OK, I’m still in the stage of trying to decide whether to go the SBR route. Here are my questions and after searching I cannot seem to locate an answer, so I’ll ask directly here.
I already possess 2 complete NON SBR rifles (16 & 20 " uppers mated to non registerd lowers)
I also possess 2 complete NON SBR lowers with no uppers on either of them. Just the lowers.
Now, lets say I get another lower and have it NFA SBR registered. I buy a NFA 11" upper and put it on my NFA registered lower. (complete rifle)
Am I legal?
Would I be in “constructive possession” of an unregistered SBR because I have 2 unregistered lowers sitting in a box? And 2 complete rifles with non registered lowers albeit with 16 & 20" barreled uppers on them
Next question, I then buy ANOTHER short 14 1/2" upper. What I have now is…
1 complete NFA registered SBR /(11") short complete upper mated to registered SBR lower
1 14 1/2" upper not on any lower at all (plan to interchange the 11" and 14 14 1/2" ON THE REGISTRED NFA SBR LOWER)
2 non NFA registred lowers with no uppers on them
AND
2 complete rilfes , not NFA registed ( but complete rifles/20 & 16"uppers mated to lowers)
Is this legal?
OR…would I be in violation of NFA since I have 1 registered SBR that has a short upper on it, a short upper with NO lower attached, and 2 non registered lowers. (and 2 non registerd complete long rifles).
Even if I have 1 unattached short upper and 2 other non registered lowers? By the way, they’re complete lowers, not stripped.
So for arguments sake, I could conceivably take my complete short upper and mate it to one of my non registered lowers in 10 seconds. Constructive possession or no?
Another question, if I register a SBR does ATF vistit my home/place of business like an FFL? Do they have periodic
“inspection” rights, like a C&R FFL?
You need one lower registered as an SBR. You can mount any upper on it that you want, any barrel length, as long as you can return the rifle to the configuration that you put on your Form 1 when you registered it (retain that upper or barrel in your possession). If you get rid of the upper or barrel length you registered it with, you’re supposed to notify ATF that you did so and that rifle now has a different configuration.
Theoretically, (theoretically), having a short barrel upper in your possession without a registered SBR lower in your possession constitutes constructive intent. This is a debatable point, but if you want to err on the side of caution, don’t do it.
This thread is getting WAY convoluted. OP, although the specific wording of your post is confusing. I believe I understand what you are asking.
You will have (1) 11" SBR, (1) 16" AR, (1) 20" AR, which are all complete rifles. The 14.5" upper is to be interchanged with the 11" upper for varying barrel lengths on the SBR.
The two unregistered lowers are nul and void. Basically, pretend they do not exist. Complete or stripped lowers, regardless you have (1) registered SBR lower. So long as you don’t mate the 14.5" upper to an unregistered lower, you should be fine. At least this is my understanding.
As long as the registered lower has a short barrel upper on it, your good. As I understand it, all you need is one NFA registered lower. Just dont put a SBR upper on an unregistered lower. You can have one registered lower, 5 non-NFA lowers, and 20 Short Barreled uppers. But if a SBR upper is on an unregistered lowered, you’re toast. Make sense?
If you own one registered lower, buy all the uppers you want.
If you own a short upper and put it on a non-registered lower (or non-pistol) you broke the rules. Owning multiple short uppers with one registered lower is what most people do.
Owning other rifles or lowers is not a factor. After all, how many people that own an M-16 or registered AR-15 SBR don’t own a full-size “match/SDM/DMR/infrantry” rifle?
The same can said of Remington 870’s:
[ol]
[li]Full size field gun
[/li][li]SBS for the field or home
[/li][li]AOW for a “road” gun and general fun (mine fits nicely in a carry-on suitcase but, that’s a story for a different day)
[/li][/ol]field gun
If I register a lower as SBR, does ATF have policy/reg/right/whatever to visit the location of the SBR (my home) and “inspect” it? Either announced or unannounced?
I used to have a Curio & Relic license and I believe ATF had the right to “vist” (announed) once per year.
From BATF…
“Upon the demand of any ATF agent, the registered owner must produce the original ATF Form with tax stamp affixed to prove the firearm is legally owned.”
It should be noted, only a ATF agent has the 24/7 demand to inspect. But, I think you be hard pressed to convince an LEO he doesn’t have the right to inspect your SBR and paperwork; which technically, and legally he does not have the right to do without suspicion or probable cause a crime is in progress or has occurred.
Finally, how many owners carry their original forms? Not many I suspect since NFA Branch will not replace a damaged tax stamp. So I suspect the knock and demand to inspect will occur at the address on the form.
Yeh, me too. However, I consider it extraordinarily unlikely that I’ll ever have an ATF agent come up to me at the range and demand “Papers Please!”. Likewise, unlikely that local LE (assuming they even know that an SBR needs to be registered with ATF) would ask for the registration since that registration isn’t required as part of state law in this state.