AR15 Pistol

game_pawn

AR15 pistols are legal. You see them all the time on GunBroker. Is it true however, that it is illegal to take an AR15 lower that has been ser. numbered as a rifle, taking off the butt stock and replacing it with a pistol style recoil spring housing, and put an upper on it that has a barrel shorter than 16"?

game_pawn

I saw an upper receiver for an AR15 with an 8 inch barrel and am considering purchasing it. I was wondering if this barrel length is legal. Also, what sort of range does anyone think the 223 would have with an 8 inch barrel. And also, every other AR based pistol i have seen, only 3, have been modified to either pump or bolt action. why is this?-a preference or is it for some reason i am not aware. I can not think of a reason why it couldnt be left semi auto.thanks for any help.

game_pawn

I bought an AR pistol kit and sent for a stripped lower that was advertised as a designated pistol lower from the factory. Went to pick up the lower from my FFL last nite and ran into a snag. He wasn't sure if he needed to run it through as a pistol or not. He is calling the ATF today to get their version, but I would love to hear what someone with more experience in this matter has to say. Thanks.

boeboe

Please note (C) definition for an assault pistol per the '94 ban, which follows. You have to be careful that the AR15 pistol weighs in at less than 50 oz to be legal. That is why Professional Ordnance went to a carbon graphite construction on their AR pistol, the "Carbon 15", to drop the weight down below the 50 oz. limit. You should also watch the other restrictions as well, of course.(30) The term ''semiautomatic assault weapon'' means -(A) any of the firearms, or copies or duplicates of thefirearms in any caliber, known as -(i) Norinco, Mitchell, and Poly Technologies AvtomatKalashnikovs (all models);(ii) Action Arms Israeli Military Industries UZI and Galil;(iii) Beretta Ar70 (SC-70);(iv) Colt AR-15;(v) Fabrique National FN/FAL, FN/LAR, and FNC;(vi) SWD M-10, M-11, M-11/9, and M-12;(vii) Steyr AUG;(viii) INTRATEC TEC-9, TEC-DC9 and TEC-22; and(ix) revolving cylinder shotguns, such as (or similar to) theStreet Sweeper and Striker 12;(B) a semiautomatic rifle that has an ability to accept adetachable magazine and has at least 2 of -(i) a folding or telescoping stock;(ii) a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath theaction of the weapon;(iii) a bayonet mount;(iv) a flash suppressor or threaded barrel designed toaccommodate a flash suppressor; and(v) a grenade launcher;(C) a semiautomatic pistol that has an ability to accept adetachable magazine and has at least 2 of -(i) an ammunition magazine that attaches to the pistoloutside of the pistol grip;(ii) a threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrelextender, flash suppressor, forward handgrip, or silencer;(iii) a shroud that is attached to, or partially orcompletely encircles, the barrel and that permits the shooterto hold the firearm with the nontrigger hand without beingburned;(iv) a manufactured weight of 50 ounces or more when thepistol is unloaded; and(v) a semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm; and(D) a semiautomatic shotgun that has at least 2 of -(i) a folding or telescoping stock;(ii) a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath theaction of the weapon;(iii) a fixed magazine capacity in excess of 5 rounds; and(iv) an ability to accept a detachable magazine.___________________________________________Oh, the muzzle blast on an AR15 pistol if something else. Not for those prone to flinching by any means. I have the Carbon 15 pistol and think it's great. I'm sure the range is quite satisfactory but haven't shot mine at over 100 years much. I'm very happy with it.[This message has been edited by boeboe (edited 03-11-2002).]

lrarmsx

You used to be able to register your pre-ban AR15 lower with the ATF. You could register it as a pistol. It involved some paperwork, but was do-able. They even let some be registered after the ban of 1994, but it is my understanding that they discontinued letting people register their AR lowers some time in 1995. If you do not have a registered lower at this time, putting on a 8 inch upper would put you in violation of federal law. Even if you remove the stock and put on a pistol buffer tube assembly it is illegal. You can't arbitrarily just change your rifle into a pistol. Just like you can't take your shotgun and cut off the barrel and then cut off all but the grip part of the stock and call it a pistol. There are AR 15 type pistols in both pre and post ban, but they have been manufactured and/or registered as such. I've had dealers at gun shows tell guys that if they have a pre-ban AR they can just buy one of their 8 or 10 inch uppers and make it a pistol. Not to be pointing at gun shows, there are plenty of places in the publications and on the net that will sell you all the stuff to do it too. But I bet they won't be standing beside you and coming to your aid when you get arrested and/or have your gun confiscated. The Professional Ordnance Carbon 15 is a legal post-ban AR type pistol. The Olympic OA93 (pre-ban), OA 96 (post-ban), and the Rocky Mountain Arms Patriot pistol (pre-ban) are also legal pistols. There have been other companies as well. You can not legally take your AR 15 of any manufacture and simply decide to make it a pistol, without risk being in violation of Federal law.

Biker_Brian

Does this only apply to AR's? Because youcan take a TC Contender and change it froma rifle to a pistol.Brian

Tailgunner1954

Any receiver that was sold as part of a rifle (or shotgun) origionaly CAN NOT be later be converted to a pistol (legaly). On the contender / encore this is true also. HOWEVER if origionaly sold as a pistol it can be modified into a rifle / pistol (legaly). So if you want to do the contender / encore buy it as a pistol.

Tailgunner1954

Any receiver that was sold as part of a rifle (or shotgun) origionaly CAN NOT be later converted to a pistol (legaly). On the Contender / Encore this is true also. HOWEVER if origionaly sold as a pistol it can be modified into a rifle / pistol (legaly). So if you want to do the Contender / Encore buy it as a pistol, than add the rifle parts.