Had a friend pose a question I couldnt answer. Can He buy a pistol lower now and once the paperwork is approved for the form 1 convert the pistol to a sbr rifle?
Thanks for the help.
Well, there’s not really any such thing as a “pistol lower”.
But, he can build an AR pistol now, and file a Form 1 and convert it to an SBR once approved.
Pistol lower
As I understand it would be completed on the form 4473 as pistol.
http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=LWR-BCM-PISTOL
Unless there’s some random state law (and CA may have one), all lowers are transferred as “Other” on a 4473. Even complete lowers with a stock…they’re still just a receiver until an upper is attached. That’s why you have to be 21 to buy one instead of 18 like with a long gun.
You can buy one like you posted, even if had “PISTOL” engraved and build it into a rifle. You could also buy a complete/built lower with a stock, and build it into a pistol if you remove the stock before attaching the upper.
So…you can buy a lower configured for a pistol or for a rifle, but they’re all “other” firearms instead of being rifle lowers and pistol lowers. That might come across as po-tay-to/po-tah-to, but there is a difference to the ATF in regards to how the forms are filled out.