Pistol to SBR back to Pistol?

**FrankW** · 11-23-18, 09:01

Team,

Seeking information. I bought a BCM AR pistol lower and had it SBR’D back when all the cool kids were doing it.

Well fast forward to SB Tactical’s SBA3 and I’d like to return the lower to pistol format. Easier travel and less concern about access.

Has anyone does this before? Is it possible? Is there legal guidance on ATF site?

Thanks in advance.

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**Five_Point_Five_Six** · 11-23-18, 09:16

Originally Posted by FrankW

Team,

Seeking information. I bought a BCM AR pistol lower and had it SBR’D back when all the cool kids were doing it.

Well fast forward to SB Tactical’s SBA3 and I’d like to return the lower to pistol format. Easier travel and less concern about access.

Has anyone does this before? Is it possible? Is there legal guidance on ATF site?

Thanks in advance.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'd start there.

**boombotz401** · 11-23-18, 09:35

It’d be a whole lot easier to just build a separate AR pistol lower

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**themonk** · 11-23-18, 09:58

Don't take this as gospel as it was a SHOT Show conversation but I think it's a no go. You can go from pistol to rifle back to pistol but it has to be a pistol at birth. Once you SBR it, you make it an SBR and you lose the pistol designation. It is clearly a gray area and I have not heard a definitive answer form the ATF.

**MegademiC** · 11-23-18, 10:25

Interesting.
I would think, since you can go pistol->rifle->pistol, and
Rifle->sbr->rifle, it should be ok.

Once you put a 16”upper on, its just a rifle, and since it was first a pistol, and can go from rifle to pistol, but who knows what they say.

Id keep sbr so I can have a stock, and build a pistol lower for when I travel.

**boombotz401** · 11-23-18, 10:29

Even with a 16” it may not be in SBR form but it’s still a registered SBR lower which will be trouble in a ban state

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**MistWolf** · 11-23-18, 10:36

Originally Posted by boombotz401

It’d be a whole lot easier to just build a separate AR pistol lower

Yes. Yes, it is.

I have never seen anything prohibiting using an SBR lower as a pistol lower, however, when a lower is registered as a short barreled rifle, it is registered as a rifle. There is also the fact that an SBR lower must have a letter to take it out of state when a barrel that's shorter than sixteen inches is used.