Oh so difficult ! So I guess I cannot revert the "pistol buffer tubes" to normal functional extendable AR carbine stocks , extend the stock on a short barrel say; 8 to 10" long and if I put a Surefire 900 flashlight hand grip on it and the length is OVER 26" over all I still don't have a non NFA "firearm" ?
18 USC 921 (a)(7): The term
rifle means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of an explosive to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger.
18 USC 921 (a)(8): The term “
short-barreled rifle” means a rifle having one or more barrels less than sixteen inches in length and any weapon made from a rifle (whether by alteration, modification, or otherwise) if such weapon, as modified, has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches.
Regardless of barrel length or forward grip, if your firearm has a stock on it, then it is a rifle. If that rifle has a barrel shorter than 16", then it is a SBR.
Im confused. Think I'' put a 11 1/2" barrel on and keep the "pistol" buffer tube with no brace but an 26+" OAL and stick on the Surefire 900, that should be legal ?
Yup. That's a "firearm", not a rifle or pistol.
You can keep the brace on your pistol, it just doesn't count towards the OAL. If you want a shorter barrel while maintaining the 26+" OAL, you could always use a rifle buffer tube. It would measure 9.5" from the back of the receiver while a carbine or pistol buffer tube would measure about 7.5" from the back of the receiver.