Hawkeye
The Leatherstocking
- Jan 29, 2009
- 3,971
That is a complete AR-15 lower with a stock. It is not a rifle. You can pull the stock off and put a pistol upper on it, as long as you do not put a rifle upper on it first.
It does not matter what the 77R says. Rifle, pistol or other. It is what it is and that is "other".
If it was a rifle, it would have to have an heavy barrel or you could not purchase it in MD. Also, a MD legal rifle requires no 77R, or is cash and carry.
This is the correct answer to all of this. An AR lower is not a pistol, and is not a rifle until it either has a) a rifled barrel AND a stock on at the same time, in which case it is a rifle, or b) a rifled barrel and is designed to be fired by one hand (i.e. has no stock) in which case it is a pistol.
I think I'm confusing everyone. I'll post this again.
If I buy this (https://www.brownells.com/rifle-par...eceiver-complete-ambidextrous-prod108056.aspx) will I have to go through the waiting period and have an HQL to get it?
If no, then if I put a pistol brace on it does it become an illegal pistol?
You would have to do a 77R and waiting period because MSP is breaking the law, but you are not required to do an HQL.
Thanks. Sorry I made it so complicated.
You're not - it's an unnecessarily complex area of law thanks to our stupid state.
That leads to the next question:
So I take off the stock and put on the pistol brace. Good to go... Then I use it in a home defense situation or a cop questions me at a range or some other slim possibility that I have to prove it is legal.
How do you prove it was never a rifle first so it's legal?
You don't, but that's because the burden of proof is on the state to prove it was a rifle first, and they can't.