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Thread: Talk me into buying a sbr

  1. #1
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    Talk me into buying a sbr

    I currently own a Larry vickers Daniel defense 16" rifle but have been considering either selling it and buying a factory sbr or buying another upper to make an sbr. What are the benefits of buying a factory sbr vs registering my current lower to use as an sbr?

  2. #2
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    The benefit of buying a factory SBR is not having your personal info engraved on the lower.

    It's been suggested that you should always have a 16" (or 14.5" with perm) on hand.
    "Arms are the only true badge of liberty. The possession of arms is the distinction of a free man from a slave." - Andrew Fletcher, 1698

    "You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass." - Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

    "Among Other Evils Which Being Unarmed Brings You, It Causes You To Be Despised." - The Prince, Nicolo Machiavelli

  3. #3
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    As mentioned, not having to engrave your lower with your personal info is the primary reason most choose the factory SBR, but a secondary benefit is that you have also a factory gun.

    The mechanical simplicity of assembling an AR confuses a lot of people into thinking that "building" them is "easy". Assembling? yes. Making one work? Maybe not. Factor in the tighter range of operational tolerances of an SBR and you're asking for trouble.

    What sucks is that by and large the cost of factory SBRs hasn't come down along with factory rifles. When I bought my 6933s they were ~$100 more than a 6920 at the time and that was less than it would have cost me to ship it back and forth and have it engraved.

    I would not own an SBR alone, and personally I wouldn't want to have just an SBR and a 16" upper either. Once you SBR your lower in the eyes of the govt. it's always an SBR regardless of the length of the upper that's on it. Will anyone ever know or check? Probably not. But it's as good a reason as any to have a second gun. Which you should have anyway. I like to have identical guns, but absent that I like to have two functionally identical guns with small changes that make one better suited to some tasks than another. A Glock 19 for shooting and OWB carry and a Glock 26 for IWB carry, for example.

    Another example

  4. #4
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    I bought complete lowers from BCM and LMT and then SBR'd them adding BCM uppers later. I would not buy a factory SBR, but many do and there's nothing wrong with it.

    My trust's name is "In God We Trust". I guess if I was one of those who just had to have a professionally named trust like "Eurodriver Lastname XXX-XX-XXXX 1234 Warehouse Street Seattle, WA" I wouldn't want that engraved on my lower but even still, its my lower and its small engraving. No one is going to see it, or care.
    Why do the loudest do the least?

  5. #5
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    I would get a 2nd lower. Lowers are not that much, and with all the legality of a sbr I think I would want to keep it seperate from my other rifle. If memory serves me correctly you have to notify them when you cross state lines and things like that.

  6. #6
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    I went with a factory SBR(Noveske with a Switch Block) because I wanted the ability to run it either suppressed or unsuppressed and not have to worry about tinkering with it myself to make it reliable. Yes I probably paid more than I would have the other way but I have peace of mind also.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by rob_s View Post
    As mentioned, not having to engrave your lower with your personal info is the primary reason most choose the factory SBR, but a secondary benefit is that you have also a factory gun.

    The mechanical simplicity of assembling an AR confuses a lot of people into thinking that "building" them is "easy". Assembling? yes. Making one work? Maybe not. Factor in the tighter range of operational tolerances of an SBR and you're asking for trouble.

    What sucks is that by and large the cost of factory SBRs hasn't come down along with factory rifles. When I bought my 6933s they were ~$100 more than a 6920 at the time and that was less than it would have cost me to ship it back and forth and have it engraved.

    I would not own an SBR alone, and personally I wouldn't want to have just an SBR and a 16" upper either. Once you SBR your lower in the eyes of the govt. it's always an SBR regardless of the length of the upper that's on it. Will anyone ever know or check? Probably not. But it's as good a reason as any to have a second gun. Which you should have anyway. I like to have identical guns, but absent that I like to have two functionally identical guns with small changes that make one better suited to some tasks than another. A Glock 19 for shooting and OWB carry and a Glock 26 for IWB carry, for example.

    Another example
    I have a registered lower and was going to "remove it from the registry," so to speak. I want to replace the lower with a different one, thus the desire have the original removed. I did a little investigative work and found this info:

    According to the ATF NFA Handbook (Sect 2.5 http://www.atf.gov/publications/firearms/nfa-handbook/), it's only an SBR when it is configured as such. So, if you are running a barrel of 16 inches (or greater) on a registered SBR lower, it's not an SBR. Remember, it has to be in a configuration that makes it subject to the NFA to be considered an NFA item. Again, this is according to the above referenced section in the NFA Handbook.

    So, once I get the stamp back on my new lower, I don't have to notifiy the ATF that the original lower is no longer an SBR (as long as I do not put it in an SBR configuration, it is not longer an SBR).
    Last edited by mo4040; 03-30-12 at 20:23. Reason: additional info

  8. #8
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    SBR or not...

    SBR is the way for handy and practical. I am awaiting a stamp for an 11.5 and have the opportunity to shoot a buddies who has his already... one time and I was sold on the accuracy, power and handiness... The shorty's are a winning combination.



    Accurate enough at 200 yards? 5 in less than an inch.



    Awaitng stamp, being held by a stamped LEO... Suppressor is already in hand with stamp.

  9. #9
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    I vote for an SBR in your arsenal. I have both and like the diversification of two completely different rifles. The SBR process is slow and takes time, so you may want a separate lower to register. And that is the main point of the SBR'ing process - you register the LOWER. After you're stamped, you can interchange uppers all day long.

    As another poster suggested, buy a second lower first and get your tax stamp first. Leave your current, primary rifle alone. Once you have the stamp in hand, then decide what upper you want to mount.

    I just completed a carbine course and used my SBR instead of my much heavier 18" competition rig. A 16" rifle is pretty universal, but a 12.5" and a 18" are two totally different animals. In the end, it's only money. Go spend some!
    Here in America we are descended in spirit from revolutionists and rebels - men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. ~Dwight D. Eisenhower, address, Columbia University, 31 May 1954

  10. #10
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    I have two factory SBRs set up just alike except one is a 10.5" LMT and one is a 11.5" BCM.

    I have two other lowers I just sent out to have engraved so I can SBR them on a form one. $118 for engraving and return shipping plus $50 to send them out. If I didn't already have the lowers I would have gone factory/form 4 again. Unless you can buy what you want local you need to figure in shipping and transfer fees too. For me about a wash.

    Remember two is one, one is none. Having a spare is always a good policy.

    I wish I started buying SBRs sooner. Go for it.

    Also as stated above the SBR restrictions are not a concern if you want to travel out of state use a 16"+ upper, leaving the NFA upper home and you're good to go. When you come home slap your SBR back on.
    "Real men have always needed to know what time it is so they are at the airfield on time, pumping rounds into savages at the right time, etc. Being able to see such in the dark while light weights were comfy in bed without using a light required luminous material." -Originally Posted by ramairthree

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