Okay, so I have all the parts in shopping cart:
BCM BFH™ 11.5" Carbine Barrel, Stripped
DD Upper
BCM BCG
Troy Industries TRX Extreme Battle Rail Modular Free Float Handguard AR-15
Troy Industries Low Profile Gas Block AR-15 Standard Barrel .750" Inside Diameter Steel Matte
Vltor BCM Gunfighter Mod 4 Medium Charging Handle Assembly AR-15 Aluminum Black
Can I order this stuff and assemble them and attach them to a rifle lower that I have changed out the buffer tube to a pistol buffer tube? (I was told at the gun store this was okay, but it did not sound right to me.)
Does changing out the buffer tube make it a “pistol” or do I need to buy it as a pistol lower?
If not can I order all this without getting in trouble with the ATF if it is left as parts until the stamp goes through?
You will need to buy a pistol AR, or a lower that has never been built as a rifle. There is no such thing as a pistol or rifle lower, a receiver alone does not meet the definition of either.
ATF recently ruled that a stripped lower can be made into a pistol first, then rifle, and go back to pistol configuration at will, with appropriate barrel lengths. You will not be able to go from a lower which has a stock and a barreled upper on it at the same time into a pistol lower. The gunstore probably figured changing buffer tubes was 10-4 since they read the ruling but forgot to mention to you that it was pistol to rifle to pistol and not just rifle to pistol.
If you bought an assembled lower, not a complete rifle, and it had a stock on it then it should have been transfered to you as an “other” and not a rifle. In that case you can switch out the buffer tube and be fine. But if you have a complete rifle at home which was purchased as a rifle and want to use that lower it’s a no go as a pistol.
aggiez and Todd are both correct. You can take the stock off a lower receiver that has never had a rifle upper on it and install the parts for a pistol. But if you put ANY upper on the lower, you have ‘built’ a rifle…either a typical rifle or an illegal SBR, depending on barrel length. So pull the stock first.
Todd K. is correct. Here is the letter, which is addressed to someone else, but carries legal precedent, that a lower must have a stock and barreled upper on it at the same time, to be consider a rifle-only lower receiver.
It is also worth noting that a lower might want to be verified that it has not been test fired from the manufacturer while a stock was in place. If purchasing a complete lower this could have happened, but may not. A letter from the manufacturer dictating it has not is probably not a bad idea. Finally, if building a pistol from a stripped lower, add a buffer tube and any barreled upper to it. A pistol is not contigent upon barrel length—merely the absence of a stock while a barreled action is in place.
Thanks for the clarification on that. I suppose the other question would be; If it was just a lower and had a rifle stock added and then removed, who would know?
Not saying anyone should break the law, but I think sometimes it’s being overthought.
I was lost in thought when I posted that. I meant to say if it was truly made into a rifle (by a person) and they then made it into a pistol no one would know unless he told the whole world or called the AG and ratted himself out.
I’ve read through this a couple times and wanted to make sure I have this right. Would this scenario be legal:
I purchase a stripped Noveske lower, send it away for SBR engraving, send the Form 1 in for it, and install a stock. An upper is never installed on the rifle. I purchase a Noveske 10.5" upper while I wait for the stamp to come back but it is never installed on the lower. I also have a complete AR rifle.
Would this be legal since the lower was never made into a rifle or would one be getting themselves into a gray area? I hear a lot about ‘constructive intent’ and it seems like this scenario would fall into that category because the Form 1 was sent in for the lower showing that I ‘intend’ to install the short upper on it.
From what I have read, if you have a SBR upper and no stamp and only rifle lowers you are showing constructive intent. You cannot have only rifle lowers and a SBR upper even if you are waiting on the stamp. If you, however, have a pistol lower and no stamp you are good to go.
Do you know of a true constructive intent case? How is he going to get into trouble unless he does something stupid in which case he will have a bigger headache than just having a “potential” unregistered SBR?
Conventional wisdom says this- who will know? Are you going to take pics of it and email them to the local BATFE?