Laws on building ar-15s?

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shinwa98

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So my dad and I are looking to get into coyote hunting. And seeing how we live in West Texas, with a lot if wide open spaces. The .22lr, 12 gauge pump, and Glock 23 we have just won't cut it. We've both agreed that an ar15 should be just fine for what we need. But since I love building things, I figured I'd like to build my AR. I'm 16, so everything would be in his name of course. I would just pick out what I need. Give him the money for the parts. And assemble it myself.

Is that a legal way to go about it? All answers welcome, thanks!
 
Yes you can.
If you google "build your own AR", you'll get lots of good answers (and a few ~~).
 
The lower receiver is the serialized part and therefore the "firearm." If you give him the money to buy that, he will be committing a straw purchase.

You can certainly work on the rifle, but you can't be the owner. It needs to stay in his possession until you're 18. At that point, he can give it to you as a gift.

I know it's confusing and stupid, but that's how the law is written.
 
He needs to buy the lower (thats the only part there is an age restriction on)

You can then build the rifle with the parts you choose. Technically, its his rifle. At 18 he can give it to you

AR's are not hard to work on. A cpl specific tools and youre in business
 
Refer to follow-up

Keep in mind that what Tom wrote applies equally to a stripped lower receiver (i.e. one without any fire control parts), an assembled lower, OR a complete firearm including the lower. The presence of the serial numbered lower receiver is what makes it a firearm pursuant to federal law, regardless of what other parts are attached to it. (State laws may vary.)

Also, if you intend to use a barrel shorter than 16" at some point, you need to familiarize yourself with the NFA. This topic is too broad to address in a short post, but be aware that the AR platform offers TWO* basic ways to incur NFA registration requirements: (a) assembly of a "short barreled rifle" (SBR) by using a shoulder stock and a barrel shorter than 16" on the same gun [*EDIT: See follow-on post], OR (b) assembly of a "weapon made from a rifle" by building a pistol (sans shoulder stock) with a lower receiver that was originally assembled as part of a rifle. The second method is counterintuitive and seemingly illogical (if not downright stupid), as there's no NFA restriction on assembling an AR pistol from a virgin lower, building a second AR pistol from a lower originally used on another pistol, OR assembling a rifle from a pistol. However, the law is the law. :rolleyes: Of course, if you never mess around with barrels shorter than 16", there is no issue. (Now you know why AR parts suppliers offer so many 16" uppers.)
 
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You would likely need to work on it directly under his supervision and he would have to retain control of it otherwise since you're a minor. Of course, that only goes for the lower receiver and everything attached to it, so you could build and possess the upper receiver as far as I know. Keep it over 16" bbl and 26" OAL
 
NFA footnotes

dakota.potts said:
Keep it over... 26" OAL
Click to expand...
Overall length (OAL) under 26" is the OTHER possible definition of a "weapon made from a rifle". I inadvertently forgot to mention this in my prior post. However, AFAIK most AR shoulder stock and buffer tube combinations will result in an OAL >26" if a 16" or longer barrel is used.

There are also two other ways to incur NFA regulations when building an AR, although they're less frequently a concern.
  • Use of a selective-fire or full-auto (FA) lower receiver to build a legal "machinegun" (there is not space between the words in the legal definition). However, FA lowers built after 1986 are not lawfully transferable to civilians, and the supply of pre-86 lowers is limited, which has recently resulted in high demand and burgeoning prices; thus, you're highly unlikely to encounter an inexpensive and legal FA lower by accident. (Unless the OP states otherwise, most AR build threads start under the assumption that a semi-auto lower will be used, and I assumed likewise here.)
  • An NFA "Any Other Weapon" (AOW) is created if a vertical foregrip is attached to a pistol. However, this applies equally to any pistol with a forward rail for accessories, not just to AR's specifically. I suggest Googling "vertical foregrip on pistol" and looking up 26 U.S. Code Sec. 5845(e) for more info. (The definition of AOW and its subsequent ATF interpretations are notoriously convoluted, and defy easy or brief explanation.)
 
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The most complicated part of building an AR is the lower--and it is pretty much numb nuts simple. This is the instruction I followed after I had milled out an 80% lower. http://www.thenewrifleman.com/how-to-build-a-lower-receiver/
The upper is even easier. Brownell's has a video about putting one together.

The nice thing about building your own is that you can chose the components you want. The downside of building your own are that some of the components you really really want will cost you an arm and a leg (like a Timney trigger clocking in at around $200). Add to that, the market for ARs right now is crashing, and "starter" ARs are going for little more than $500 with iron sights.
 
The lower receiver is the serialized part and therefore the "firearm." If you give him the money to buy that, he will be committing a straw purchase.

You can certainly work on the rifle, but you can't be the owner. It needs to stay in his possession until you're 18. At that point, he can give it to you as a gift.

I know it's confusing and stupid, but that's how the law is written.
Click to expand...

Yes he can. According to federal law there is no minimum age for possessing a long gun. If his father buys it as his (the fathers) rifle and then gives it to him as a gift that is perfectly legal.
 
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