Long time listener, first time caller...


I've got a question on the lines of "a pistol can become a rifle and then a pistol again" topic.

So I've been putting together an AR pistol and picked up a Sig brace for it prior to the latest ATF letter.  If i complete a 10.5 in AR pistol build with a sig brace on it and accidentally shoulder the thing, it becomes an illegal short 'rifle' in the eyes of ATF but is it a 'rifle' only for that period upon which it is in contact with my shoulder and then back to a pistol there after since the intent is to build a pistol and i'm using a legal pistol accessory to do so?

If i pay the tax for a stamp and leave the sig brace on, would this be a 'pistol' or would it then and forever be an 'sbr', or will it depend on how im using it (ie .its  pistol when its sitting untouched, a pistol if i fire it unsholdered, but a registered and legal SBR if sholdered, but then becomes a pistol again as soon as its unsholdered?  I really like the idea of it being a 'pistol' so that i can treat and transport it as such but don't want to run into any issues should the sig brace ever be misused by accident.

thoughts?

A SBR is a SBR, it will never again be a pistol even if it was made from a pistol.


A form 1 is an application to make a firearm. It really doesn't matter if you make it from an existing firearm or a chunk of metal.


Once made, you have a new firearm, therefore it doesn't start it's life as a pistol and cannot be made a pistol.



As for the sig brace debacle, that is anyone's guess at this point.

Yep, agree.

Even though ATF FAQS don't address it exactly per se, putting together all the others lead you to this conclusion.

Besides the fact that you have made a new discrete firearm, a rifle (thus it is "first a rifle"), there's the fact that if you retain any parts that make the SBR an SBR, it's still under purview of NSA. And of course, the short barrel on it would not remove it from NFA purview, eh?

You of course can take your SBR out of NFA status by stripping or configuring it as a GCA rifle, but if you simply take the stock off an SBR, that doesn't make it a GCA pistol and remove it from NFA status. You'd still have a SBR that you're just using without the stock.

- OS

Also agree, and just to expand a bit.



Say you take your now SBR, and remove the stock and install a pistol receiver extension, even though it's now configured as a pistol would be, it would still legally be an SBR.  However, doing this action would not be illegal (but it would be seemingly pointless).



Likewise you could swap uppers on your SBR and configure it as a >16" barreled rifle, but again, it would still legally be an SBR and under the purview of all such restrictions and rules as far and transport and use of the NFA item.



 

Well, maybe yes maybe no -- assuming you do not "maintain control" of the short barrel, configuring it as a 16" barreled GCA rifle does indeed take it out of NFA purview, either temporarily or permanently, your choice, with no requirement to notify ATF in either case. You may also transfer it as a normal non-NFA rifle (or just receiver) without notifying ATF.

- OS

I am seriously considering SBRing my pistol and holding off on putting a stock on it for a while after receiving the stamp. So, this thread, assuming the answers are correct, is good for me. It may seem silly to some to SBR but not put a stock on it but in reality the laws are really about being able to shoulder these things as opposed to not having a stock. Yes, the ATF went after the stocks because that is what most people would want to use to shoulder a rifle and doing so was an effort to make it more difficult for people to shoulder AR Pistols. So, paying for the $200 tax stamp is essentially paying the ATF for permission to be able to shoulder a rifle with a barrel less than 16 inches long.