Am considering buying either a G2 or Encore frame for use as a pistol. I also know that the G2 and Encore barrels are not interchangeable. purchased for rifle use or mated w/rifle bbl/buttstock first will classify it as a rifle and not allow it to be used for pistol. If purchased (registered as)for pistol use can it be legally be mated with rifle bbl/buttstock interchangeably? Thanks for the replies.

My dealer told me that if it is bought as a pistol it can be swapped back and forth between pistol and rifle configurations legally, but if it is bought as a rifle it must stay a rifle. Take it for what it's worth.

Quoted: My dealer told me that if it is bought as a pistol it can be swapped back and forth between pistol and rifle configurations legally, but if it is bought as a rifle it must stay a rifle. Take it for what it's worth.

That is correct.

That is how I thought it was but wanted some verification. Thanks for the help.

Verification all the way from the Supreme Court of the United States:
U.S. v. Thompson/Center Arms Co., 112 S.Ct. 2102, (U.S., Jun 08, 1992)


"Respondent Thompson/Center Arms Company manufactures a single- shot pistol called the "Contender," designed so that its handle and barrel can be removed from its "receiver," the metal frame housing the trigger, hammer, and firing mechanism"

("The kit Thompson/Center Arms manufactured for converting the Contender into a rifle contained a twenty-*876 one-inch rifle barrel, a rifle stock, and a wooden fore-end. Id. Assembling these three parts with the Contender's receiver would result in a carbine rifle with a twenty-one inch rifle barrel, which, like the pistol itself, would not be a "firearm" for purposes of the NFA. Id. at 507-08, 112 S.Ct. 2102. However, by using the ten-inch pistol barrel from the Contender instead of the twenty-one-inch rifle barrel from the parts kit, a short-barreled rifle--a "firearm" under 26 U.S.C. § 5845(a)(3)--could be assembled. Id." From US v. KENT, 175 F.3d 870 (1999) discussing US v. T/C)

"the fact that the unregulated Contender pistol can be converted not only into a short-barreled rifle, which is a regulated firearm, but also into a long-barreled rifle, which is not. The packaging of pistol and kit has an obvious utility for those who want both a pistol and a regular rifle, and the question is whether the mere possibility of their use to assemble a regulated firearm is enough to place their combined packaging within the scope of "making" one. "


"Accordingly, we conclude that the Contender pistol and carbine kit when packaged together by Thompson/Center have not been "made" into a short-barreled rifle for purposes of the NFA."


The Supreme Court may not always be right, but they are final.

Cheers, Otto

Ok now I am a bit confused.

Are all Contender/Encore frames registered as pistol or not?

If so I get from the above post on the ruling that the frame can be configured at will. But wouldn't NFA still apply for minimum length requirements?

No, its not convert any T/C product at will.

A Contender pistol can be converted into a legal carbine if:
1. the >16" barrel is installed
2. the shoulder stock is installed (in that order)
and
3. the overall length of the carbine is >26" when assembled. (Yes, the NFA still applies for OAL)

A Contender/Encore/etc carbine cannot be made into a pistol, for the same reason that the lower receiver from an assembled AR carbine/rifle cannot be used to make an AR pistol.

If you start with a factory T/C pistol, you can convert it to/from a carbine, but if you start with a factory carbine, you can't make it into a pistol without it becoming an NFA SBR. Under the NFA, if its original form is as a rifle, it is always considered a rifle for NFA purposes. (the "made or remade" rifle language in 26 USC 5845 vs. the "originally designed" definition of a pistol in 18 USC 921)

I doubt the T/C factory carbines are registered as pistols.

Cheers, Otto

Edited because I can't spel

Thanks for clarifying otto. That is how I understood it. So if I buy a  frame alone and register it as a pistol then I can go both ways within NFA rules correct?