Converting from AR Pistol to Rifle and then back to pistol?

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Converting from AR Pistol to Rifle and then back to pistol?

Posted: 7/20/2017 1:17:31 PM EDT

If I buy a virgin stripped lower and build a pistol on it; can I convert it later to a rifle and then at a still later date convert it back to a pistol?

Posted: 7/20/2017 2:04:39 PM EDT

[#1]

Quoted:
If I buy a virgin stripped lower and build a pistol on it; can I convert it later to a rifle and then at a still later date convert it back to a pistol?

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Yup, you sure can.

Posted: 7/20/2017 2:15:01 PM EDT

[#2]

Ok I am confused I thought once it went rifle you couldn't go backwards?

We visit this topic a lot.

Posted: 7/20/2017 2:29:13 PM EDT

[#3]

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Quoted:
Ok I am confused I thought once it went rifle you couldn't go backwards?

We visit this topic a lot.

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Rifle can't go pistol.

Pistol-rifle-pistol-rifle-...is OK.

Dumb, I know.

Posted: 7/20/2017 3:01:04 PM EDT

[#4]

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Quoted:

Rifle can't go pistol.

Pistol-rifle-pistol-rifle-...is OK.

Dumb, I know.

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This is Exhibit A in my argument that "government bureaucracy is fundamentally retarded"

Posted: 7/20/2017 3:23:35 PM EDT

[#5]

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Quoted: Ok I am confused I thought once it went rifle you couldn't go backwards?

We visit this topic a lot.

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http://mechtechsys.com

Posted: 7/20/2017 3:43:49 PM EDT

[#6]

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Quoted:
Ok I am confused I thought once it went rifle you couldn't go backwards?

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Untrue. What is important is how it is originally assembled/constructed. If it's originally assembled as a handgun, you can go back and forth at will. Originally assembled as a rifle cannot. Some AR builders therefore just assemble all their lowers as pistols first.

Posted: 7/20/2017 6:17:17 PM EDT

[#7]

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Quoted:

Rifle can't go pistol.

Pistol-rifle-pistol-rifle-...is OK.

Dumb, I know.

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And the OP should also check his or her local State Laws. Some have additional laws that negate this option (like POS California).

Posted: 7/20/2017 7:28:04 PM EDT

[#8]

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Quoted:

And the OP should also check his or her local State Laws. Some have additional laws that negate this option (like POS California).

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That goes without saying, always check your states laws, cause some of the states have really gone retard on these issues.!

Posted: 7/20/2017 8:12:58 PM EDT

[#9]

If a tree falls in the forest............

Posted: 7/20/2017 8:18:46 PM EDT

[#10]

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Quoted:

Some AR builders therefore just assemble all their lowers as pistols first.

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Guilty.

Posted: 7/20/2017 8:55:03 PM EDT

[#11]

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Quoted:
If a tree falls in the forest............

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Sure that is easy to say, and yes, it is a dumb rule, but it is the rule, that if you run into the jerkoff at the range that makes it a big deal, you could end up in club Fed!

As I keep saying, I am glad I don't have to utilize a range to do my shooting!

Posted: 7/21/2017 6:40:54 AM EDT

[#12]

Quote History

Quoted:
This is Exhibit A in my argument that "government bureaucracy is fundamentally retarded"

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Quoted:

Quoted:

Rifle can't go pistol.

Pistol-rifle-pistol-rifle-...is OK.

Dumb, I know.

This is Exhibit A in my argument that "government bureaucracy is fundamentally retarded"

You're critique was much more eloquent than my "dumb I know".

Next let's talk about "firearms not designed to be fired from the shoulder which fire 12 gauge shotgun shells" and aren't really shotguns.

Better yet, antiques/black powder "things" which aren't even considered firearms.

Posted: 7/21/2017 11:15:15 AM EDT

[#13]

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Quoted:
That goes without saying, always check your states laws, cause some of the states have really gone retard on these issues.!

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Quoted:

Quoted:

And the OP should also check his or her local State Laws. Some have additional laws that negate this option (like POS California).

That goes without saying, always check your states laws, cause some of the states have really gone retard on these issues.!

