Ten years in the Federal slam and $10,000 fine; conviction on a Federal felony, meaning you can never own guns again.
Yes. it is AMAZINGLY stupid...furthermore, if you put a Crimson Trace vertical handgrip on one of the rails, instant Any Other Weapon status, and you're in the same trick bag with the G.
The 1934 Firearms Act was designed to give the hordes of "revenue agents," suddenly unemployed by the repeal of Prohibition, something to do. The Act was drafted to focus on non-consequential arbitrary trivia (barrel length, overall length, issues like you cite) designed to capture the most number of innocent gunowners in a Federal crime. Suppressors were added at the last minute to "discourage" poaching.
Under my understanding of the law, you cannot legally own even parts that could be assembled into a controlled firearm. For example, you could not possess a CT LaserGrip or a MagPul stock if the only AR you had was the pistol.
Michael B
The penalties are WILDLY out of proportion to the "crime," which is basically failure to pay a $200 or $5 tax.