MSP now considers SBR's w/req min 29" OA length as Pistols? WTH?

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  • Gryphon

    inveniam viam aut faciam
    Patriot Picket
    Mar 8, 2013
    6,993
    Local shop that I bought a factory SBR from, and that we had to swap stocks onto meet Maryland's 29" overall minimum, advises that as of last week MSP says SBR's are pistols. So an HQL is required plus a 7 day wait after getting tax stamps from ATF? WTH?
     

    redeemed.man

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 29, 2013
    17,444
    HoCo
    Tyrants, they make it up as they go. In some tremendous failure of the system of checks, balances, and accountability they believe we answer to them rather than the other way around. MSP would not exist without the hardworking taxpayers of this state, ultimately they work for us.
     

    Sundazes

    My brain hurts
    MDS Supporter
    Nov 13, 2006
    21,304
    Arkham
    Was it under 29 inches? If so, it needs to make that 29", factory or not. Hence the stock change.
    I don't know about the MSP saying it is a pistol. That does not sound right.
     

    Xshot

    Ultimate Member
    BANNED!!!
    Aug 14, 2013
    1,645
    Pasadena, MD
    When my SBR AK was built by Engage, once the ATF stamp came in I had to go in and do MD paperwork and wait 7 days to go back and pick it up. This was last month.
     

    dogbone

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 14, 2011
    2,981
    GTT - Gone To Texas
    Under Maryland law, SBRs are magical creatures having to abide by both the 29" minimum OAL for rifles and also subject to laws about pistols, except for needing to be on the Handgun Roster. Might as well call them SBU (Short Barrel Unicorn).
     

    tkd4life

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 10, 2010
    1,737
    Southern Maryland
    If Maryland defines the thing as a pistol, why get the tax stamp at all. It is a conflict to have different definitions for a rifle at the state and federal level. I get that it would be expensive but this should be challenged.
     

    Rab1515

    Ultimate Member
    Patriot Picket
    Apr 29, 2014
    2,081
    Calvert
    Problem is MD and federal law have different definition of what is a handgun. I believe, in MD anything with a barrel less then 16 inches is legally a handgun, which is why the "copy cat rifle" and "copy of a banned rifle" doesnt apply to pistols.
     

    Gryphon

    inveniam viam aut faciam
    Patriot Picket
    Mar 8, 2013
    6,993
    Apparently my firearm is in the nebulous unicorn zone - simultaneously a pistol and a rifle. How can anyone with a reasonable head on their shoulders demand a pistol have a minimum length of 29"?
     

    SW6906user

    Active Member
    When my SBR AK was built by Engage, once the ATF stamp came in I had to go in and do MD paperwork and wait 7 days to go back and pick it up. This was last month.

    Same here...

    The only reason I now have an HQL. I started the process on my SBR in June 2016 had my trust, went and picked out my SBR. Waited my year, was going in for pick up and found out I needed that stinking HQL!!!
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    By the definition in Maryland 5-101 PS, they're not wrong. The fundamental problem is that MD law defines handgun adequately in one place and then NEVER bothers to reference that definition anywhere else in the law. So you wind up with bizarre oddities where SBRs are simultaneously treated as handguns and rifles by different parts of the law.

    http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/f...on=5-101&ext=html&session=2016RS&tab=subject5
     

    montoya32

    Ultimate Member
    Patriot Picket
    Jun 16, 2010
    11,311
    Harford Co
    Apparently my firearm is in the nebulous unicorn zone - simultaneously a pistol and a rifle. How can anyone with a reasonable head on their shoulders demand a pistol have a minimum length of 29"?

    Have MSP SOP's been updated in the last 3 years? Your info comes on the heels of the MSP releasing a bulletin about 10+ capacity magazines.
     

    swinokur

    In a State of Bliss
    Patriot Picket
    Apr 15, 2009
    55,394
    Westminster USA
    to MSP, they're both, due to different definitions in different subtitles.
    .
    .
     

    Attachments

    • 3-26-14 LD-FRS-14-002 - Short Barreled Shotguns and Short Barreled Rifles.pdf
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    swinokur

    In a State of Bliss
    Patriot Picket
    Apr 15, 2009
    55,394
    Westminster USA
    Engage went round and round with MSP on this.

    No resolution.

    Only in MD can a firearm be a rifle and a handgun at the same time.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Problem is MD and federal law have different definition of what is a handgun. I believe, in MD anything with a barrel less then 16 inches is legally a handgun, which is why the "copy cat rifle" and "copy of a banned rifle" doesnt apply to pistols.

    Correct. Which is also a reminder that SNRs have to follow ALL handgun rules. That includes carry restrictions of a handgun.

    Why I have limited interest in one.
     

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