If your checklist earns too many points, you will lose the game and your AR pistol with the stabilizer mount will fall into the territory of the SBR rifle. The GCA and NFA regulate “firearms” and, with a few exceptions, do not regulate individual components. Therefore, the ATF does not classify components or accessories not regulated solely under the GCA and NFA. [10] However, components or accessories, when attached to a firearm, may affect the classification of a firearm because: (1) The likely use of a component or accessory may be relevant to the assessment of the alleged intent of the manufacturer or manufacturer with respect to the design of a firearm; and (2) the design of a component or accessory may result in a firearm falling within a specific legal definition. Examples: (1) attaching a front secondary handle [11] to a “pistol” when the resulting firearm is no longer designed to be held and fired with one hand; and (2) a wallet case [12] into which the handgun can be fired during its introduction, changing the classification of these handguns to “any other weapon”. See 26 U.S.C. 5845(e). A “stabilizing orthosis”, of which there are several variants, is another example of a component or accessory that can change the classification of the firearm to which it is attached. The ATF`s Firearms Technology Branch has expressed views that if a pistol (such as an AR pistol) smaller than 26 inches is equipped with a vertical front handle of full length, it is no longer “designed, manufactured and intended to fire.” when they are held in one hand” and therefore no longer meet the definition of a pistol. Such a firearm then falls only within the definition of “any other weapon” according to the NFA. [12] As a preliminary factor in the evaluation of a submitted sample, certain conditions (i.e., the weight and total length of the weapon) are applied to determine whether the firearm is classified as a possible pistol or immediately as a rifle within the meaning of applicable laws. As mentioned earlier, “stabilizing braces” were originally marketed to help people with disabilities and others who do not have sufficient grip strength to control heavier weapons. Therefore, attaching a “stabilizing orthosis” to a typical pistol that does not require assistance, or attaching one to a firearm so heavy or difficult to control that one-handed shooting is impractical or inaccurate, regardless of the stated intent of the manufacturer, will turn the design of the firearm into a rifle to be fired from the shoulder.
In fact, the so-called “stabilizing orthosis” would have no other construction function than to facilitate the firing of the weapon from the shoulder. If you reconfigure your gun`s mount to a shoulder rod, you could get into some hot water. Originally, pistols and revolvers were to be regulated as strictly as machine guns; To this end, cutting off a rifle or shotgun to circumvent restrictions on handguns was taxed as strictly as a machine gun by making a concealed weapon. [7] 9.  See, for example, Cameron Knight, Dayton Shooter used a modified weapon that may have exploited a loophole in the USA Today law (published August 5, 2019, updated August 6, 2019) www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/08/05/dayton-shooter-used-gun-may-have-exploited-legal-loophole/1927566001/ (the firearm used in a shooting that killed 9 people and injured 14 had a “pistol mount” used to “swing” short-range rifles were used); Melissa Macaya et al., 10 killed in a Colorado grocery store shooting, CNN (update 23. March 2021), www.cnn.com/us/live-news/boulder-colorado-shooting-3-23-21/h_0c662370eefaeff05eac3ef8d5f29e94 (report that the firearm used in a shooting that killed 10 people was an AR-15 pistol with an “armrest”). You may be wondering why, with so many gun owners affected by this rule change (the cost to the person is at least the financial loss of their armor thesis or $200 for the NFA tax stamp), batFE wouldn`t be at least “grandfather” in all existing AR pistols with stabilizer pins? Well, you may be wondering what you want, but it doesn`t happen. “Without this rule, public safety will continue to be threatened by the criminal use of these firearms, which are easy to hide from the public and first responders.
Similar to the factoring criteria for weapons, Form ATF 4590 (“Form 4590”), which is used for the importation of pistols and revolvers, the proposed ATF Worksheet 4999 features a points system that assigns a weighted value to various characteristics of the fully assembled firearm as configured for classification when submitted.