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You can't make a pistol into a rifle and then back to a pistol wit


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This is not any thing new. I think there has been much

misinformation in the past about this concept.

 

I sent out a letter to othe BATF asking for clearification

of the following

 

Question 1. Would it be a violation of the law to change a

Contender pistol (purchased originally as a pistol from the

manufacturer in 1995) from a pistol configuration to a

rifle configuration (with a shoulder stock and 18 inch barrel)

and then back to a pistol configuration

(no stock and 10 inch barrel)?

 

Question 2. Would it be a violation of the law to change a

Contender rifle (purchased originally as a rifle from the

manufacturer in 1995) from a rifle configuration

(shoulder stock and 18 inch barrel) to a

pistol configuration (no shoulder stock and 10 inch barrel)?

 

Question 3. My 3rd question relates to the Contender pistol and carbine kit

specifically addressed in the 1992 U.S. Supreme Court case United States v. Thompson/Center Arms. Would it be a violation of the law to

assemble the this specific kit as a rifle (shoulder stock and barrel

over 16 inches) and then to later reconfigure this same rifle into

a pistol configuration (no shoulder stock and barrel shorter

than 16 inches)?

 

Question 4. Would it be a violation of the law to change an

Encore pistol (purchased originally as a pistol from the

manufacturer in 2005) from a pistol configuration to a

rifle configuration (with a shoulder stock and 18 inch barrel)

and then back to a pistol configuration

(no stock and 10 inch barrel)?

 

Question 5. Would it be a violation of the law to change an

Encore rifle (purchased originally as a rifle from the

manufacturer in 2005) from a rifle configuration

(shoulder stock and 18 inch barrel) to a

pistol configuration (no shoulder stock and 10 inch barrel)?

 

Their reply came today:

 

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Edited by expeditionx
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Interesting.... Where do you suppose that puts other products such as a barrel and stock assembly that converts your 1911 or Glock .40 into a carbine? Does this mean I can't put it back into pistol configuration without violating the law? I have seen these in gun shops and they look appealing, but not if it's a one way ticket!

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There was one piece of information in that letter which is new to me.

 

"It is the position of the ATF that if a multipurpose firearm kit containing the above-listed

components is obtained as an assemblage of parts from a single source, the components of the

kit may be assembled and subsequently reassembled an unlimited number of times as a rifle or

a pistol."

 

That is a useful thing to know.

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Interesting.... Where do you suppose that puts other products such as a barrel and stock assembly that converts your 1911 or Glock .40 into a carbine? Does this mean I can't put it back into pistol configuration without violating the law? I have seen these in gun shops and they look appealing, but not if it's a one way ticket!

 

That's exactly what it means; one-way ticket, unless you hassle with a form 1.

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There was one piece of information in that letter which is new to me.

 

"It is the position of the ATF that if a multipurpose firearm kit containing the above-listed

components is obtained as an assemblage of parts from a single source, the components of the

kit may be assembled and subsequently reassembled an unlimited number of times as a rifle or

a pistol."

 

That is a useful thing to know.

TC arms once had such a kit they sold like that. The kit was defended in the supreme court case.

I know of no other such kits.

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Keep in mind that the laws have not changed in years. For years, the opinion was "once a pistol - always a pistol, so long as you keep your assembly order legal". It was obviously a long time, as the various manufacturers successfully brought their wares to market.

 

 

Also keep in mind that the revenuers have only recently started shipping this "once a pistol, and thence a rifle, always a rifle it'll be" opinion. Prior to that, there was no issue at all with the Mech-Tech units (or similar).

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Keep in mind that the laws have not changed in years. For years, the opinion was "once a pistol - always a pistol, so long as you keep your assembly order legal". It was obviously a long time, as the various manufacturers successfully brought their wares to market.

 

 

Also keep in mind that the revenuers have only recently started shipping this "once a pistol, and thence a rifle, always a rifle it'll be" opinion. Prior to that, there was no issue at all with the Mech-Tech units (or similar).

 

I can't imagine what mech tech is going to do now. Just recently the ATF stopped allowing virgin receivers from

being sold to people under 21 because they can be made into a pistol.

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Keep in mind that the laws have not changed in years. For years, the opinion was "once a pistol - always a pistol, so long as you keep your assembly order legal". It was obviously a long time, as the various manufacturers successfully brought their wares to market.

 

 

Also keep in mind that the revenuers have only recently started shipping this "once a pistol, and thence a rifle, always a rifle it'll be" opinion. Prior to that, there was no issue at all with the Mech-Tech units (or similar).

 

I tried to find an earlier example of what your saying but can't find one in writing. If you know of any documented on

any website, please let me know to compare it.

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Keep in mind that the laws have not changed in years. For years, the opinion was "once a pistol - always a pistol, so long as you keep your assembly order legal". It was obviously a long time, as the various manufacturers successfully brought their wares to market.

 

 

Also keep in mind that the revenuers have only recently started shipping this "once a pistol, and thence a rifle, always a rifle it'll be" opinion. Prior to that, there was no issue at all with the Mech-Tech units (or similar).

 

I tried to find an earlier example of what your saying but can't find one in writing. If you know of any documented on

any website, please let me know to compare it.

The Mech-Tech company obviously got it in writing. They've rolled hundreds of thousands of dollars into R&D and brought their product to market and been selling them for years.

 

Then *POP* last year, the revenuers declared the Mech-Tech upper (and similar devices) a "one way conversion" - which ran counter to all of Mech-Tech's advertising. Do you think Mech-Tech's lawyers told them "This is a one way conversion", but they went on and advertised them as convertible, anyway?

 

The revenuers are known to flip-flop like a freshly landed fish on previously issued "opinions".

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What about the Glock stuff that you can buy that snaps into the hole in the bottom of the pistol and gives you a stock? I see people selling these, but advising they may not be legal.

Unless you have a 16" barrel installed on your Glock prior to "snapping it into the hole", you're creating an unregistered SBR.

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