Ok, so given certain assemblies of recent pistol builds I’ve seen, these have very much caught my eye.
Since I just so happen to have a stripped lower laying around, I figured I’d get in on the whole SB15 thing before they get axed.
I think I have the basic ideas/parts down, but I want to double check a couple legal issues for my own peace of mind.
In VA, is there any sort of limit on barrel length for a pistol build?
Looking at a 10.3/10.5/11.5 barrel build, and I’m assuming there is no problem here since VA is SBR friendly.
Not adding a VFG, but maybe a dedicated handstop like the XTM panels or AFG, so OAL shouldn’t be an issue.
I’ve been familiar with the old 7.5" standard as a "pistol, so the longer barreled pistol stuff is pretty foreign to me outside of a full-on SBR- my little blue book of VA gun laws mentions nothing about AR pistols.
The lower, according to my reading here, anything stripped is GTG, since they’re transferred as “other” after '08, and this was gotten last year or so I think.
However, I’m confused because there was a member here from another state (Michigan I believe), that mentioned his FFL said it had to be transferred as a “rifle”, and had to specifically request it be marked as a “pistol”.
Maybe it’s just gun shop BS, but I swear I heard the same thing in VA, and it’s bugging me…
Or does it even matter for a stripped lower? Per threads here (https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?140616-AR-Pistol-Lower-Laws) and here(https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?77292-AR-Pistol-Questions),
"“Therefore, so long as a parts kit or collection of parts is not used to make a firearm regulated under the NFA (e.g., a short-barreled rifle or “any other weapon” as defined by 26 U.S.C. 5845(e)), no NFA firearm is made when the same parts are assembled or re-assembled in a configuration not regulated under the NFA (e.g., a pistol, or a rifle with a barrel of 16 inches or more in length). Merely assembling and disassembling such a rifle does not result in the making of a new weapon; rather, it is the same rifle in a knockdown condition (i.e., complete as to all component parts). Likewise, because it is the same weapon when reconfigured as a pistol, no “weapon made from a rifle” subject to the NFA has been made…”
And
“…Nonetheless, if a handgun or other weapon with an overall length of less than 26 inches, or a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length is assembled or otherwise produced from a weapon originally assembled or produced only as a rifle, such a weapon is a “weapon made from a rifle” as defined by 26 U.S.C. 5845(a)(4). Such a weapon would not be a “pistol” because the weapon was not originally designed, made, and intended to fire a projectile by one hand.”
[i]"What is the legality in regards to a pistol, does the lower have to say pistol? IE: a designated pistol lower?
There is no legal requirement for a lower to have “pistol” on it. The ATF has specified that a lower, even if it has had a stock on it, can be used as a pistol as long as the lower never had a stock and a barreled upper on it at the same time. Just purchase a stripped lower of your choice and build away.
Or does it just need to have a pistol buffer tube with no stock?
The ATF has also said that a normal carbine buffer tube is acceptable as long as there is no way to attach a stock to it. I filled the channel full of epoxy for mine, I also used a commercial receiver extension as all the stocks I have in my house are Milspec and will not fit. I also put a foam cover over it. When you pickup a buffer tube for half the price of a normal “pistol” tube and it’s had more machining done to it you wonder why manufacturers would charge more for something they do less work to…
…IE: I can buy a 10.5" upper and put it on a pistol lower with no paperwork, correct? The only paperwork you have to do, unless there is a specific legal requirement for your city/state is a 4473 background form. After that, you can purchase whatever upper you want for this gun. I received a 12" 6.8 barrel from Wilson Combat in the mail. It was $150 shipped a while ago and am glad I made the purchase. You can order barrels or complete uppers ad inifitum and have multiple uppers for your pistol lower.
I ask because I noticed a few posts of people who installed a pistol buffer tube while waiting on their paperwork but I assume they are not using a “pistol” marked lower as it seems that rifle is intended to be an SBR. Is this correct?
Not necessarily—again lowers have no legal requirement to be marked pistol. The ATF has said that a lower must be a virgin lower—meaning no barreled action attached while a stock is present on the lower. Just use a virgin lower. Also some states do not allow SBRs, so a pistol is the only way to proceed with a weapon if they want a legal method of having a shorter than 16" barreled weapon. I built my pistol lower as a legal means to build uppers upon prior to getting a SBR stamp. I am glad I made a pistol too because I’ve had fun building uppers for myself and I can transfer the parts kit to another lower as a function testing means before SBRing another lower, which I will do as soon as my F1 returns. Until then, I like my pistol lower with my shorty uppers."[/i]
So apparently if it has a pistol setup while waiting for NFA paperwork, then it theoretically is a “rifle” lower since it will be an SBR once paperwork goes through, right?
So even if some “helpful” person marked it as “rifle” not “other” on the 4473, does it even matter since it’s a “virgin” lower never configured as anything?
Wouldn’t it be the same if I, for example, bought a stripped lower in a private/FTF buy- how should I know what the original owner had it transferred as? As long as it didn’t come complete with a buffer and stock, it’s a “virgin” lower and therefore GTG for a pistol build, right?
Yeah, I know- it sounds like a dumb question that’s been beat to death, but I know a person who recently got an AR, and yet didn’t know certain magazines were legal to own here in VA, and my faith in my local FFL is is not high, as they’re not “gun guys” there…:rolleyes:
So, I’d really appreciate some VA-specific clarification on this issue…
