storing the upper for my SBR

[7.62-5.56Plinker]

could i store my upper at my buddies house until my stamp gets here? hes got ARs and stuff, but he is an FFL dealer. would i have to store it at his shop or can it be at his house in his safe?

 

[esrice]

I'm storing mine at a buddy's house. This buddy already has registered SBR lowers so its no biggie.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

If you're worried about either of you having constructive intent on your hands, you could always put a lock of some kind on it then have the other person keep the key.

IE - upper at buddy's house, you have the key
IE - upper at your house, buddy has the key

 

[ryknoll3]

Give it to your buddy, no lock required. If he's got personally owned SBR's or AR pistols he can keep it at his house. If he doesn't, keeping it at the shop would be safer.

 

[irishfan]

So you can't actually have possesion of the SBR upper until you have your paperwork back? I thought you just could not put them together was all. I'm glad someone posted this topic as I was looking at doing one in the future but haven't bought any parts yet.

 

[ryknoll3]

So you can't actually have possesion of the SBR upper until you have your paperwork back? I thought you just could not put them together was all. I'm glad someone posted this topic as I was looking at doing one in the future but haven't bought any parts yet.

Correct. If you possess all of the parts to assemble an illegal firearm, with no LEGAL way to assemble all the parts, you can be charged and found guilty of possession of an unregistered SBR. It's called constructive possession.

 

[7.62-5.56Plinker]

intent to construct= 10 years of getting butt slammedin the pen, and a hefty $250,000.00 fine... not the brightest way to go down.. im not built for prison. lol

 

[Wesley Willis]

Wait, I thought that law was just changed?

 

[ryknoll3]

Wait, I thought that law was just changed?

No, the ATF issued a ruling that stemmed from a decade-old Supreme Court case. They ruled that if you have a pistol, you may also have ALL of the parts to convert it to a legal rifle and back again.

For example:

You own an AR pistol. You have 10.5" barrel on it. You would legally be able to possess a 16" barrel upper receiver and a buttstock. You could take the 10.5" upper off, put the buttstock on, and then install the 16" upper. You have now converted to a legal rifle. You may switch them back and forth at will. You may NOT however install the buttstock and then install the short upper, as this is still an unregistered SBR.

What the OP was asking about was having the short upper receiver in possession along with a legal 16" or greater AR rifle. There are two problems with this.
1) For my above scenario to be legal, because of the way Federal law defines pistol, a rifle and a short-barreled rifle, you would have had to start with a pistol. You can't buy a rifle, buy the parts to convert it to a pistol and switch them back and forth. If it was born a rifle, it has to be either a rifle or short barrel rifle. If you start with a pistol you can go back and forth to a rifle.
2) If the OP possesses a complete rifle and a short barreled upper, but owns no M16 machine guns, AR pistols or registered short-barreled rifles, he has no LEGAL way to assemble all of the parts in his possession. He could be charged with possession of an unregistered short-barrel rifle under the legal doctrine of constructive possession (if you have the materials to do something legal, and no legal use for those materials, you are considered to have done the illegal thing). This is often mistakenly referred to as "constructive intent", which is not a legal doctrine or theory.

Hope this clarifies.

 

[ftbstrd]

sbr upper

Is it legal to own the upper if you do not have an AR lower of any kind???

 

[ryknoll3]

Yes, it is, as you have no way to assemble an illegal rifle, and there ARE legitimate uses for the short upper.

 

[Drakkule]

I am in the process of doing 2 SBR's. I am starting with an AR, and mini Draco pistols. I will not buy the stocks for either one until my pap0erwork comes back. The AR will be easy because we have the parts at the store i work for, but i am still looking for the stock i want, or i might just have one made out of billet and then have it coated, not sure yet.