Category Archives: AR & Related Rifles and Pistols

AR & Related Rifles and Pistols, Gunsmithing

ATF Opinion Letter on AR Pistols – Some Key Considerations

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.

AR_Pistol_1AR_Pistol_2AR_Pistol_3

 

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.

AR & Related Rifles and Pistols, Gunsmithing, Shooting in General

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

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:

atf-afg

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:

AR_Pistol_1
AR_Pistol_2
AR_Pistol_3

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.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@*********ps.com. Please note that for links to other websites, we are only paid if there is an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay and only if you purchase something.

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.

AK & Related Rifles, AR & Related Rifles and Pistols, Shooting in General

The Best M4/AR Collapsible Stock Review I have Read – Maybe My F93 Isn’t Quite Up To Snuff

As you may well know, I am more of an AK guy than an AR guy but I must admit that I really like collapsible stocks.  A few years back when I built my personal M92, I opted to use a Yugo M72 rear trunnion an Ace modular adapter and their M4 stock adapter so that I could use a collapsible stock.

DSC_0273

DSC_0284

I liked the Ergo F93 because I had seen it back when Magpul owned it and bought it on sale.  Now, I have to admit that I bought the stock and really liked the feel.  I never did a drop test and it never occurred to me to do a drop test. I have never done any real stress testing of it in terms of carbine courses, etc. — mainly a lot of range sessions and never a problem … until someone told me about a test done on the F93.

In reading this review, the F39 broke on the first drop – according to the author, even Ergo knows they need to overhaul the design to reinforce the latch mechanism.

I’m very happy with my Magpul AR stocks and will continue to use the ACS, CTR, and PRS stocks.

So, with no further a do, check out this cool stock review:

http://blogs.militarytimes.com/gearscout/2012/02/01/buttstock-bashfest-gearscout-finds-out-just-how-far-tough-talk-goes/

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@*********ps.com. Please note that for links to other websites, we are only paid if there is an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay and only if you purchase something.