Difference between AR pistol lower and Rifle lower

Stomper · Apr 27, 2017

Wombat of Doom said:
With an 80% lower, is there any problem making it as a pistol since it is manufactured and never transferred?

You're good to go, no issues. Here's (one of) my 80%ers...

308 · Apr 27, 2017

Stomper said:
You're good to go, no issues. Here's (one of) my 80%ers...

View attachment 359506

Nice job!

uberguy · Apr 27, 2017

edslhead said:
I don't get it? Who would know?

In Washington, the state if it's filed as a pistol at the time of purchase.
But not if it's a rifle or 'other';

Stomper · Apr 27, 2017

uberguy said:
In Washington, the state if it's filed as a pistol at the time of purchase.
But not if it's a rifle or 'other';

It MUST be marked as "other" for a stripped lower. Yes it's legally a "firearm", but it's LEGALLY neither a pistol or rifle, hence it must be marked "other".

etrain16 · Apr 27, 2017

Stomper said:
It MUST be marked as "other" for a stripped lower. Yes it's legally a "firearm", but it's LEGALLY neither a pistol or rifle, hence it must be marked "other".

This question came up regarding the NWFA stripped lowers. @NWCustomFirearms mentioned, IIRC, that they are marked as other, but because they could be made into pistols, he couldn't transfer to OR residents in his shop, they had to be shipped to an OR FFL. No option was available to transfer as a rifle to get around that.

Flopsweat · Apr 27, 2017

Stomper said:
All your answers are here... from the horse's arse:

2011-4 - Pistols Configured from Rifles; Rifles Configured from Pistols | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Thanks! Some relevant text from this excruciatingly complex document:

Although not defined in the NFA, the term "pistol" is defined by the Act's implementing regulations, 27 CFR 479.11, as "a weapon originally designed, made, and intended to fire a projectile (bullet) from one or more barrels when held in one hand, and having (a) a chamber(s) as an integral part(s) of, or permanently aligned with, the bore(s); and (b) a short stock designed to be gripped by one hand and at an angle to and extending below the line of the bore(s)" (emphasis added).

...

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 reassembled 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.

There is a lot more in there, and this is of course not intended to be legal advice, but it seems to me to say that you can go pistol->rifle->pistol just fine, but not rifle->pistol. It needs to start as a pistol.

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.