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This discussion interested me as well since i am interested in a pistol purchase in the future and accidently ran across this and i thought of this post. Didn't mean to add on to the conversation in a members sale thread.

Under U.S. firearms laws, only the lower receiver of the AR-15 is considered a firearm and subject to purchasing restrictions. (This is not universally the case with rifles. On some other rifles, such as the FN FAL, Heckler & Koch 91, 93, (G-3, G-33), 94, MP-5 or SP-89 (plus clones), the upper is the serial-numbered part, and thus the firearm.) The AR-15 upper receiver assembly is simply considered a part, and may be freely purchased and mail-ordered in most locations. This is a very attractive feature for enthusiasts, who can purchase a number of upper receivers (often in different calibers) and interchange them with the same lower receiver. However, one must be thoroughly familiar with firearms laws before doing this as it is possible to make a configuration that requires a special approval or tax stamp or a configuration that is illegal under state law.

For example, an 11" barrel with only a pistol grip is a legal handgun in most locations. Adding a shoulder stock to an AR-15 with a barrel shorter than 16" would constitute constructing a Short-Barreled Rifle (SBR) under NFA rules - subjective to a $200 tax stamp. Constructing an AR-15 pistol using a lower receiver which had already been designated a rifle by the manufacturer (shipped out for distribution), not just described as such on an ATF form 4473 when sold only as a receiver would constitute the construction of a firearm, since the pistol was constructed from an existing rifle. The receiver, or serial-numbered part is still considered a firearm, but a receiver has unique status assigned by the Gun Control Act of 1968 as amended, and ATF regulations or rulings. ATF ruling 07-07-2009 illustrates a receiver's unique legal status (even if they can only be made into a rifle). Under the Thompson-Center Supreme Court ruling, TC V. U.S. 91-164 you can possess parts for both the rifle and pistol so long as they are not assembled improperly.

If a lower receiver is designated and transferred as a pistol (only a complete firearm from the manufacturer is a pistol), you are disallowed from installing a butt stock or a forward pistol grip so long as the former would render it an SBR (short barreled rifle), with the latter effectively constructing an AOW (Any Other Weapon) requiring the ATF approval and tax stamp.

A complete firearm using an AR-15 lower receiver shipped as such from the licensed firearms manufacturer cannot have a forward pistol grip otherwise it must be registered as Any Other Weapon or AOW (by a Class-II manufacturer) and transferred in accordance with the National Firearms Act (NFA) to the end recipient with the payment of the $5.00 transfer tax. An individual can make the AOW him or herself on a BATF Form-1 and must pay a $200.00 "making tax." It is a felony to assemble, possess, or transfer such a weapon without obtaining ATF approval (subject to state approval) and the corresponding $200 tax stamp.

In order to LEGALLY install a buttstock without violating the NFA, you must remove the short-barrel and upper receiver, and replace it w/ an upper receiver that has a 16-inch or longer barrel. After setting aside the short-barrel, you then may install a buttstock and make it into a rifle. To be state law compliant (some states won't let you have both parts sets) is a good idea to store any offending parts so that they are not readily available to violate state law.

Conversely – if you bought a AR-15 rifle and want to make an AR-15 handgun, you are out of luck if you want to add a short barrel to the receiver without NFA registration (and $200.00 making/transfer tax) – you must buy a brand new AR-15-type receiver to make a pistol. A receiver is still a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3) – (A, B, & C).

A rifle is described by18-USC § 921 (a)(7):

(7) The term "rifle" means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of an explosive to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger.

Section 925(a)(29) describes a pistol (or handgun):

(29) The term "handgun" means –

(A) A firearm which has a short stock and is designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand; and

(B) Any combination of parts from which a firearm described in sub-paragraph (A) can be assembled.

Since a receiver is not a rifle, you can build either or both guns so long as you strictly abide by the restrictions of the National Firearms Act (NFA) (NFA). Read the aforementioned ATF ruling completely and stay informed.
 
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