Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 14

Thread: Buying a complete lower question

  1. #1

    Buying a complete lower question

    Sorry for the newb question, but if I buy a complete KAC lower with a stock on it and then remove the stock (prior to installing any upper on it) and then put a pistol brace on it and then install a short barrel upper did I just make an SBR or do I have a pistol? I have always built stripped receivers so I wasn't sure what the law is regarding buying a complete lower that has never being mated with an upper.

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by Grey View Post
    Sorry for the newb question, but if I buy a complete KAC lower with a stock on it and then remove the stock (prior to installing any upper on it) and then put a pistol brace on it and then install a short barrel upper did I just make an SBR or do I have a pistol? I have always built stripped receivers so I wasn't sure what the law is regarding buying a complete lower that has never being mated with an upper.

    Thanks!
    My understanding is that you’d be making a pistol as long as you replaced the stock with a brace prior to adding the upper. A lower receiver, as long as it wasn’t manufactured into a complete rifle, should be transferred as an “other” on a 4473 since it’s not a rifle or a pistol. I asked Ash Hess this same question and he also said I would be able to build a pistol from a separate upper and lower.
    My posts only represent my personal opinion and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or official policies of any employer, past or present. Obvious spelling errors are likely the result of an iPhone keyboard.

  3. #3
    Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Central PA
    If it came with a stock, it would seem to me to have been manufactured as a rifle.

    https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/can-...tering-firearm

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by shane45 View Post
    If it came with a stock, it would seem to me to have been manufactured as a rifle.

    https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/can-...tering-firearm
    You are incorrect. Putting a stock on a lower that has never been built as a rifle doesn't change it's classification from an "other" or "receiver". Removing the stock prior, adding a brace, then installing a barreled upper receiver would make it a pistol. A stock in conjunction with a complete upper installed would make it a rifle or SBR depending on barrel length.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by shane45 View Post
    Works for me. Especially with a migraine kicking in. Apologies extended in kind. As said, the 4473 is the real answer. Was it transferred as an "other" ?
    That's the only way the FFL is supposed to transfer a lower receiver, whether stripped or assembled. If an FFL is marking pistol or rifle on the 4473 when transferring a lower receiver, I'd find a new FFL.

  6. #6
    Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Central PA
    Agreed, but its a KAC lower. And at those price points I have seen dealers that split apart rifles. So I would be careful. Additionally, I wouldnt want to have to base my defence should a situation arise on a transfer error of a dealer :O

  7. #7
    Gucci gear, Walmart skill Darth_Uno's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    STL
    https://www.typicalshooter.com/atf-p...ke-it-a-rifle/

    This might be outdated info, but it's what I've been going by.

    A receiver should be transferred as "other". A receiver with a stock should be transferred as "other". It's not until you start putting uppers on that you get into the technicalities of pistols, rifles, SBR's.

  8. #8
    Yes, you can. Learned this lesson myself in 2019. Call Operation Parts / Small Arm Sales to confirm. They'll be happy to explain the regs and sell you a KAC lower.

  9. #9
    Member StraitR's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Basking in sunshine
    Every virgin/stripped receiver should be built into a pistol first. It can then be made into a rifle, and back to a pistol without creating a "weapon made from a rifle" subject to the NFA per ATF 2011-4.

    A good video from Adam Kraut....

    Last edited by StraitR; 07-03-2020 at 07:11 PM.

  10. #10
    Site Supporter Cool Breeze's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Bluegrass in every direction
    If you get your lower and have the FFL mark it as other or receiver (as recommended), is it necessary to somehow prove you built it into a pistol first (i.e. brace + sub 16 inch barrel upper), just in case one day you want to build rifle later (i.e. put a stock plus 16+ inch upper on it)?

    In my neophyte brain this seems like an honor system thing with the proper articulation of what you did, if there ever becomes an issue. Is that all it is? Or are people taking timestamped pictures of the receiver in its pistol configuration so they can do what they want with it after that date?

User Tag List

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •