How To Register An Ar-15 Lower As A Pistol

There'southward zip amend than shooting a sleek, powerful AR pistol… except shooting 1 that you build with all your favorite custom parts.

And then why doesn't everybody leap on board the pistol-edifice express? One word: Feds.

Merely, with a little finesse and a lot of knowledge about your local gun laws, you likewise can confidently build a classy AR pistol.

Note: This article is for educational purposes only; information technology is non meant to be construed as legal advice. You are ultimately responsible for your own actions and we advise you to seek guidance from a legal professional in your surface area before attempting any AR pistol build.

AR Pistol Laws and Definitions

The showtime affair to notation most any custom build to make sure you stay safely inside the law is your local and state gun regulations. Phone call up your local FFL, and they should be able to get you that info pretty hands.

As a general dominion, though, a short-barreled rifle nomenclature is what yous want to avoid.

How are those classified? A rifle with less than a 16-inch butt or overall length of less than 26 inches will go you that unwanted $200 NFA (National Firearms Act) taxation.

Another important note is how the BATFE (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives) defines a rifle vs. a pistol.

In curt, a rifle is anything with a stock that yous fire from your shoulder.

The ATF defines a pistol as "…a weapon originally designed, made, and intended to fire a projectile (bullet) from one or more than barrels when held in one hand, and having: a sleeping room(south) as an integral part(s) of, or permanently aligned with, the bore(s); and a brusk stock designed to be gripped by 1 hand at an angle to and extending beneath the line of the diameter(s)."

But, hang on. I've seen tons of AR pistols that look well-nigh identical to an AR rifle. What gives? And how are they avoiding the NFA tax?

The answer? Pistol braces.

Bracing for Bear on

In an open letter to the BATFE, the question was posed whether a caryatid, which traditionally has hand-holds or arm straps to help the shooter stabilize their shot while firing with one hand (fitting our pistol definition), would still allocate the firearm every bit a pistol even if the shooter "happened" to "accidentally" identify the end of the brace on his shoulder.

Initially, their answer stated that this type of shouldering would qualify the weapon as an SBR under the NFA.

In 2017, yet, that statement was amended to read as follows:

"With respect to stabilizing braces, ATF has concluded that attaching the brace to a handgun as a forearm brace does not 'brand' a curt-barreled firearm because … it is not intended to exist and cannot comfortably exist fired from the shoulder…Therefore, an NFA firearm has not necessarily been made when the device is not re-configured for use every bit a shoulder stock — even if the fastened firearm happens to exist fired from the shoulder."

And then, if you're looking to add that extra stabilization to your build with a brace, the BATFE has given the green light.

Maxim Defense CQB AR Pistol Brace — Adding an AR pistol caryatid gives you like benefits to a stock, but doesn't crave boosted legal paperwork.

Keeping Your Weapon Legal

The chief thing to make sure your build is legal is to proceed it nether the "pistol" definition. Here'due south how:

Use a stripped lower receiver that has never been barreled every bit a rifle action. Or a receiver that started on a pistol in the kickoff place. If the receiver started on a rifle that has been classified as a rifle, you're in trouble. Interestingly enough, if the receiver started on a pistol, you can strip it, put it on a rifle, then dorsum on a pistol with no problem.
Employ an angled foregrip similar the Magpul AFG that is less than 26 inches from the unadorned tip of the barrel to the end of the buffer tube. A vertical foregrip is non immune on a pistol.
Stay under that 16-inch butt length and 26-inch overall length.

Actually, if you follow these guidelines forth with your local laws, edifice a legal AR pistol is a easy.

And now, since I know y'all're wondering, here are some of my favorite components when building my AR'due south:

Magpul AFG2 AR-15 Grip — Be certain to employ an angled foregrip like this Magpul AFG2, because you lot cannot use a vertical grip.

My Get-To Components

If you're annihilation like me, you've got an ideal product for every square inch of your custom gun. But, merely in example you're in the marketplace for some killer ideas, hither are some of my top choices for custom builds:

Black Rain Ordnance AR15 Complete Lower Parts Kit Enhanced Version Magpul MOE Pistol Grip/BRO Drib In Trigger
Spikes Tactical Rare Breed Crusader Stripped AR-15 Lower Receiver
SB Tactical SBA3 Adaptable Brace
Aimpoint PRO Patrol Burglarize Red Dot Sight
Yankee Hill Machine Ar-xv Cage Brake
Midwest Industries AR-15 Combat Rail T-Serial Free Float Handguard
CMMG AR-15 Consummate Lower Parts Kit

Any parts you choose to build your perfect AR pistol, have fun with information technology and be sure to keep it legal with the above tips.

Have you legally built an AR pistol? How did it plough out? Let us know in the comments below!

Richard Douglas

Richard Douglas is a firearms expert and educator. His work has appeared on large publications like The National Interest, Daily Caller, American Shooting Journal, and more. In his free fourth dimension, he reviews optics on his Scopes Field weblog.