AR-15 pistol/rifle legalities.... Sure it's been brought up before, sorry...

[Marlowe]

Okay, just for the current theory du jour: I've seen this interpretation go one way or another, just want to know the current TGT wisdom...

I bought a PSA AR lower on their "Christmas sale": the lower was marked "Multi": I've been trickling it together over the last month as a 9mm PISTOL, with a 16" Upper.... It's up and running now... It has been photographically documented as a pistol.

My issues:

1. I'm basically sure this weapon is now for the most part effectively a pistol for the rest of eternity.
2. As I understand, I can now basically slap a stock on or off this thing at will, going back and forth from pistol configuration to rifle... (after all, it's got a 16" barrel, and is covered both ways...)..
3. I have access to CNC engraving equipment, I am considering just engraving "pistol" on the lower, (in addition to the "multi" that PSA put on it) to just cover all my bases: as I understand, a pistol lower can be completed as a rifle and back...
4. At this point and for the foreseeable future, I have no plans or interest in acquiring a barrel shorter than the 16", with the resultant possibility of making this an SBR..

Any reasonably current knowledge on this, and current pertinent legal documentation out there?

 

[Renegade]

1 - it is a rifle or pistol as configured.
2 - yes
3 - is not needed
4 - up to you.

 

[Marlowe]

3 - is not needed

I know it's not needed, I just was operating under the assumption that such would remove any necessity for the aforementioned photographic documentation: once labeled a pistol, always a pistol, right?

 

[Renegade]

I know it's not needed, I just was operating under the assumption that such would remove any necessity for the aforementioned photographic documentation: once labeled a pistol, always a pistol, right?

Label means nothing.

You can put GAU-8 on it and that does not make it a 30mm cannon.

Photographic documentation? You are overthinking this problem. That does not mean anything either.

 

[Marlowe]

I know I'm overthinking it here: I'm really just operating under the assumption that said photographic documentation plus my testimony would be better than my testimony alone... ditto the engraving..

 

[Renegade]

I know I'm overthinking it here: I'm really just operating under the assumption that said photographic documentation plus my testimony would be better than my testimony alone... ditto the engraving..

Testimony to who, for what?

 

[Marlowe]

Testimony to who, for what?

Whatever. Covering bases that don't even need covered, if for no other reason but to suggest good faith effort. I can get the engraving for free, I can do photographic evidence for free, there's really no reason whatsoever not to besides to just tell .gov to KMA... Call me paranoid, I really don't care, I just don't see any reason not to take such steps..

 

[Angered_Kabar]

You're thinking too hard. Don't put a barrel shorter than 16 inches on it unless you get it SBRd and that's it.

Either that or don't every put a stock on it and make sure the receiver extension has some sort of crap on it make installing a stock slightly difficult. Then you can put whatever length upper you want on it.

With a few exceptions, once it's a rifle, it's always a rifle.

 

[Younggun]

waaaaaayyyyyy over thinking,

 

[40Arpent]

You've mentioned the engraved "multi" a couple times as if that applies to the pistol/rifle configuration, but multi means multiple caliber and has nothing to do with the pistol/rifle issue.

You should probably brush up on the NFA rules related to overall length and converting a rifle to a pistol.

 

[Younggun]

any ar platform should meet the 26'' with a 16'' barrel so as long as you don't have shorter barrel you can do what you want. It would be like me slideing the stock off my buffer tube. It's legal either way. Personally I think thats alot of weight to hold out with one hand and would work on setting up a permanent pistol configuration with a short barrel and another rifle.

 

[40Arpent]

any ar platform should meet the 26'' with a 16'' barrel

Correct, I just don't think it's generally a good idea to be too focused on one aspect of a rule when you're jacking with shit.

 

[Angered_Kabar]

Also to make things more confusing, you might come across ATF letters saying that doing this or doing that is okay. This technically only applies to the person who the letter is addressed to, and can and has changed at a moment's notice.

For example you might see a letter that says, yeah you can turn this pistol into a rifle and back again as long as the barrel is over 16 inches when the stock is on it. That doesn't mean EVERY pistol is like this, and the ATF could have changed their mind.

Wonderful way to enforce laws, right?