Category Archives: AR & Related Rifles and Pistols

Folks, I saw the Cold Dead Hands (CDH) ambidextrous charging handle ad on Facebook and figured for $34.94 delivered I might as well give it a try so I ordered it on 6/22/17. The first thing I noticed after I placed my order was that it was shipping from China but was hopeful that wasn’t a bad thing. Well, it arrived today (6/28/17) in a brown cushion mailer and I immediately noticed the bare bones generic packaging it was in and was still hopeful because it looked pretty good.

Here it is next to my favorite model of charging handle, the BCM Gunfighter Mod 3 Large Latch.

It fit just fine in terms of installation and locking in place.

The problem is the unlocking. It is a tad rough from the left side (the non op side looking down from the top where the normal handle release is) but it works.

From the right side (where the ejection port is), if you pull back slow using the right tab the handle’s catch hook pretty much digs in and locks the handle in place. If I yanked hard and fast from the right, it would release. If I went slow, it would not release. This pretty well defeats the ambidextrous function claim.

There’s nothing odd about the upper – just a normal Palmetto State Armory upper. In the next photo, I stopped the handle short on purpose to take the photo of the locking area on the upper.

So, the CDH handle was gritty on the left and unpredictable on the right. Out it went and the BCM Mod 3 went in. By the way, a Mil-Spec charging handle worked just fine as does the BCM. I had a Mil-Spec handle in there before trying the CDH unit.

Bottom line, based on my experience, I would recommend against buying the Cold Dead Hands model. Stick with Mil-Spec or a name brand charging handle.

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AR & Related Rifles and Pistols

ATF Letter Regarding Full-Auto M16/M4 Fire Control Groups and SBR Uppers That You Need to Know About

June 19, 2017 RoninsGrips 1 Comment

Please note this is an old letter and the ATF doesn’t view these as etched in stone findings any more so just view it for historical purposes. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. I’m just providing a copy as a service to the firearms community.

Here is the 1999 letter that you should be aware of – I made the two sections that I think semi-auto non-NFA AR owners should know about in bold italics:

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS
WASHINGTON, DC 20226

MAR 29 2000

903050:GKD
3311

Dear Mr. :

This refers to your letter of January 22, 1999, requesting
information on the legality of possessing a registered full auto
AR15 and also possessing one or more semiautomatic pre-1994
assembled AR15 rifles. You appended a number of specific questions
relating to this subject which will be answered in the order
received.

1. Is it legal to own both?

There are no provisions under the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) or
the National Firearms Act (NFA) that prevent an individual from
possessing an AR15 registered machinegun and one or more
semiautomatic AR15 rifles at the same time.

2. If legal to own both, which spare parts for the registered gun
can you also own?

Any weapon which shoots automatically more than one shot, without
manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger meets the
definition of a machinegun in section 5845(b) of the NFA. An AR15
rifle which is assembled with certain M16 machinegun fire control
components, and which is capable of shooting automatically is a
machinegun as defined.

The definition of a machinegun in section 5845(b) also includes any
combination of parts from which a machinegun can be assembled if
such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person.
Thus, an AR15 rifle possessed with separate M16 machinegun
components can meet the definition of a machinegun, if the rifle
shoots automatically when the components are installed.

The fact that a person lawfully possesses a registered NFA firearm
does not grant authorization to possess additional non-registered
firearms. A person who possesses a registered M16 machinegun and
a semiautomatic AR15 and a separate quantity of M16 machinegun
components could be in possession of two machineguns.

We advise any person who possesses an AR15 rifle not to possess M16
fire control components (trigger, hammer, disconnector, selector,
and bolt carrier). If a person possessed only the M16 machinegun
and spare M16 fire control components for that machinegun, the
person would possess only one machinegun.

3. Is it legal to use the upper receiver off of the semi-auto AR’s
on the registered AR if they are different lengths and calibers
than listed on the Form 4’s?

Before changing the caliber of a registered machinegun you should
notify the NFA Branch in writing of the proposed change.

4. Can you have several short barrel uppers (less than 16 inches)
for the registered AR and still own semi-auto AR’s?

The definition of a firearm in section 5845 of the NFA includes a
rifle having a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length.
An individual possessing more than one short (less than 16 inches)
barreled upper receiver for a registered AR15 machinegun along with
one or more semiautomatic AR15 rifles would have under their
possession of control an unregistered short barreled rifle, a
violation of the NFA.

5. If you change the barrel length or caliber do I need to notify
your office if the change is not a permanent one?

This question was answered under Question 3.

We trust that the foregoing has been responsive to your inquiry.
If we can be of any further assistance, please contact us.

