AR Lowers considered rifles?

[HoosierLife]

I know an AR rifle can't be converted to an AR pistol, but are finished AR lowers considered a rifle?

Bottom line, can I buy a finished lower and turn it into an AR pistol?

 

[d.kaufman]

If you buy a complete lower with a rifle or adjustable stock it will be classified as a rifle. If buy a complete lower with pistol brace or tube it will be transferred as a pistol. If you buy a stripped lower it is transferred as "other" and can be used either way.

My understanding is if its transferred as pistol it can be turned into a rifle and then back to pistol if you wanted. If transferred as rifle it must stay a rifle.

I'm sure someone will be along with links to actual law

 

[Mgderf]

If you buy a complete lower with a rifle or adjustable stock it will be classified as a rifle. If buy a complete lower with pistol brace or tube it will be transferred as a pistol. If you buy a stripped lower it is transferred as "other" and can be used either way.

My understanding is if its transferred as pistol it can be turned into a rifle and then back to pistol if you wanted. If transferred as rifle it must stay a rifle.

I'm sure someone will be along with links to actual law

^ This, in a nutshell.

 

[HoosierLife]

So, if I bought one at a truck stop from a guy I met on Ingo, how would I know?

 

[d.kaufman]

So, if I bought one at a truck stop from a guy I met on Ingo, how would I know?

You'd have to ask him/her and hope they tell the truth

 

[MCgrease08]

To answer your bottom line question, no. You can't buy a finished rifle lower and turn it into a pistol. If it starts as a rifle it's always a rifle. If it starts as a pistol and can go to rifle and back again as many times as you want. If it starts as "other" you can also turn it into a pistol and then rifle.

Some argue you can't turn an "other" into a rifle first then a pistol. I say, you can. How would anyone know? There is no paper trail of it being a rifle first.

My bottom line takeaway is, the laws are retarded, but they are what they are.

 

[HoosierLife]

Well, assuming they may knock our doors down one day, if I buy a lower with no paper trail, what is, legally, to stop me from turning it into a pistol?

 

[maxwelhse]

Well, assuming they may knock our doors down one day, if I buy a lower with no paper trail, what is, legally, to stop me from turning it into a pistol?

I've grappled with this concept as well. What I have decided is that as long as there is one lower that is legally identified as an other or pistol, you should be good with as many pistol uppers as you want to own because they can legally all "belong" to that lower. So... If you leave the mystery lower as a rifle or without an upper for storage uses, no problem from the door kickers except all of the other problems you're about to have from the door kickers.

There truly doesn't seem to be any better way to comply with the current laws than that. And... for you to get in trouble, your door would have to be kicked in already and that genie isn't going back in the bottle anyhow. So...

 

[HoosierLife]

Touché

 

[BigRed]

Yet another example of the most assinine rules....brought to you by assinine bureaucrats.

 

[roscott]

You can also call the manufacturer and find out if it left their possession as rifle, pistol, or other.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Now for the bonus material:

The reason that short barrel rifles and shotguns are NFA weapons is that handguns were originally to have been NFA weapons and the sbr/sbs were included to prevent the obvious workaround to get a more or less handgun.

A revolver association i had never heard of and didn't take the time to look up successfully lobbied to have handguns removed from the NFA but restrictions on the workarounds were left in place, which makes about as much sense as a screen door on a submarine, but it is what it is.