is that whole paragraph aimed at someone using a YouTube video with their Gun Broker listing, or their local classified ad?  I can't imagine that's a big number.

The second sentence in that paragraph sounds like it would ban Slide Fire (the company) completely.  They not only sell the suddenly-feared bump stocks, they sell a combination belt fed upper with one of their bump stocks that fires pretty darned fast. 

What about the last clause, about "high capacity magazines (i.e., magazines or belts carrying more than 30 rounds)"?  That should preclude the Slide Fire product I just linked to, and a good chunk of Magpul's product line.  Well, Magpul's channel is still up and their list of videos shows some of those Evil "High Capacity Magazine Clips".   No changes I'm aware of. 

Moving on to the second, I'd think that videos on machining an AR lower would be down.  Nope. There are "About 19,000 results" showing the completion of 80% lowers with everything from CNC to drill presses, and also many showing turning blocks of solid aluminum into complete lowers.  I'd call them "0% lowers" but that term has come to mean forgings that resemble an AR lower in shape, but that are otherwise solid metal.    None of the machinists or homemade gun videos I knew to look for are gone. 

Manufacturing ammunition shouldn't include reloading, and a quick check shows almost 3,000,000 videos that their search engine returns for "reloading".  Some of them certainly won't be ammunition but there were 19,000 for "RCBS reloading".

So what's the reality?   I have no idea.  I've been trying to find out just what is going on here and watched some videos from folks I've watched before.  Royal Nonesuch, in a video showing a shop built, single shot, 45 ACP "hand cannon", which certainly seems like it would fall under the second paragraph, says the only video he's had banned was one about selling home made guns at a gun buy back where he lives.  Then YouTube's Autoplay offered a video of his by called "Selling Homemade Guns at Gun Buyback!!" as the next one to watch - and it played. 

Trick shooters like 22 Plinkster or Kirsten Joy Weiss should be unaffected.  I see Hickok45 posted a fresh gun demo video yesterday with an old Winchester 92 lever action, and it's still there.  Going by the black letter of what those three simple paragraphs say, these things should be acceptable.  There should be tons of content still there. 

Have any of you noted videos going away?  Yeah, I know you can't link to something that isn't there anymore, but all of things I look for are still there.