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So if I bought an AR pistol, put an upper on it with a 16" barrel, but because of the buffer tube, the OAL length is less than 26", it is still a pistol right?
If I put a collapsible stock on it where the buttstock is in the fully collapsed position and that makes it less than 26", is it then a rifle, but an SBR? Or is it a pistol with a buttstock?
What if I put a "blade" or arm brace on it and it is less than 26"? That is a pistol right? If I put it to my shoulder then that is an illegal act even though I didn't change the configuration? At that point, is it a pistol with a buttstock or an SBR? Probably still a pistol right?
I think I know the answer to each question, these are just hypotheticals to illustrate how convoluted our laws are, and how easy it would be to catch a person out when they really meant to be law abiding. I got to thinking about this after the thread on "firearm" shorty shotguns (barrels less than 18" and a pistol grip) that were not a "sawed off shotgun", because although the barrel is less than 18" the OAL is 26"+, but you can't do the same to a shotgun after it is manufactured.
I am not trying to start a political thread, just want to illustrate that a person needs to know all the little intricacies and loopholes and tricks and traps and gotchas. You also need to know the history of a firearm - e.g., you need to know that an AR pistol was manufactured that way, not modified from a rifle to be a pistol and therefore legally an SBR - even though they are mechanically and dimensionally the same exact thing.
And yes, this is not entirely hypothetical as someday I want to get an AR pistol and be able to convert back and forth between a rifle and a pistol configuration. I know that I will be safe as long as I don't put a rifle buttstock on the AR with a barrel shorter than 16".
If I put a collapsible stock on it where the buttstock is in the fully collapsed position and that makes it less than 26", is it then a rifle, but an SBR? Or is it a pistol with a buttstock?
What if I put a "blade" or arm brace on it and it is less than 26"? That is a pistol right? If I put it to my shoulder then that is an illegal act even though I didn't change the configuration? At that point, is it a pistol with a buttstock or an SBR? Probably still a pistol right?
I think I know the answer to each question, these are just hypotheticals to illustrate how convoluted our laws are, and how easy it would be to catch a person out when they really meant to be law abiding. I got to thinking about this after the thread on "firearm" shorty shotguns (barrels less than 18" and a pistol grip) that were not a "sawed off shotgun", because although the barrel is less than 18" the OAL is 26"+, but you can't do the same to a shotgun after it is manufactured.
I am not trying to start a political thread, just want to illustrate that a person needs to know all the little intricacies and loopholes and tricks and traps and gotchas. You also need to know the history of a firearm - e.g., you need to know that an AR pistol was manufactured that way, not modified from a rifle to be a pistol and therefore legally an SBR - even though they are mechanically and dimensionally the same exact thing.
And yes, this is not entirely hypothetical as someday I want to get an AR pistol and be able to convert back and forth between a rifle and a pistol configuration. I know that I will be safe as long as I don't put a rifle buttstock on the AR with a barrel shorter than 16".