can anyone tell me the atf's overall length of a rifle.is it 16in barrel and at least 26 total.if so could  you not buy a preban telestock and make it permanently the right length for the shooter.
           thanks,
                gcsdborr

You have the lengths right, but I do not know the legality of the stock question. Sorry.

The only stock modification jobs that I have seen have been with the stock in the fully extended position. However, I asked the guy if he had a copy of the ATF letter of approval and he just walked away. SOOOO, I would not venture to try to make one without hearing some sort of decision from the ATF first.

Just to be on the safe side....if there is one!!

DK

As far as I know the law you have it correct.

The barrel must be 16" and the overall length must be 26". Any shorter on either end and it is a violation of the 1934 NFA. If you can modify the stock and still fall in the 26" overall bracket keeping a 16' barrel your good to go.

Remember, the Treasury department initially got Miller because he had a shotgun that was under 26" in length.

You'll have to pay $200 to the ATF to have a rifle that is under 26" in length.

Alex

***Edited to say that if I'm wrong please feel free to correct me***

I would have to diagree ,you can fully colaspe the stock and still be over 26" .Besides if that were the case you would be able to find stocks fixed in all postions to accomidate your particular needs.

Overall length is measured in shooting position, not folded or telescoped shut.

Question is moot with the AR15, however, as the only way to get under 26" is to have a barrel shorter than 16".....

-- Chuck

not a lawyer but..By law a rifle is defined as having stock and being capable of being fired from the shoulder.
You could, however, fix collapseable buttstock(?JD Weld-ask atf. they'll tell you) or buy tactical buttstock from www.rockriverarms.com. Its about same length.

I'm pretty sure some states upped the total required length to 27" so I'd check the state laws too.

thanks all.my state law says 16 barrel and 26 total.i was curious about the stock question.i guess ill have to wait till january to contact the atf.i noticed on the forum were rock river arms was having diffuculty suppling there short tactical stock and i also thought it said on there web site leo only.i am a leo so i dont have that problem but i have a postban that i would like to put a telestock on.and since you shoot from the same length i really dont see the need in a telestock except that it looks cool.i have a department issued colt commando 11.5 and with the stock all the way in it is 26 total.so a 16 in upper with stock all the way in should be 30+.

                 thanks again  
                   billy

in michigan anything under 30" is considered a handgun and must be registered as such. a good example is a thompson contender with a 16" barrel and a buttstock will not be 30" and will have to be registered as a handgun.

But a handgun with a stock is illegal, unless it's a registered SBR.  How does this work?

I was wondering the same thing?  I would like a shorter stock for my post ban bushy A3 with 16" barrel.
I know that a telescoping stock is a no-no, but why not a shorter stock?  Is the A1 stock much shorter? Would that be legal?
I don't really like the way the tele stocks feel, but if I could fix one in a shorter position, I'd do it.
Either of these options doesn't seem to violate the ATF's rules on overall length or collapsable stocks.  Then why haven't the AR15 fans done this?  We can have a zillion grip and barrel configurations and enough strap options to choke a horse, but why no stock legnth options?