I don’t own one, but have heard for years they are just barely legal with a shoulder stock. Will ATF eventually make them an NFA item and require a $200 stamp?

They have braces, not shoulder stocks. ATF is working on that very issue right now. I'm betting they will make ARPs NFA items and we will have to SBR the dang things.

Is the SBR stamp wait as long as suppressor stamp? What if you are in possession of one when or if this ruling happens? Would you be illegal til getting the stamp?

My last SBR stamp was 36 days. You don’t assemble until the stamp is yours. Simple eFile.

AR pistols are currently legal to own. For hog hunting or deer hunting out of a blind at normal 200 yard or shorter distances (typically 100 yds for our lease) I usually grab a 6.8 spc ar with a short (11.3") barrel. Not always, but pretty often. That rifle always goes to the lease with me, others go with it sometimes, but that one always goes. We have larger blinds on our lease, but I have hunted out of a 4x4 blind before, and short barrel is easier for me to maneuver with inside a blind.

Building the pistol was more of a function of suppressor ownership for me. Once I got a suppressor I realized pretty quickly that I would be using it as much as possible and suppressor + ar pistol = approximately same length as an 18" barrel 6.8 that I have. If I hadn't got the suppressor I don't know that I would have built the 6.8 pistol as immediately as I did. If I do another AR or 3 (which is pretty likely) they will most likely be pistol configurations and in calibers that are effective on deer and hogs out of a shorter barrel and can be used in AR 15.

For 200 yds and in on deer and hogs (in my opinion) there are more pros, not a whole lot of cons. If the ATF makes them an NFA Item I will probably SBR a lower or two and pay the tax stamps and keep on with it. For a long time I thought suppressors were a waste of $, but I was just wrong. Now I will rarely hunt without one.

Does the suppressor count as barrel length if it is a screw on type? I’m guessing it doesn’t.

Negative, it would have to be pin and welded onto the barrel.

Currently, an AR pistol with a shoulder stock is 100% illegal unless you get a SBR stamp. If you have an arm brace, it is 100% legal, even if you mis-use the arm brace as a shoulder stock, it is still legal. As to whether or not the ATF will make them illegal, who knows. I suspect that they will, but then again, we won't really know until it happens. If it does happen, it would seem to me that if you just take the arm brace off, you are then legal, and can apply for the tax stamp if you wish. If they become illegal, then I will probably toss the arm brace, and replace with a stock after I receive my tax stamp. The thing that really irks me the most about this topic is that the ATF has released multiple letters stating that the arm braces are not NFA items, and that Even if used improperly (by shouldering instead of strapping to your arm), they are still legal. Once that precedent has been set, they are now wanting to reverse their decision, making a ton of previously legal firearms illegal without passing a new law.

and would still require a tax stamp (for the suppressor)

Yes, unless Congress amends the NFA.

In the current environment, the administrative language surrounding braces is quicksand for the unwary. Spend the $200, get a stamp, and a righteous stock if you really must have an AR pistol.

True that you have to get the lower engraved if you convert to an SBR as well?

I have one that I'm planning to put a suppressor on and was thinking about doing the SBR thing before the rush (sure our dumb [censored] govt. is going to require it) but don't really want to go have it engraved.

My biggest complaint I have to doing a Form 1 on my pistol is transporting it across state lines. If it is registered as a SBR then it requires more paperwork to obtain permission to take it into or through another state from the ATF prior to travel. With an AR pistol it is treated as any other gun and does not require anything to transport it through or into free states.

Yes, but engraving is easy. I use a small font so the entire thing takes less room than a stamp.



Agreed. But it's a gray area with an easy solution. PM if needed.

IF they reclassify braces as stocks, then you will have to remove them from your pistol, and shoot them without a brace or SBR them and add a genuine stock.

The pistols themselves are not going to become illegal.

Very good explanation. Thanks!

To put all of this in perspective, these are the facts:

1. of all the recent shootings the liberals like to point to, none were committed with an AR pistol
2. an AR pistol "brace" is less than 1" shorter than an AR stock
3. there are no extra items in the form 1 background check that would prevent anyone who can currently own an AR form owning an SBR

So by making the braces illegal what are they actually accomplishing?

1. they're creating a registry of current AR pistols by making them SBRs, even though neither AR pistols or SBRs have been involved in any of the mass shootings over recent years. If you were to even believe in such a registry, what does it actually accomplish prior to any "event"? And it is a minute percentage of guns currently in circulation that you'd actually be adding to the registry.
2. they're getting $200 in revenue for each conversion by way of the tax stamp, even though we all know the federal government will find a way to make the processing of that $200 stamp cost $2000.
3. they won't take 1 gun out of anyone's hands who shouldn't have it.

All of this over less than 1".

Our tax dollars at work.

This is all about chipping away one small piece at a time.

This is a super simple concept

That is hilarious and face palm worthy at the same time. Such stupid laws.

So a legal rifle needs to be more than 16”. I’m guessing a standard AR is 16.1”, or something a hair longer than 16”?

I like the illustration, but I have a question. Can a short barreled rifle have a vertical foregrip and be legal?

Yes.

Virtually no pros of an AR pistol over a 14.5” gun w/pinned or welded brake.

I don't get the appeal of AR pistols. Its big for a pistol, and small for a rifle. Also awkward due to the buffer tube. The only practical application i could think of is doing a drive-by shooting...or carrying more firepower under a trenchcoat. Not really useful for everyday folks. I know...people want what they want...but there has to be some practical aspect that I'm missing because lots of folk get excited over these neutered rifles.

I can fit my SBR into a discreet backpack or case whereas my 16” AR requires a case that screams “gun”. Then Ive got an SBR with 7” barrel and folding stock that I can probably fit in my wife’s purse.

Not a personal attack against you because you probably have your reasons that need no further explanation...but I don't think its normal to carry that kind of firepower around discretely. The fact that a lot people also appear to want to roll like that is a testament to where we are at as a country that people don't feel safe enough anymore. Sad. But when I think about a guy with an SBR tucked into his backpack or under a coat or in a briefcase I think about someone about to do bad things.