| What’s
Legal? Semi-Auto Pistol Accessories |
Well you
just got home with your new front grip for your semi-auto
M-11 and you are getting ready to install it…...
NOT SO FAST!
A lot of people don’t realize attaching
all those cool grips and stocks to your semi-auto pistol
is a federal offense, even though they're all OK on an NFA-registered full-auto gun.
I have created a chart below to show what you
can & cannot do on a semi-auto pistol. I have also included some basic
information on what type of permit you need to make
that configuration legal.
Disclaimer: I am not lawyer so don’t
blame me if my interpretations are wrong. When in doubt, don't do it until you get confirmation that what you intend to do is indeed legal -- stay on the right side of the law and conform to ATF rulings!
|
Semi-Auto MAC Legalities
Chart |
| A.
Illegal SBRs |
| Installing any
type of butt stock on your pistol turns it into
a illegal “Short Barrel Rifle” aka
SBR. It doesn’t matter if the stock is fixed,
folding, or collapsible.
To legally install a rear stock on your
pistol you will need to create / register it
as a SBR with the BATF on a "Form 1" *BEFORE* you install the accessories.
|
| B.
Illegal AOWs |
| Installing any
type of front grip on your pistol turns it in
to an illegal “Any Other Weapon” aka
AOW. A “grip” is a short stock designed
to be gripped by one hand and at an angle to and
extending below the line of the bore(s). Basically
any thing that looks like a pistol grip or even the nylon "loop" grip you find on full-auto versions. Heat shields and barrel extensions are always horizontal and do not count as
“grips” so they are ok.
To legally install a front vertical grip on
your pistol you will need to create / register
it as a AOW with the BATF on a "Form 1" *BEFORE* you install the accessories.
|
| C.
Legal Pistols |
| These are ok.
Pistols with items such as barrel extensions,
heat shields & fake suppressors are legal.
Just makes sure you do not install a front vertical grip or rear stock.
If you replace the upper with one with a 16" or longer barrel installed (not just a barrel extension), such as this one
from Lage Manufacturing, it transforms your semi-automatic pistol into a carbine rifle which is then allowed to have a rear stock, but ONLY while in that long-barrel configuration. |
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