AR Pistol

[Onward Allusion]

Let's say I have a AR Pistol that was purchased whole as a pistol not some Franken-gun. Standard pistol buffer tube, no stock. Lower marked multi-caliber. Barrel is 8".

What happens when I mate the pistol lower it to a 16.5" upper??? Is it still a pistol? Is it legal?

 

[yugorpk]

Then its a rifle. You can put a stock on it. If you put the short barrel back on it you need to make it a pistol again with the stockless buffer tube. You can do that if it started as a pistol. If it started as a rifle you can't do that.

 

[denwego]

If you take an AR pistol with, say, a 7.5" upper, remove that, and put a 16.5" buffer without changing the lower at all, then under federal law it's still a pistol. It's a pistol with a ridiculously long barrel, but still a pistol. Off the ATF website quoting federal code:

The term “Pistol” means a weapon originally designed, made, and intended to fire a projectile (bullet) from one or more barrels when held in one hand, and having:

- a chamber(s) as an integral part(s) of, or permanently aligned with, the bore(s);
- and a short stock designed to be gripped by one hand at an angle to and extending below the line of the bore(s).

Now, with a 16.5" barrel, you could then add a stock, and then it would be a non-NFA rifle (assuming that just about any lower would also meet the 26" overall length requirement as well). You could then remove the stock FIRST, and then use the short upper again - just make sure never to have the stock and short upper on at the same time without a too-much-fun-tax stamp.

Like yugorp said, just make sure it starts off as a pistol first and not originally a rifle!

Edit - state law, of course, might define a "pistol" by barrel length, but not federal law.

 

[1911 guy]

Denwego is correct. You can put a 20" A2 upper on a pistol if you wanted to. It just cannot have a forward hand grip and one or two other features that don't come to mind right now. There is no legal limit on how long a pistol barrel can be.

I re-read YugoRPK's post and he is also correct. While the longer barrel (16" or longer) and pistol lower is still a pistol, you may indeed legally add a buttstock. But isn't there something about once it's a rifle you can't legally go back to pistol? I'm not sure, it just rings a bell in my head.

However, you cannot take your pistol lower, attach any length barrel under 16 inches and modify it to be fired from the shoulder. This is an illegal short barreled rifle (SBR). You may, if you desire, attach a less than 16 inch barrel, use it as a pistol, submit the paperwork to ATF and after approval add a buttstock, making it a legal SBR.

If you're curious about it, there's a sub forum here for NFA items and folks there know far more about the ins and outs of it than I do.

 

[Onward Allusion]

It's been said a million times before but those NFA & GCA laws make no sense. Thanks guys for confirming what I'd read.

 

[yugorpk]

The ATF backed down on the once a rifle always a rifle thing a few years ago. Now its if it started as a pistol it can go either way. I think even they recognized the fact it was totally unenforceable. Basically if you bought a rifle it had FET paid as a rifle and they know all about its origin. From a receiver they just don't know so consider it a pistol unless your state requires it transfer to you as a pistol for it to be considered a pistol. State laws always come into play too and no one ever talks about those .

If its over 26" OAL even with no butt stock you can add a forward grip and make it a "Firearm" instead of a pistol.

 

[MachIVshooter]

From a receiver they just don't know so consider it a pistol unless your state requires it transfer to you as a pistol for it to be considered a pistol.

Small nit to pick, but receivers that are not sold as complete firearms are transferred as "other firearm"; neither pistol or rifle. They can become either. Technically, to be able to go back and forth, you would have to build the first configuration as a pistol.

 

[yugorpk]

Small nit to pick, but receivers that are not sold as complete firearms are transferred as "other firearm"; neither pistol or rifle. They can become either. Technically, to be able to go back and forth, you would have to build the first configuration as a pistol.

Thats federal. State laws vary.