NY: Pistol-grip SBR a pistol or SBR?

[ctdonath]

Considering the Wild West Guns' Bushwacker got me thinking.

Take a rifle, shorten the barrel under 18", replace the stock with a pistol grip, overall length under 26". Discard/destroy the stock, ship result to NY.
For all intents and purposes, it's a pistol now with a rifle history.
The feds consider this a short barreled rifle (SBR), requiring various paperwork I'm willing to deal with.
Does NY consider this a pistol or a SBR?

 

[Hkmp5sd]

NY considers it a SBR and they do not allow civilians to possess them, even if registered under the NFA.

3. "Firearm" means (a) any pistol or revolver;or (b) a shotgun having one or more barrels less than eighteen inches in length; or (c) a rifle having one or more barrels less than sixteen inches in length; or (d) any weapon made from a shotgun or rifle whether by alteration, modification, or otherwise if such weapon as altered, modified, or otherwise has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches.

http://www.atf.gov/firearms/statelaws/22ndedition/newyork.pdf

However, it seems they do allow AOWs, so if you made/bought one using a virgin receiver, they'd let you have it.

 

[ctdonath]

Ah right, the "altered" definition. Grunt.

 

[ctdonath]

Yes NY does allow AOWs - I have a Mossberg 590 AOW.

The definition does leave open the possibility of having the Bushwacker built entirely from never-a-rifle parts (i.e.: get a new unassembled receiver, add an unused new barrel shortened to 12", add pistol grip) - bonus is it's just a .457 Magnum pistol (!), no NFA strings attached.

 

[VNgo]

A clever loophole, although of course it's a sad sign of the times that we have to use loopholes at all to exercise what should be our unrestricted rights.