ar-15 pistol question

chopinbloc · Dec 16, 2005

okay, i'm pretty sure this is the right place for this one. if not, mods, i'm sorry. here's the deal: i have an extra upper half sitting around and i'd like to make an ar pistol. i know that if a receiver has ever been a rifle it can never be a pistol so i plan on buying a brand new stripped lower and assembling it as a pistol. a pistol barrel can be basically any length you want, as far as i know. this is where the question comes in. is there any legal reason that i couldn't put this upper on the pistol lower? the upper in question is one of the xm177 style with the 11.5" barrel and the ridiculously long permanent flash suppressor. so here's the other question: can i have the flash suppressor cut to get rid of the extra length now that it is a pistol part? i figure if i assemle the pistol lower first then no one would be able to accuse me of constructive posession when i had the flash hider cut. am i missing something or is this doable from a legal standpoint. and no, i don't want to mess with the sbr paperwork right now. i was looking at the carbon fiber lowers at joeken firearms and i was wondering if anyone has any experience on these. thanks for your help.

Too Many Choices!? · Dec 16, 2005

Sounds cocher to me! I am not an expert though...

You are correct in that there is no FEDERAL mandate on a pistol's barrel length, only it's ability to accept a stock, or forward pistol grip. If you build the lower first, and then cut the flash suppressor off, you have done nothing illegal as far as the FEDS are concerned. Cutting a barrel down to create a pistol length upper is completely legal as long as you have a legal use for the pistol length upper, ie an ar pistol. If you have the pistol length upper and an AR-15 RIFLE with NO PISTOL it fits to, then you are in constructive violation of the NFA.

I don't have much experience with the carbon fiber Bushie, but I think it won't mate to a non-carbon fiber lower

? Don't quote me on that

.

When I built my pistol lower, but had yet to decide what barrel length for the pistol, I used my Bushie M4AK upper to function test the lower. The OA length was greater than 26" with that upper attatched. I basically had a very long barreled pistol("The Joker" in,"Batman" keeps poppin into my head), since it had no stock. Or a stockless rifle, whichever you want to call it, it was still legal. As it was in a legal configuration and never had a stock attatched...

HTH...Too Many Choices!?and an AR-15(PDW) pistol, should be amomg them!

idahoberetta9000s · Dec 16, 2005

To be considered a pistol, it cannot have a front grip or a buttstock on it. In Idaho, if you have either of these on a "pistol" with a barrel length of less than 16", then it is considered a rifle and is illegal to own unless you go through a special registration process that is a hassle.

lycanthrope · Dec 17, 2005

If she's registered as a rifle you need the 16" barrel length and 26" overall to be a rifle.

If you register as a pistol you can configure her as a rifle in any way as long as the barrel in 16" or greater when you add the the butt stock.

chopinbloc · Dec 17, 2005

we don't register guns in az. we have basically no firearms technology laws, just laws about how guns are used. i'm only concerned about fed law. thanks for the input guys. i was pretty sure that i would be legal but i wanted to check here first. i think i'll go with the aluminum lower, it's only ten dollars more and a couple ounces heavier.

rfurtkamp · Dec 17, 2005

idahoberetta9000s said:
In Idaho, if you have either of these on a "pistol" with a barrel length of less than 16", then it is considered a rifle and is illegal to own unless you go through a special registration process that is a hassle.

Idaho has no statutory definition of "pistol" that I can find - the defacto use is the federal definition.

That said, the Carbon 15 upper on the pistols (or at least on mine, a D-serial range gun) won't fit on a regular AR lower.

chopinbloc · Dec 17, 2005

the shotgun news ad for joeken firearms in winslow, az advertised carbon fiber lower receivers for $69. these are not bushmaster carbon 15 receivers. i think i'll go with their aluminum ones anyway as they are probably better.

lycanthrope · Dec 17, 2005

Yeah, those are liekly Hesse/Vulcan CF lowers and are low quality. It's hard to beat a Stag (CMT makes both Stag and RRA) forged aluminum for $85 at Eagle Firearms.

Too Many Choices!? · Dec 17, 2005

I want to,"Cut Down", a .40 cal upper from Olympic or somebody...

I would love to be able to swithc my PDW, to a common caliber with my Glock 23...The only thing stopping me is that I don't know of anybody that makes 20 or 30 round stick mags in .40 S&W or how expensive they would be

.

chopinbloc · Dec 18, 2005

i bought some five round extensions for the g22 mags from arredondo and they work great. the scherer 29 or 31 round mags are just plain crap. twenty rounds seems to be a practical limit in this caliber 'til someone comes up with a better system. here's the link for the arredondo extension: http://www.arredondoaccessories.com/A_mag.cfm?#glock btw, they work well enough that i carry one as a reload. hell, if i gotta reload, why not reload with 20 rounds, right? :evil:

philly19147 · Jan 9, 2006

rfurtkamp said:
Idaho has no statutory definition of "pistol" that I can find - the defacto use is the federal definition.

That said, the Carbon 15 upper on the pistols (or at least on mine, a D-serial range gun) won't fit on a regular AR lower.

Yes, it will fit on a regular AR lower, because I just built one over the weekend and shoot a 100 round through it without a problem. The only thing you have to do is convert your recoil system over to the forged frame with the shorter carrier/bolt system from the carbon 15 upper.

ar-15 pistol question

chopinbloc

Member

Too Many Choices!?

Member

idahoberetta9000s

Member

lycanthrope

Member

chopinbloc

Member

rfurtkamp

Member

chopinbloc

Member

lycanthrope

Member

Too Many Choices!?

Member

chopinbloc

Member

philly19147

Member

Similar threads