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January 3rd, 2018, 04:16 PM #1Member
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Doylestown,
Pennsylvania
(Bucks County) - Posts
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Please help me understand the status of my stripped lower receivers.
What I use to think:
A stripped lower receiver was shipped to an FFL on my behalf and I would declare it to be a long gun or pistol (or perhaps other.)
I did this a few years ago when I assembled my first M4-gery. At transfer/PICS/NICS time I was asked and declared it to be a long gun.
Why I am asking:
A few days ago I had two Aero Precision stripped lowers shipped to a local FFL. My plan was to build one as an AR Pistol and one as a rifle. As they were filling out their paperwork, I explained that I wanted to build one out as a pistol and one as a long gun. The gentleman told me it "didn't matter." I asked if he was writing them up as 'other' and he did not answer that question directly but said it was "nothing until I built it." That "it is just a receiver." I had this same conversation with another gentleman behind the counter a few minutes later. He said much the same thing. None of the paperwork I left the shop with has any indication of their status.
As I ReallyReally(tm) don't want to run afoul of any laws, what is the status of these. Should I assume they were filed as 'other?' I know it's really important that a pistol is only a pistol, never has a stock, and that a long gun can never have a barrel shorter than sixteen inches. Do I just declare them to be what they are to myself? Record their state somewhere in my own documents that I can reproduce at a later date?
What do I need to know to proceed legally and safely?
Thanks,...
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January 3rd, 2018, 04:23 PM #2
Re: Please help me understand the status of my stripped lower receivers.
short answer---They are right with the info they gave you...
someone will be along soon with the long answer
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January 3rd, 2018, 05:35 PM #3
Re: Please help me understand the status of my stripped lower receivers.
Here's the long answer:
A virgin stripped lower receiver is an "Other". It IS NOT a pistol nor is it a long arm. It is an Other until you put an upper w/ a barrel on it. It DOES NOT MATTER how it comes in - it can come in complete with a rifle buttstock or a pistol buffer already attached, it is still an OTHER until you attach the upper with a barrel and then it becomes a rifle or a pistol or an SBR (after you get the tax stamp). The PSP tried a number of years ago to make FFLs fill out the SP4-113 (Application/Record of Sale) like you would a handgun/SBR/SBS and threatened FFLs who would not do this. Well, they got their peepees severely whacked by the BATFE and they actually printed a retraction in the bulletins we used to get.
So, if you go to a FFL and they try to make you do the SP4-113, you can either read them the riot act or tell them to send it to an FFL who knows the law.
A virgin stripped lower IS NOT A PISTOL OR A RIFLE. Now, that said, if you bought an AR pistol, complete upon receipt, it is a pistol would be transferred as such with all the accompanying paperwork and if you stripped everything off and sold the receiver, legally it would transfer as a pistol (however, who would know unless you told someone or did the transfer at the same place that transferred the pistol to you and they remembered - I am not in any way advocating breaking the law, just being realistic about it.)Ron USAF Ret E-8 FFL01/SOT3 NRA Benefactor Member
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January 3rd, 2018, 05:39 PM #4
Re: Please help me understand the status of my stripped lower receivers.
Owner Trigger Time LLc 01 FFL/NFA Saylorsburg, PA. Sales/Service/Transfers/Training
NRA CRSO/Pistol/Rifle/Shotgun inst. BSA Rifle/Shotgun Merit badge counselor. US Navy Marksmanship Team Staff
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January 3rd, 2018, 05:45 PM #5
Re: Please help me understand the status of my stripped lower receivers.
So, how do you go about buying a lower receiver that was never registered as a rifle, if you intend to build it as a pistol? I have the upper looking to mate with a lower. Can a lower that was once registered as a rifle be reregistered to become a pistol?
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January 3rd, 2018, 05:59 PM #6
Re: Please help me understand the status of my stripped lower receivers.
When you buy virgin receivers they are only supposed to be transferred as "Other" because they are neither a handgun or long gun. No SP4-113 should be filled out - period. PA's definition of a "firearm" requires a barrel length as part of the equation - if it doesn't have a barrel it cannot be a PA defined "firearm" for the purposes of a Record of Sale. (probably some gray area for dedicated handgun receivers like a 1911, Glock, etc since 99.99999% of those receivers are for a "firearm")
Once you build one as a rifle, it is a rifle for life. If you build one as a "firearm", any subsequent transfers of that handgun requires a SP4-113 so long as that handgun meets the PA definition of a firearm.
You can turn a handgun into a long gun(26"+ OAL + 16"+ rifled barrel with shoulder stock), and back again. But you cannot convert a long gun into a handgun without an NFA stamp.RIP: SFN, 1861, twoeggsup, Lambo, jamesjo, JayBell, 32 Magnum, Pro2A, mrwildroot, dregan, Frenchy, Fragger, ungawa, Mtn Jack, Grapeshot, R.W.J., PennsyPlinker, Statkowski, Deanimator, roland, aubie515
Don't end up in my signature!
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January 3rd, 2018, 06:44 PM #7
Re: Please help me understand the status of my stripped lower receivers.
Appreciate the insight on the virgin receivers being registered as "other". Once the receiver has been registered as other, how would I go about building it into a AR pistol. I have a 10.5 " upper and would use a stabilizer brace, in lieu of, a stock. Does the build need to be registered as a handgun?
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January 3rd, 2018, 07:04 PM #8
Re: Please help me understand the status of my stripped lower receivers.
RIP: SFN, 1861, twoeggsup, Lambo, jamesjo, JayBell, 32 Magnum, Pro2A, mrwildroot, dregan, Frenchy, Fragger, ungawa, Mtn Jack, Grapeshot, R.W.J., PennsyPlinker, Statkowski, Deanimator, roland, aubie515
Don't end up in my signature!
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January 3rd, 2018, 07:05 PM #9
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January 3rd, 2018, 07:06 PM #10
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