The key issue as I understand it is whether the receiver has ever been used to build a rifle, in which case it's a rifle. Some lower manufacturers (Spike's Tactical and Rock River come immediately to mind) offer to sell you either a rifle or a pistol lower, so you'll be covered on your build.
I think the tricky issue is whether you have to components to build whatever upper you have into a legal gun. Here's the Wikipedia entry on the Thompson Center case that went to the Supreme Court in the 1990s:
"In the case of United States v. Thompson/Center Arms Co. (1992), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the company's favor by deciding that the rifle conversion kit that Thompson sold with their pistols did not constitute a short barreled rifle under the National Firearms Act of 1934.[7]
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms contended that the mere possession of a pistol, having a barrel less than sixteen inches (406 mm) long, with a shoulder stock and rifle-length (more than sixteen inches) barrel constituted constructive intent to "make" an illegal short-barreled rifle (by combining the pistol's frame, the pistol-length barrel, and the shoulder stock).
This decision clarified the meaning of the term "make" in the National Firearms Act by stating that the pistol had to be assembled with a barrel less than 16 inches (410 mm) long with a stock directly attached to it to constitute a short-barrelled rifle under the National Firearms Act, and that the mere possession of components that theoretically could be assembled in an illegal configuration was not in itself a violation, as long as the components could also be assembled into legal configurations.[8]"
My understanding of this provision is that if you have, say, an 11-inch AR upper and ONLY AR-15s in rifle configurations, you are in violation of the 1934 Firearms Act, because there is no way to assemble the 11-inch upper into a non-regulated firearm...you always end up with an SBR. If, however, you also have a stripped dedicated pistol lower, you are 100% legal because you can assemble a non-regulated firearm, a pistol, with the parts. Ditto for having a T/C folding stock and only pistol-length T/C barrels...that would be illegal because the only possible final assembly would be an SBR. If you purchase a T/C rifle barrel, the components become legal.
I realize this is complete and total nonsense...we all know that the whole SBR/SBS provisions of the 1934 Firearms Act were only in there because the intent was to make all handguns and short-barreled anythings controlled weapons, but that at the last minute handguns were removed from the Act and SBR/SBS were left in so all those now-underemployed revenuers had something to justify their existence. THAT SAID, I strongly suggest erring on the side of caution, given how BATFE has viciously enforced the SBR/SBS rules. Part of that caution might be purchasing a dedicated PISTOL lower so there would be no question as to the legality of your product. I believe you can also ask the lower manufacturer to specify in the transfer documents that the receiver is for a PISTOL, which should cover you. You can always change your mind and build a rifle from a pistol, just not the other way around...
Michael B
MBTV
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