If you have other AR-type rifles around, you may want to keep the complete 11.5" upper in a separate location until you can legally build the pistol.
Reasons:
1. it is compatible with the standard AR (rifle) lowers
2. the AR rifle and 11.5 upper are readily joined by 2 push-pins
3. the resulting combination wold be an unregistered SBR
4. possession of the 11.5 upper without a legitimate reason constituted constructive possession of an SBR by the defendant and resulted in his conviction of violating the NFA.
United States v. Kent 175 F.3d 870 (USCA 11 Cir, 1999)
"The evidence indicates that the upper receiver unit was a complete, intact unit and that this short-barreled upper receiver unit was "compatible" and could be interchanged readily with the upper receiver unit on the Colt AR-15. Moreover, an ATF agent testified that the result of interchanging these upper receiver units would be "a weapon which is designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder, capable of discharging a shot through a rifle bore[,] and having a barrel length of less than sixteen inches." Because the short-barreled upper receiver unit and the Colt AR-15 lower receiver unit were located in the same, small apartment and could be connected so quickly and easily, creating an operable short-barreled rifle with only a minimum of effort, evidence that Kent possessed both of these units was sufficient to prove that Kent possessed a "rifle having a barrel ... of less than 16 inches in length" for purposes of § 5861(d)."
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175 F.3d 870 at 874.
Arguably you
will have a legitimate reason: making a legal pistol after 9/13, but you don't have a pistol lower
yet, and it isn't legal to build one that way
yet, and you can't convert any existing rifles to the pistol configuration without ATF Form 1 approval.
Will this be an issue? probably not. When were you last raided by the police or ATF?
But MI is not a friendly state to NFA weapons, so there may be state issues involved as well, and NFA federal violations are 10 years/$10,000.
The dealer is already holding the receiver so that you are completely within the AWB laws; if I were you, I'd ask him to hold on to the upper and avoid all potential NFA problems as well. After all, the constructive possession issue applies to the NFA, not the AWB.
Just my $.02.
Cheers, Otto
ETA: I have a Model1 pistol as well (7.5"), but mine is the fixed-mag type, so I am awaiting the death of the ban as well; detachable mags will make shooting the thing much more convenient.
To avoid NFA issues, I used the screw-type pivot pin with sling swivel in place of the front takedown pin, and locktited it in place, so that the upper is not readily attachable to any of my AR rifle lowers. Probably not necessary, for the pistol lower is a legitimate reason for the upper, but that was an easy way to avoid several more issues in
Kent altogether.
Enjoy the pistol; the pyrotech flash is a lot of fun.
Cheers,