Case in point: Mossberg Shockwaves and now 870 TAC-14s.

Posted: 8/16/2017 10:50:34 PM EDT

[#14]

But say someone picked up a stripped lower from someone, and it was originally built as a factory rifle, how would anyone even know, including the buyer?

Posted: 8/16/2017 11:03:44 PM EDT

[#15]

I build all my rifles as pistols first, just in case.

Posted: 8/16/2017 11:56:26 PM EDT

[#16]

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Quoted:
But say someone picked up a stripped lower from someone, and it was originally built as a factory rifle, how would anyone even know, including the buyer?

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The buyer wouldn't, but the ATF certainly would with just a phone call or two if they wanted to check.

- OS

Posted: 8/17/2017 12:02:27 AM EDT

[#17]

Quote History

Quoted:

Untrue. What is important is how it is originally assembled/constructed. If it's originally assembled as a handgun, you can go back and forth at will. Originally assembled as a rifle cannot. Some AR builders therefore just assemble all their lowers as pistols first.

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If you think about it all ar's are built as pistols since the the buffer tube and stock cant be put on at the same time

Posted: 8/17/2017 12:24:50 AM EDT

[#18]

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Quoted:

If you think about it all ar's are built as pistols since the the buffer tube and stock cant be put on at the same time

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Stock is not required to be a rifle -- as long as the manufacturer intends it to be a rifle, it's a rifle. Indeed, the word "stock" does not even appear in the definition of rifle in federal statute.

- OS

Posted: 8/17/2017 1:01:09 AM EDT

[#19]

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Quoted: If you think about it all ar's are built as pistols since the the buffer tube and stock cant be put on at the same time

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It's not a pistol until the upper is installed. If the stock goes on the lower before the upper gets dropped on, it's a 16" AR rifle. If you put the stock on AFTER the upper, then it started life as a 16" AR pistol.

But if the manufacturer ships it as a complete rifle, it's always a rifle - until you make it a shotgun, or an SBR, or SBS. It's never a pistol, however.

Posted: 8/20/2017 7:18:03 PM EDT

[#20]

It's all a simple matter of reading the definitions. If it doesn't meet the definition 100% then it is not that firearm.
A pistol can go back and forth because the definition includes the term "means a weapon originally designed, made, and intended..." So converting it to a rifle does not change the "original design.." so it can go back to its original configuration because it was never a rifle but merely configured as one..

18 U.S.C., § 921(A)(29) and 27 CFR § 478.11The term “Pistol” means a weapon originally designed, made, and intended to fire a projectile (bullet) from one or
more barrels when held in one hand, and having:

a chamber(s) as an integral part(s) of, or permanently aligned with, the bore(s);
and a short stock designed to be gripped by one hand at an angle to and extending below the line of the bore(s).

Posted: 8/20/2017 7:39:37 PM EDT

[#21]

I feel like if you buy a stripped lower then it does not matter what it was or ever is. It's "other" forever.

Posted: 8/20/2017 7:52:04 PM EDT

[#22]

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I feel like if you buy a stripped lower then it does not matter what it was or ever is. It's "other" forever.

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The judge, prosecutor, and BATFE don't care about your feels. If it shipped as a rifle, there's a 10 year felony penalty for building it as a pistol. Bullshit law, but it's been upheld by the Supremes.

Posted: 8/20/2017 9:00:58 PM EDT

[#23]

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Quoted:
The judge, prosecutor, and BATFE don't care about your feels. If it shipped as a rifle, there's a 10 year felony penalty for building it as a pistol. Bullshit law, but it's been upheld by the Supremes.

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Quoted:

Quoted:
I feel like if you buy a stripped lower then it does not matter what it was or ever is. It's "other" forever.

The judge, prosecutor, and BATFE don't care about your feels. If it shipped as a rifle, there's a 10 year felony penalty for building it as a pistol. Bullshit law, but it's been upheld by the Supremes.

thats not what we are talking about. We are talking about buying a stripped lower not a complete firearm

Posted: 8/20/2017 11:35:33 PM EDT

[#24]

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Quoted:
thats not what we are talking about. We are talking about buying a stripped lower not a complete firearm

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The splitting hairs prob is whether it's a virgin stripped lower or a used one. A used lower that was first released as a rifle remains verboten for a pistol build forever.

