Yes, an AR-15 lower receiver is a "firearm." But until it has been mated to an upper receiver with a barrel, it isn't a "pistol" or a "rifle," it's an "other."44 AMP said:The AR lower might be "just a receiver" but that is machts nichts, it is still, LEGALLY the firearm.
In my non-lawyer opinion, if the owner sells it as an "other" when it has been built as a rifle, he/she is breaking the law.P Flados said:So lets say someone pulls the upper and the stock off of an AR that was originally sold as a rifle.
The lower is then sold through a FFL and the form records it as an "other".
Somebody goes to jail.The new owner then builds a pistol with it.
A rifle has been used to make a pistol. (Sounds like a NFA violation to me)
The pistol is then involved in a legal self defense activity (no death involved) but taken by the police while they investigate. They run the SN and find it was originally a rifle. What happens next?
Yet not the entire definition.44 AMP Not being a lawyer or an FFL dealer, this is just my best guess, but if the maker attaches a shoulder stock, I would take that as a clear indication that the firearm is intended to be fired from the shoulder, and that is one of the key parts in the legal definition of a rifle.
True.Aguila Blanca In fact, in the specific case of the AR-15, a lower receiver is really only half of a receiver. The lower holds the trigger group, but the upper holds the bolt carrier group. It has been argued that it is the upper receiver that should be the serial numbered part on an AR-15.
Exactly the situation I asked of my IOI when I first received my FFL in 2008.P Flados Lets go a little farther.
So lets say someone pulls the upper and the stock off of an AR that was originally sold as a rifle.
The lower is then sold through a FFL and the form records it as an "other".
The new owner then builds a pistol with it.
A rifle has been used to make a pistol. (Sounds like a NFA violation to me)
Who knows.The pistol is then involved in a legal self defense activity (no death involved) but taken by the police while they investigate. They run the SN and find it was originally a rifle. What happens next?
So did ATF when they saw Thompson Center selling a kit with a receiver, pistol bbl, pistol grip, rifle bbl and shoulder stock. The kit came with explicit instructions on avoiding the short bbl with the shoulder stock.I have wondered about this kind of sequence when seeing a used Contender / Encore being sold as a bare frame.
Name that law they are breaking. (Hint......there ain't one )Aguila Blanca
In my non-lawyer opinion, if the owner sells it as an "other" when it has been built as a rifle, he/she is breaking the law.Quote:
Originally Posted by P Flados
So lets say someone pulls the upper and the stock off of an AR that was originally sold as a rifle.
The lower is then sold through a FFL and the form records it as an "other".
Unlikely for many reasons.Somebody goes to jail.Quote:
The new owner then builds a pistol with it.
A rifle has been used to make a pistol. (Sounds like a NFA violation to me)
The pistol is then involved in a legal self defense activity (no death involved) but taken by the police while they investigate. They run the SN and find it was originally a rifle. What happens next?