Sincerely yours,

[signed]
Edward M. Owen, Jr.
Chief, Firearms Technology Branch

Sources For AR Parts

The following are all vendors of AR parts including barrels, handguards, triggers, magaziness and what have you that I use and recommend:

Beware no-name knock off websites selling generic import stuff. Some of the parts are counterfeit and not rated for firearms use.

ATF letter stating you can build an AR pistol from a receiver transferred as such and never assembled as a rifle

May 29, 2017 RoninsGrips 1 Comment

Okay, I posted a couple of ATF letters and a guy sent me a message asking if I had the letter specifying that an AR pistol can be built from an AR receiver that was transferred as a receiver and never assembled as a rifle. It just so happens I did save that one back when I built a couple of AR pistols a few years back. I like to have the letters of anything someone may ask about and keep them in my case with the weapon when I take it shooting. At any rate, here is the ATF letter in case anyone else needs it:

Please note that I am not a lawyer and this should not be construed as legal advice.

AR & Related Rifles and Pistols

Very Good AR Lower Receiver Assembly Videos on Youtube

December 24, 2014 RoninsGrips

Have you ever wondered how to assemble an AR lower receiver and were curious what free resources are available? I spent some time on Youtube and collected a list of videos that show the viewer how to assemble a lower receiver for an AR-type rifle. I would recommend watching several as each presenter’s methods has pros and cons plus there are different details and camera angles in some cases.

“Gunsmithing – How to Build an AR-15 Lower Receiver” by MidwayUSA

“EASIEST AR15 lower build diy, step by step” by dutchofsc

“AR-15 Lower Receiver” by bgallaher77

I really liked all of the above and hope you find them useful.

ATF Opinion Letter on AR Pistols – Some Key Considerations

December 14, 2014 RoninsGrips

In this ATF letter, the author asked the ATF’s opinion on a number of great AR pistol related questions. I am paraphrasing a few points I found important to help folks doing full text searches for opinions:

1) An AR lower receiver is neither pistol nor rifle until it is built the first time. If you want to make a pistol, a lower receiver must *never* have been built in a rifle configuration.

2) AR pistols do not have a barrel length restriction.

3) AR handguards can be used on an AR pistol

4) An AR rifle and pistol can be in the same household — note, and this is a personal comment, what got a guy in trouble years ago was that he had only an AR rifle and a pistol upper with no lower to mount it on. I don’t remember all of the details but the main thing here is that you never want it to look like the only reason you have a pistol/SBR upper is to put in on your AR that is legally classified as a rifle.

5) Magpul angled fore grips (AFGs) are permissible on the bottom accessory/picatinny rail.

I recommend people print and keep copies of letters just in case they need to show someone that some aspect of a weapon was “approved” by the ATF at some point. Just bear in mind that ATF letters are not absolutes but it helps to have them handy if asked. A state or local government may have their own more restrictive regulations as well so this may not mean AFGs are legal for everyone everywhere.

Legal Disclaimer: I am not an attorney and am not giving legal advice. I am just passing this information along and it is up to you to determine what you can/can’t do.

ATF letter stating that the Magpul AFG is legal for use on AR pistols

December 4, 2014 RoninsGrips

Please treat this as reference material only and not legal advice. The ATF does not always adhere to letters, states and local governments are doing their own thing and it’s hard to say what is acceptable or not just to be perfectly blunt. We live in interesting times unfortunately.

Folks, here is an ATF letter saying that an angled foregrip (AFG), such as Magpul’s models, can be used on an AR pistol. This is the first time someone shared a definitive letter with me vs. hearsay.

12/14/2014 Update: Here are scanned images of two different ATF letters saying AFGs can be used on AR pistols because they are not considered vertical grips:

This is a second letter wherein they answer a number of good questions about AR pistols in general. On page three is another comment that the AFG is allowed:

The reason this matters is that a vertical foregrip is not legal without first registering the pistol as an “any other weapon” or AOW. I recommend people print and keep copies of letters just in case they need to show someone that some aspect of a weapon was “approved” by the ATF at some point. Just bear in mind that ATF letters are not absolutes but it helps to have them handy if asked. A state or local government may have their own more restrictive regulations as well so this may not mean AFGs are legal for everyone everywhere.

Legal Disclaimer: I am not an attorney and am not giving legal advice. I am just passing this information along and it is up to you to determine what you can/can’t do.

Sources For AR Parts

The following are all vendors of AR parts including barrels, handguards, triggers, magaziness and what have you that I use and recommend:

Beware no-name knock off websites selling generic import stuff. Some of the parts are counterfeit and not rated for firearms use.

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