Bob,
As a former Class III owner and police officer in The Granite State, I do commend your enthusiasm, but it seems to me you're also getting a bit ahead of yourself. Making an NFA decision based upon "looks" strikes me as a rather foolhardy proposition; doubly so when you can just go with a pinned flash suppressor on a 14.5" and avoid the whole mess. Class III ownership involves a great deal of scrutiny and potential inconvenience -- even in a gun friendly state -- and unless you have a real desire to get down and dirty with a 10", 11.5" or 12" barrel, there is almost no reason to go through all of that just for appearances' sake.
I think I'm reacting, in part, to the fact that you popped up on the grid here the other day having just barely finished paying for a Colt, and you're already rushing headlong into the NFA question without really even knowing why ... unless you count "because it looks cool" as a real reason, in which case you may be on the wrong forum. That has poseur written all over it, and I'm sure that you want to avoid that just as badly as we want to help you do just that. There is a learning curve here, and no one is suggesting that going the NFA route is a bad thing (far from it), but you might want to relax a bit first. My advice would be to get yourself out to the range once you get some decent weather up there and put your unmodified, unmolested, unimproved Colt through it's paces. See what you like and dislike about it. Consider how your needs/wishes/desires may change over time. Get to know your rifle a bit. Put some thought into where and how you most want to use it.
Shorty configurations offer considerable convenience in handling along with a healthy dose of pure fun, but they can also be loud and impractical if you plan to spend a lot of time on the range, or intend to travel much for training. That's why it is almost always better to start with a standard LE carbine, and consider getting a dedicated Class III upper a bit later if you are willing to register the lower; otherwise, you can just buy a complete Colt SBR straight out from SAW or Clyde Armory, etc. In general, I would agree that barrel cutting on an AR is an answer to a question that needn't even be asked, as there are factory NFA components readily available. (This isn't one of those situations like the PS-90 guys face when they want to SBR it with a short FN factory tube that is simply unobtainable through non-official channels.)
Perhaps it sounds like I'm whizzing in your Wheaties. I'm not. I'm just trying to help you temper your zeal just a bit so that you can settle in and be taken seriously around here, and not find yourself lumped into the heap of those who are simply preoccupied with "the über-tactical cool factor." There isn't a thing in the world wrong with your attitude, but the whole crawl-walk-run principle probably has some application here. Reading the M4CN boards will certainly help some. Getting out onto the firing line will help considerably more. Signing up for some competent instruction will bring you the rest of the way to where you seem to really want to be. The good news is that you're on the right path ... just have some patience. Remember: this isn't about looking good; it's about being good.
The NFA administrative issues/forms issue is a bit hit-or-miss, as different folks tend to have different experiences depending upon how they write things up, and which examiner processes their application. Overall length must be included, of course, and that generally means that you'll need to define the barrel length as a function of overall length, if nothing else. Some folks have no trouble with annotating the barrel as "less than 16 inches," while others have had applications returned for the very same reason. Some folks put multiple barrel lengths on the form, and get it through; others get them kicked-back and asked for specific clarification.
In general, it has been my experience that the best approach is to write down the actual barrel length of the tube you intend to use most often (i.e. the one that will most often be physically mounted on the registered lower), and then followed up with a letter to the ATF that specifies that your registered SBR will "also be used with barrel lengths of x or y inches." At that point, the weapon is already on the NFA registry, so the point is largely moot in the legal sense -- and you've gone on record with your intentions, should they ever be called into question later.
You've found the right place to learn, and you're asking most of the right questions ... just slow down a bit and enjoy yourself, brother.
Chief



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