Question regarding a SBR

[WestKentucky]

I just have to say this. There is a lot of talk in the legal forum which relies on published rules and letters of interpretation written by an agency who is very well known to change its mind arbitrarily.

Build a pistol lower before taking possession of the upper. It’s easy and cheap. Last pistol lower I built was with a $40 Anderson. Add a $30 LPK and a $20 buffer kit and your right at a hundred bucks after shipping. Much cheaper than legal help, and you have an excuse to start building pistol uppers.

 

[pdsmith505]

I just have to say this. There is a lot of talk in the legal forum which relies on published rules and letters of interpretation written by an agency who is very well known to change its mind arbitrarily.

Build a pistol lower before taking possession of the upper. It’s easy and cheap. Last pistol lower I built was with a $40 Anderson. Add a $30 LPK and a $20 buffer kit and your right at a hundred bucks after shipping. Much cheaper than legal help, and you have an excuse to start building pistol uppers.

The above or having a flash hider pinned on the upper before taking possession are definitely the safest, cheapest options.

Alternately:
You could write to the ATF, get an opinion (if they would even give you an opinion short of sending everything in for evaluation), and find yourself in trouble with the law when the ATF changes its mind (see the Akins Accelerator).

You could also go the Thompson/Center route, file for a stamp, put everything in a kit, then sue the government for a refund... but that's a lot more coin for a lawyer and a long wait for an answer.

It really does suck to have to navigate through a system where the rules are poorly defined and the results are arbitrary and depend on the opinion of some administrative figure.

 

[Frank Ettin]

I'm going to close this one. We don't seem to be getting anywhere, and it actually looks like there's no clear, sure answer to the OP's question.

It appears that the law here is, at best, unsettled. A number of folks have offered opinions, and some have suggested strategies. But the opinions and strategies haven't been supported with solid legal authority.

An NFA violation is no small matter. One risks up to 10 years in federal prison and/or fines up to $250,000.00, as well as a lifetime loss of gun rights.

 

[Frank Ettin]

A member was good enough to call my attention to ATF Ruling 2011-4. This Ruling clearly relates to the OP's question.

I've linked to the Ruling so that anyone interested can review it and decide how it might apply in a particular situation in which he's interested. There are a number of caveats:

1. These sorts of rulings by an administrative agency are not binding on a court, although courts will usually accord them great deference.
   
   
2. The Ruling lays out some principles which might be helpful. But what's important is how the agency and, especially, the courts will apply those principles for the purposes of deciding a case under its particular facts.
   
   
3. I'm not aware of any court decisions or ATF enforcement actions in which this Ruling played a part, nor do I plan to do the research. Knowing the principles in a vacuum, as stated in the Ruling, is only a part of the process of making person decisions regarding matters that can be legally significant. It's also important to look for examples of those principles being applied in particular factual contexts. Indeed a lawyer will look at case law before advising a client. If there is no case law on the matter, the lawyer will limit or qualify his advice.