chances are this is a stupid question but here goes..

i was originally going to buy a pistol lower and a 11.5 bcm upper/pistol brace and file a form 1 to add a stock.

i have decided to purchase a pistol brace that uses the standard AR buffer tube and not the smooth pistol buffer tube.

can i purchase a non-pistol lower, add a 11.5" upper and call it a pistol? is a complete lower already a "rifle" or "pistol" depending on the tube it comes with or is it neither?

thanks in advance,
-z

A lower, whether stripped or complete, should be classified as "other" and can be made into a pistol or rifle.

A stripped lower starts its life a an 'other'

If you add a pistol brace and a complete upper it becomes a pistol. You can then change it to a rifle/SBR and back to a pistol again.

If you add a stock and a complete upper it becomes a rifles. Rifles under 16" require an NFA stamp. One a rifle, always a rifle.

Topic covered many times under 'General NFA Questions.'

thanks guys! wasnt sure if lowers were already classified as pistols or rifles by the manufacturer. seemed stupid to have to remove a pistol buffer tube and replace it with an adjustable type but many of these laws dont make sense so i thought it possible.

Fixed it for you.

To be honest, the answer lies with the transfer record. This will be the only legal paperwork that could ensnare you.
This will be within the 4473 and whatever your state requires.
In my experience, a dealer will most likely transfer a complete lower as a rifle, as it is a "firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder". Yes, you may have had a different experience.

If your 4473 is/was (along w/ your state filing) marked as "other", legally you're good to go.
If "handgun" was checked, you're good to go.
If "long gun" was checked, don't even think about it; spend $49 on a lower transferred as "other".

Don't bother w/  form 1, just to stick a stock on it. As long as you accidentally or sporadically shoulder it, the ATF has held that it's not a reconfiguration...

You may want to clarify this statement. Putting a stock on a lower does make it a rifle when you add an upper.

Straight off of the 4473.

@hankforker
You're correct. My statement should have read brace, not stock.

@Jeepsnguns81
That's great. You and your lawyer can argue that the gov't forms were filled out incorrectly (yes, it happens), maybe they'll believe you.
The instructions on the 4473 are not law, in and of themselves. Hence why they reference US Code. No part of US Code or the GCA support that determination. It's like the instructions on the Form 1 that state you must notify ATF of caliber change. Nothing in the law supports that and no one follows it.

@BigWaylon
I went to a dealer, with some friends, and was peer pressured into buying a complete lower. Of course I can't find the receipt so my only paper trail has it listed as a Long Gun. No, I've never been back  

I get it, but nothing in this game is perfect or permanent. Look at the guy that posted about an SBR that the first dealer F'd the paperwork up and then went out of business. He got it transferred to another dealer and then the ATF said he had a stolen, illegally configured firearm (something to this affect). Is he to just tell ATF their paperwork is wrong and to pound sand, becaue in his heart he knows it to be true and he has a receipt? We both know it doesn't go this way.

This is a page from my most recent request for an updated list of all firearms recorded in my name:



Notice the "LA" in the Guntype column? If this was put as "other" on a 4473/DPS-3-c, than it would have "OA" marked down (as all my stripped lowers or bare receivers reflect this). I'm sure the fact that barrel is marked "0" would help me, but there's a definite fight to prove it wasn't a rifle.