Asking for a friend, obviously. He bought a TC Contender carbine in .223 from a friend and got with it an additional 10" .22 barrel, pistol grip and pistol for end. We know he can't put the 10" barrel on the rifle stocked receiver, it says so right on the butt. Can he take the receiver, remove stock and barrel, and replace them with the pistol stock and barrel? He has no idea whether this thing originally started out as one or the other.
Hypothetical rifle/handgun question
- Thread starter PapaG
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lonehunter
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It would probably never get checked unless the gun was used in a serious crime, but, converting a rifle to a pistol is a felony!
The answer will depend on when it was made. Originally the Contender was pistol only, then they came out with a rifle kit. The kit had the butt stock, longer than 16" barrel and longer forearm to make the pistol contender into a rifle. I don't know the serial # dates but if you do a search they are easy to find. The supreme court heard the case in 1992 and said it was Ok to put a butt stock and longer barrel on the contender pistol frame to make a rifle and also Ok to switch back to a pistol. I have not found if T/C offered a contender rifle before the court date.
Get the serial # and see where it fits. If it was way older than the 1992 date, you would probably safe.
Jeff
The answer will depend on when it was made. Originally the Contender was pistol only, then they came out with a rifle kit. The kit had the butt stock, longer than 16" barrel and longer forearm to make the pistol contender into a rifle. I don't know the serial # dates but if you do a search they are easy to find. The supreme court heard the case in 1992 and said it was Ok to put a butt stock and longer barrel on the contender pistol frame to make a rifle and also Ok to switch back to a pistol. I have not found if T/C offered a contender rifle before the court date.
Get the serial # and see where it fits. If it was way older than the 1992 date, you would probably safe.
Jeff
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If they ever allow people to convert single-shot Contender rifles to pistols without going through a 9 month NFA wait the crime rate will skyrocket. Huge problems already with this in Maryland. If you ever see "BBB" graffiti it is a tag used by members of the "Baltimore Break-action Boyz". Ruthless bunch.
Charliefrank
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I've converted contenders back and forth for years never giving it a second thought. It's just one of the many benefits of this clever design. Besides if you purchase just a frame, it hasn't started out as either.
jrmiddleton425
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Current ATF ruling:
https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/r...red-rifles-rifles-configured-pistols/download
If my reading is correct, you can go from one to the other and back again, as long as you don't make an SBR without a stamp. The problem you may run into here is that the two barrels were not sold together.
https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/r...red-rifles-rifles-configured-pistols/download
If my reading is correct, you can go from one to the other and back again, as long as you don't make an SBR without a stamp. The problem you may run into here is that the two barrels were not sold together.
DM~
Member
It's my understanding it's not about a "date", it's about how it was "originally" registered.
IF it was originally registered as a rifle, it can never be a pistol.
IF it was originally registered as a pistol, then it can be converted to a rifle or be left as a pistol.
DM
IF it was originally registered as a rifle, it can never be a pistol.
IF it was originally registered as a pistol, then it can be converted to a rifle or be left as a pistol.
DM
Theohazard
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This issue is mentioned a lot here on TFL, usually in regards to building AR-15 pistols. The Supreme Court case US v. Thompson Center Arms Co. in 1992 specifically discussed the Thompson Center pistol/rifle package, and the ATF issued an official ruling based on that case in 2011. Post #6 contains a link to that ruling, ATF Ruling 2011-4.
If a dealer sells you an AR pistol and erroneously lists it as a rifle on the 4473, he still sold you a pistol. That mistake on the 4473 doesn’t magically turn it into a rifle; the 4473 is simply a transfer document, not a registration document. This is a federal issue, and there is no registration of firearms on the federal level.
This question comes up a lot with AR-15 receivers: If you buy a new receiver and you make it into a pistol first, you can always switch back and forth between a pistol and a rifle. But if you build that receiver into a rifle first, it can’t be made into a pistol.
Not exactly. Replace the word “registration” with the words “manufactured” or “made”, and you’re spot-on.
If a dealer sells you an AR pistol and erroneously lists it as a rifle on the 4473, he still sold you a pistol. That mistake on the 4473 doesn’t magically turn it into a rifle; the 4473 is simply a transfer document, not a registration document. This is a federal issue, and there is no registration of firearms on the federal level.
This question comes up a lot with AR-15 receivers: If you buy a new receiver and you make it into a pistol first, you can always switch back and forth between a pistol and a rifle. But if you build that receiver into a rifle first, it can’t be made into a pistol.
Folks have started to suggest that's it's okay to commit a crime if you're not likely to get caught, and posts have been deleted. So we won't be continuing this.
The correct answer is in posts 6 and 8.
The correct answer is in posts 6 and 8.
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