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Posted: 1/25/2008 4:23:43 PM EDT
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I'm building an SBR. Forms are nearly ready to go out (can't track down CLEO). Can I buy a barrel if I own no upper receiver? What about a bolt? What about all the part, not assembled (as in, un-barreled upper)? I'm betting my money on "no" for that last question.  Quick EDIT: I got a deal on a barrel, but if I have to I can have it sent elsewhere (friend several hrs away) for the time being. |
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From another post you made, you are building a 9mm AR15, correct? If you can't build a complete SBR, you should be okay getting just the barrel. OTOH, AR15 receivers are cheap. Buy a virgin receiver and build it into a pistol. That way, you can legally have the completed upper, and you can go shoot it while you're waiting for the paperwork to come back. When you're approved, pull off the pistol buffer tube and install the buttstock. Or you might end up doing what I did. I bought a stripped lower and built my pistol. I'm waiting on paperwork now. Mine is set up in 9mm, but I know I'll eventually want a 5.56 upper for it as well. So I bought another lower to build into a (second) pistol. The first pistol will become an SBR. When I get another short upper, I can shoot both without registering another SBR. The "other" upper will just live on the pistol. |
Does it have to somehow be a designated pistol lower? For example, if you have a few generic stripped lowers lying around (I bought a few DPMS lowers a couple of years back), can I stick a pistol buffer on one and make it a pistol lower as mentioned above? Or, do I have to buy a special pistol lower? |
They had to mark the pistol blank on the 4473 to legally build a virgin reciever into a pistol. |
People here will tell you that. But it's not necessarily true. The definition of a rifle includes "designed to be fired from the shoulder" and "... made from a rifle". A bare receiver does not meet these criteria. It was never a rifle, therefore it is not a rifle until it is built into a complete rifle. Many people here recommend to have the 4473 note that it is a pistol or a stripped receiver. Some also recommend you get a letter from the manufacturer stating that it left the factory without a stock. Neither of these are "proof" that the receiver was not built into a rifle prior to becoming a pistol. I doubt anyone has ever been prosecuted for making an AR15 rifle into a pistol either. The last two receivers I bought had "pistol" noted on the 4473, because it was as easy as not doing it. However, I would not have a problem building a pistol out of a virgin receiver, whether noted on the 4473 or not. YMMV |
That kind of goes against the current ATF policy papers that are floating around, but YMMV |
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