- OS

Posted: 8/21/2017 12:36:35 AM EDT

[#25]

How many times do we have to have this conversation, the rules and laws are actually very clear, if you build it as a rifle, then it is always a rifle, if you build it as a pistol, then you can go back and forth..Now a days, stuff is so cheap, there is no reason to even worry about it.. Keep a couple of pistol configured lowers in the safe..

As far as buying a used stripped lower receiver, then you should side on the side it was a rifle! if you want to build a pistol, order a damn stripped receiver, put a pistol tube on it and take a picture of it where the serial number is visible, if you are doing 80% I don't know what to tell you, if the receiver was built by a manufacture, then when it was sold, it was listed as a rifle and that description does not go away, it is recorded somewhere, if it is a stripped receiver, then if they did their job correctly when they sold it, then it is other, if it is a 80% then there is NO record of it, it is a paper weight, period!

This is not complicated, it is clear if you have the capability of comprehension.

Come on guys!

Posted: 8/21/2017 12:48:43 AM EDT

[#26]

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Quoted:
thats not what we are talking about. We are talking about buying a stripped lower not a complete firearm

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Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted: I feel like if you buy a stripped lower then it does not matter what it was or ever is. It's "other" forever.

The judge, prosecutor, and BATFE don't care about your feels. If it shipped as a rifle, there's a 10 year felony penalty for building it as a pistol. Bullshit law, but it's been upheld by the Supremes.

thats not what we are talking about. We are talking about buying a stripped lower not a complete firearm

The problem only arises if it is now a stripped lower you're buying from your dealer, but it was originally shipped as a complete rifle from the manufacturer. If you're buying a used stripped lower, best to contact the manufacturer and find out what it originally shipped as.

Posted: 8/21/2017 12:59:01 AM EDT

[#27]

Quote History

Quoted:

The problem only arises if it is now a stripped lower you're buying from your dealer, but it was originally shipped as a complete rifle from the manufacturer. If you're buying a used stripped lower, best to contact the manufacturer and find out what it originally shipped as.

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For the most part, I would not even worry about it, if it came from a manufacture, I would consider it a rifle. As inexpensive as parts are right now, I won't even consider buying a used lower, unless it is specifically for a reproduction project I am doing and even then it is going to be a rifle..

If I walk into a Pawn Shop or a Gun Store and there is a Used stripped lower, my brain is going to say, that is a rifle..period end of story, stripped lowers are to cheap these days to even worry about it.

Posted: 8/21/2017 11:01:51 AM EDT

[#28]

Quote History

Quoted:
For the most part, I would not even worry about it, if it came from a manufacture, I would consider it a rifle. As inexpensive as parts are right now, I won't even consider buying a used lower, unless it is specifically for a reproduction project I am doing and even then it is going to be a rifle..

If I walk into a Pawn Shop or a Gun Store and there is a Used stripped lower, my brain is going to say, that is a rifle..period end of story, stripped lowers are to cheap these days to even worry about it.

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Quoted:

Quoted: The problem only arises if it is now a stripped lower you're buying from your dealer, but it was originally shipped as a complete rifle from the manufacturer. If you're buying a used stripped lower, best to contact the manufacturer and find out what it originally shipped as.

For the most part, I would not even worry about it, if it came from a manufacture, I would consider it a rifle. As inexpensive as parts are right now, I won't even consider buying a used lower, unless it is specifically for a reproduction project I am doing and even then it is going to be a rifle..

If I walk into a Pawn Shop or a Gun Store and there is a Used stripped lower, my brain is going to say, that is a rifle..period end of story, stripped lowers are to cheap these days to even worry about it.

More a word to the wise for someone who wants to, say, build a Colt-lowered AR pistol. That's gonna be rather difficult to do, albeit there may be some non-rifle Colt Competition lowers out there, IIRC.

When new Anderson's are down to $30-33, a new lower is cheap insurance.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Converting from AR Pistol to Rifle and then back to pistol?

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