Red Leader
Well-Known Member
How do I legally use a lower I have to make a pistol AR?
AR pistol
- Thread starter Red Leader
- Start date
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I'll let others go into the details but I believe the stripped lower with the serial number has to be registered as as "other"(I think that's the word they use). Which allows it to be built into a pistol of rifle. Correct me if I'm wrong but once the lower is registered as a rifle, it cannot be made a pistol? So if you purchased a lower with a stock it was registered as a rifle and it's not as easy as just adding a complete upper pistol to it and taking the stock off. I might be way off, please chime in.
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There is no federal registration of firearms; other than NFA items. Buy a virgin stripped lower and build what your heart desires. If you have a buttstock on the lower then its a necessity to have a 16" or longer barrel. So if you want pistol lose the idea of a buttstock and consider the brace options.
Once a rifle...well its a rifle.
Once a rifle...well its a rifle.
Last edited:
All stripped lowers are transferred as Other. Only time it can be transferred as a Rifle is if it is transferred with a stock and 16" barrel attached. If it was purchased with only a stock, it is still Other. There is no such designation as Pistol.
If you assemble a stripped lower as a rifle, it has to stay a rifle. If you assemble it as a pistol, it can be moved back and forth from pistol to SBR to rifle to pistol, etc. This is why most people build a pistol while waiting for there SBR stamp to arrive.
Now, no one is going to come to your house to see if you changed it into an "illegal" configuration. If you purchase it as a rifle and remove the stock and put a SIG brace and a 7" barrel on it, who is going to know except you, and whomever you tell? The only way LE can make a determination is to run the serial number and see if the manufacturer sold it as a rifle. If LE is doing that, you are probably in bigger trouble already. Stripped lower? No way to tell if you made a pistol first or a rifle first.
Stupid NFA rules.
If you assemble a stripped lower as a rifle, it has to stay a rifle. If you assemble it as a pistol, it can be moved back and forth from pistol to SBR to rifle to pistol, etc. This is why most people build a pistol while waiting for there SBR stamp to arrive.
Now, no one is going to come to your house to see if you changed it into an "illegal" configuration. If you purchase it as a rifle and remove the stock and put a SIG brace and a 7" barrel on it, who is going to know except you, and whomever you tell? The only way LE can make a determination is to run the serial number and see if the manufacturer sold it as a rifle. If LE is doing that, you are probably in bigger trouble already. Stripped lower? No way to tell if you made a pistol first or a rifle first.
Stupid NFA rules.
