I know this will seem like a stupid question but here goes ......................

When is an AR stripped lower designated a pistol?  

I am at a gunshow and one dealer tells me he can sell me any lower and designate it as a pistol lower when he does.  Is this true?

I tried to do a search on my phone but am unable to find the answer to my question.

Thanks if you can help.

An AR stripped lower is designated a pistol if its first build is as a pistol.

Your dealer must sell you a lower as a firearm, not as a pistol, not as a rifle, not as a shotgun.  You can buy any lower @ the show, from any FFL, and if it's a brand new lower, build a pistol out of it.

The above post is almost right.  ANY virgin stripped lower can be used to build a pistol in regards to FEDERAL law.  State laws may differ.
The lower is marked "OTHER" on the 4473 and is not a pistol, rifle, or firearm until YOU do the first build.  Any dealer telling you that he must mark it as pistol, rifle, or firearm on the 4473 does not know what the heck he is doing.  Find another dealer.
Build it first as a pistol and you can switch back and forth between pistol and rifle as much as you want so long as you do not have a barrel on there less than 16 inches in length at the same time you have a butt stock on there.  Build it first as a rifle and it is forever a rifle and cannot be made into a pistol.  Your only choice for a pistol type weapon then is to SBR it, or buy another lower and build it first as a pistol this time.

Then there is the class called FIREARMS.  It is essentially a pistol, no stock, but has a OAL of at least 26 inches.  While a PISTOL can be carried concealed and cannot have a vertical grip, a FIREARM can have a  vertical grip but CANNOT be carried concealed.  If you carried a FIREARM concealed, it becomes an AOW (any other weapon) and unless you have an AOW NFA stamp you are in violation of the National Firearm's Act.  Clear as mud?

Next to muddy things is the SBR class.  You can do anything you want with it so long as it is not a machine gun.  Stock, no stock, VG, no VG, any barrel length you want, conceal it if you want,  so long as you do the NFA stamp and do not take it out of state without first notifying the ATFE (same with AOWs) then you can configure it as you wish with as many different uppers as you want (you can do that with rifles, pistols and AOWs too though).  IMO going the SBR route is by far the most bang for the buck.

Thank you both so much!

It's marked as "other firearm" on the 4473, one of only three choices in field 18.

- OS

It's arguable that a SBR is the "best bang for your buck." We here it a lot, look at what is required vs an AR Pistol.

A SBR is a "rifle," which means it's not legal to conceal carry in many jurisdictions. The pistol can be - which also goes to how it's transported. A pistol falls under CCW provisions in many state laws, which allow it to be loaded and ready to hand. The rifle falls under anti poaching rules in the law, which requires it to be unloaded cased in the trunk. Your state laws apply.

As said, the SBR requires prior approval by the ATF to be transported across state lines, the pistol doesn't. It does need to be considered if the other state allows them - NJ comes to mind as the extreme problem.

In use, the SBR and pistol can be identical in almost every respect - the ATF has no barrel length requirement for a pistol. It's the stock that becomes the issue, ballistically they are otherwise equal. What has to be answered is whether a stock and it's inherent accuracy is needed. First, the purpose of a short barreled weapon should be obvious, use and carry doesn't allow a longer one. We are trading off range, therefore, for immediacy of having the weapon and being able to use it where longer barrels are a disadvantage.

Because of that, the typical 10.5" barrel is limited to being used at less than 100m, and more likely, less than 50 feet by application. Most are selected for ship boarding operations or in built up urban areas, llne of sight is limited.

At 100 meters the average target is the human torso, about 18" square - or 18 Minute of Angle. How accurate do you need to be to get a hit on that? If your skill level requires you to use a stock, ok, but for a lot of us, not so much.

And at this point, does getting a Stamp and owing an SBR become a rite of passage, sort of like buying into the Man card club?

Again, for a lot of us, not so much.

That is why it needs to be examined what the specific conditions are for the individual owner in his state jurisdiction - and what his skill level is. And it does have to be mentioned that after a trust and/or other legal requirements are met, the owner is registered with the ATF as much as the firearm is. There is a loss of privacy doing that, doesn't bother some, for others, not so much.

To say that an SBR is the "best bang for the buck" isn't a true statement for everyone across the board. It may be, in fact, the least optimum decision to make. If the gun is meant to be useful in self defense it's not going to be helpful to have it locked unloaded in the trunk.

I hate to nitpick these remarks but when it's marked OTHER on the 4473 it remains an OTHER forever or until there is an official document that may be read by the ATF stating otherwise, i.e. repair order, reported theft, sale through FFL, etc.   Nobody but yourself needs to know what you built or changed on that receiver or if it's sitting in your sock drawer naked.   If you built a pistol and changed it to a rifle for a hunting trip then back to a pistol, it's still officially an OTHER.   Likewise, if you're in the woods and pee in a creek and the EPA isn't downstream with a water analysis kit and telescopic camera, you never peed, right?

To paraphrase, Fuck em.

Just to put it out there.  I am from ky and went to ohio gun show.  I could not buy a strip lower.  But i can buy a complete rifle.  The dealers were confused on this issue.  Some said I could not buy.  Others were not sure and other said it was ok.  There was an atf booth there so I went over and asked.  A strip lower is looked at as a pistol in this case (state to state) because it can built into a pistol?  Sound like a bunch of crap.  I can buy a lower in ky and build it into a pistol and tell no one.  Dont know were they get these laws/rules.

By federal law, you can only buy a rifle or a shotgun from an FFL if you are 18 or older but not yet 21.

Since an "other firearm" (lower/receiver) is neither, that is why you cannot buy it, same as a handgun.

- OS

It's not just age. Nobody can buy a stripped lower out of state.

Oh, I missed he was out of state, but yeah, that too. I actually don't even know why I assumed he was under 21, senior moment I guess.  

Of course you can only take possession of a shotgun or rifle from an FFL out of the state of your residence, regardless of your age.

- OS

Here in Iliinois we have waiting periods after the purchase - 24 hours for a long gun, 72 for a handgun. A stripped lower is subject to the 72 hour wait 'becuz' it could be made into a pistol.

Yup...I was about to say this. If you want the lower to be set up as a pistol, you have to wait 72 hrs...(again, here in Illinois).

Unless you're in North Texas.    @ least until that ruling is appealed.

Ah, never mind...won't even try to describe what CA state laws require these days.  

You can't in North Texas federal district either, since no FFL will do it, and the 4473 wouldn't clear even if they tried.

- OS

Ah, but private sales will fly, for the moment.  What sucks is the ruling doesn't extend to Tulsa, which is where the big gun show that I want to buy pistols from private parties is @.  

Nothing has changed with private sales either. I'm sure any Texan that gets stung for knowingly selling any firearm to an out of state resident will be hammered as per usual. Maybe they could try using the ruling as defense during prosecution, but I don't see how, as seems to me the suit was specifically regarding the FFL system and not private sales.

- OS