Then they segue into bolt action rifles. If you think of a traditional bolt action rifle, the serialized portion of the gun is the barreled action. So now the ATF is saying a bolt action upper assembly should be classified as such regardless that it sits on a serialized AR lower.
Non-Standard AR Uppers = Firearms
Near the end of the letter the ATF goes on to say they have previously determined that non-standard AR type upper receivers are considered firearms even when attached to an AR-type receivers. This is a little concerning. I wonder what previous examples are they referring to? The closest example I can think of is the FN SCAR platform. The upper receiver is the serialized portion of the firearm and it attaches to something that resembles an AR-type receiver. However the lower is not a serialized component.
Therein lies the rub. This passage does not mention anything about bolt action receivers. I can see how they could come to the conclusion that bolt action receivers are traditionally considered the firearm and therefore need to be serialized. But now this bleeds over into AR style firearms? The passage above could then be construed that any AR upper can be considered a firearm. This is a slippery slope. If this is the case and all AR receivers are considered firearms then they will need to be transferred via 4473. And of course you can’t just order them online and have them shipped to your house.
Lets hope it does not come to this. But lets take a look at some other issues with this letter. Specifically manually operated AR uppers. Does this mean the upper receiver of guns like the Troy Pump Action Rifle are now themselves firearms? What about a straight pull BCG like the Lantac E-BCG? By installing this have you now “redesigned” the upper receiver and made a firearm? Making your own firearm in of itself is not illegal but doesn’t there need to be a component of manufacturing? Simply assembling components is not manufacturing. Otherwise 80% lowers wouldn’t be a thing
If the ATF presses this new interpretation and enforces it, what happens to all the manually operated AR upper assemblies out in customers hands? Could this issue bleed over to semi auto upper assemblies?
My take: It’s a slippery slope, for sure. Even if a bolt action upper counts as a firearm because it’s a barreled receiver and that’s how bolt actions are classified as firearms, it’s not as if the barreled bolt action can be used effectively without the FCG in the lower receiver. You could theoretically disable the gas on a semi-auto upper and operate it manually by finding a way to hit the firing pin. Does that make it a firearm too? I say ATF is over-reaching here.
A traditional bolt action barreled action contains all parts to make it function, including fire control. An AR upper, not so. But does this mean I can use my SBR on any lower? Perhaps SBRs are non-standard next?
My take, the pistol braces have gone too far and they want an out to regulate SBR uppers on pistol lowers. This will be a gateway because it affects so few it’ll fly.
This. Not aware of banks getting robbed with water cooled machine guns, but those would have been very handy for deleting the causes of the great depression.
Heck, you mail order the predecessor to the Ma Duece, and they were never used by criminals before the GCA.
As nearly as I can tell, there may have been 2 or 3 civilians shot with the .50 BMG cartridge by criminals since it was introduced in 1918. It is big and scary and makes liberals wet themselves, but not really the best thing for any criminal undertaking.
Walk a mile in another man’s shoes. Imagine you are setting out to commit some wrong against someone. Do you really want your intended victim to keep you from achieving your goal, perhaps eternally?
Same thing with them too in most cases. Some may legitimately be passive or afraid of weapons, but that is not the majority. Pay attention to them, from groups on down to individuals. They may want to relieve you of your property, they may want to punch you when stopped at an intersection, or they may want someone in uniform to do it on their behalf. They don’t want that fantasy to be derailed by the intended victim putting an end to it.
I think it’s because somebody at the ATF saw that .50 uppers don’t feed through the magazine well … so to them it is a bolt-action rifle.
I could understand them doing this IF single-shot AR lowers were not classified as firearms. There is no reason why they should be, since they are purely trigger-group housings.
Logically they should never have classified AR-type lowers as the firearm. If the firearm was always the part that housed the bolt, no-matter if it utilizes a magazine or not, then that should be the serialized portion.
…But, much like a lie that requires an increasing number of lies to support the first lie, they chose to go down a stupid path and it continues to make things unnecessarily complicated for everyone.