AR Pistol

[cz6y48]

Do we have a guide to the process of building an AR Pistol from a stripped lower?  I know I've seen discussion about it but can't find it now.

I went to my local gun store to buy a lower and they said I'd need to send in a RI-060 with me as the buyer and seller and I know that is wrong so I put a pin in things until I could get some solid advice here.

[gryphon]

If you buy a lower from an FFL (finished lower meaning all the holes are in it) you will need an RI-60 with you listed as the buyer and the FFL as the seller (unless you have a carry license from another state).  The lower is the part that is recorded as being sold as it has the serial number.  Nothing more be done after that.

Are you planning on building an AR from an 80% lower?  No RI-60 is required for that sale as it's not a "firearm."  As for the finishing...

[CitizensHaveRights]

You sure about that, Dan?
While I'm sure filling out a RI-60 with the FFL would suffice to register it as a handgun, as a stripped lower it's not legally a handgun and would transfer as "other" firearm type on the 4473.

I think the OP is asking how to register a lower he already possesses. I don't know the answer to that, but filling out both halves of the RI-60 seems reasonable. In effect he'd be creating a handgun.

[gryphon]

Why would an AR pistol not be a pistol?  Doesn't it meet the definition of a pistol?

Also the RI-60 records sales of pistols.  It's not a pistol registration.  Remember this.  If it's an "other" it's not a pistol, if it is a pistol it's already been recorded.

I would suggest the OP join and post to https://www.facebook.com/groups/MichiganOpenCarry because all of the real experts (attorneys and leadership) only post there.

And in no case does one fill out an RI-60 as both the seller and the buyer.  That is a felony, so I would caution you not to advise that.

[CitizensHaveRights]

As Dan pointed out, filling out both halves of the RI-60 isn't the proper way.

As I was trying to point out, the OP seems to be saying "I want to buy a stripped lower and make an AR pistol out of it". An AR pistol is a "handgun", but if the thing you buy from the FFL is an AR lower, that's an "other".

[gryphon]

Then an "other" doesn't require an RI-60.  Period.

But I think law allows one to classify a lower however they want before the build.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you have a "rifle" then you can't change it into a "pistol," right?  (Although vice-versa is okay).

Yes, the firearms laws in America could be better.

[CitizensHaveRights]

Yes, if it's first assembled as a "pistol", then you can switch back and forth with different uppers/stocks.
If it's first assembled as a "rifle", then making it into a pistol later gives you a "short barreled rifle".

A truly paranoid person such as myself would take some assembled lowers with bare buffer tubes to an Indiana rest stop, slap a pistol upper on them, and then go home after removing the upper. Yes, they're first assembled as pistols, and no, I never possessed an unregistered pistol in Michigan.