View Full Version : Question about AR Pistols
JaxChris
08-30-2009, 06:48 AM
Ok, so what's the real deal on this. I've heard some say you can't build a pistol out of a virgin (never built on) lower. Others say you can and that the pistol marked lowers are just a 'feel good' feature.
Which is it? I have plenty of virgin lowers now, and not needing to buy another would be nice. Plus it would let me play with short barrels to find what works best before I decide to SBR.
Thanks.
You can't build a pistol out of a stripped AR lower that wasn't designated a pistol lower. Many times, the lower doesn't cost any more, it just leaves the factory as recorded as a pistol lower allowing you to make a pistol into it. If you SBR it, you can not turn it back into a pistol either.
JaxChris
08-30-2009, 07:25 PM
Ok, on ARFCOM this is a divided topic and I figured your thinking on it and got blasted for it. lol
Yeah, there is controversy on it. Some say you can make a pistol out of a stripped lower as it was never made into a rifle. Then there are barrel and stock kits to change handguns into carbines and change them back into pistols. No one has shown me an ATF opinion letter on it yet for one way or the other, so I'd err on the side of caution.
Satan_3pc
08-31-2009, 12:34 PM
Ask C3PO! :D
JaxChris
08-31-2009, 04:11 PM
I will continue to play it safe then... just go SBR and do whatever I want with it. =)
When I was building an SBR, I had received the barrel very much ahead of anticipated time. My first thought was to just buy a pistol buffer tube for the lower until the stamp came in and the more I inquired, the more I felt that I was taking a risk I didn't want to take, so I bought a dedicated pistol lower from Spikes with the laser etch saying such. It would have to take great efforts to prove something wrong if I had just used a standard stripped lower, but just in today's paper there's a guy out of Naples FL that was charged with selling an illegal SBR even tho it was a HK MP5 pistol with the illegal "accessories" that made it per his ad "a good SBR candidate" uninstalled and separate of the gun. Some people have even said if he had an airsoft MP5 it would have made his "illegal parts" legal. Even if he is proven innocent, it's a hassle I would rather not deal with.
JaxChris
08-31-2009, 06:30 PM
Agreed, but I'm still curious why so many people think they're free and clear of any potential trouble just because the stripped lower was delivered to them on the 4473 as "other firearm" instead of being defined as a "pistol" or "rifle".
Also, I've heard the ATF will no longer accept "less than 16 inches" for barrel length on the SBR paperwork anymore. That sucks because what if I started at 10.5" to run suppressed and then found a solution that allowed a 7.5" barrel to give a SD look/profile from a 5.56? Would I be at risk for having an even shorter barrel than my stamp was approved for? Would I be at risk even if the barrel length was longer than stated just because it doesn't match the paperwork?
I believe this is why I'm waiting for the Firearms Freedom Act. Under that I can have my Spike's lowers stamped "Made in Florida" and SBR them without a tax stamp as long as I never take them out of Florida (or did I misread that Phil?). Only part of that which sucks is Knight's is the only suppressor maker in Florida and they're so expensive. Maybe we could get a machine shop to make us some Tactical Advantage suppressors to our own specs with Made In Florida on them after the law passes? =)
spikes40
08-31-2009, 06:53 PM
no it would not...if you are paper'd for an SBR..even though it may say 10.5 barrel..you can put any length barrel you want on it....my paperwork says 5" barrel as my suppressed upper will be a 5" barrel but I also have a 10.5" 635 SMG uppr as well....that said to avoid any issues... my 635 upper is stored at my parents house until my paperwork comes back