Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles 10.5 in barrel legal?

So a buddy of mine and i was talking about ordering some barrels. BCA has them $165-200 complete uppers
I mentioned a 10.5” would be handy for in the house or real close up stuff. He said that it would be illegal as under legal length
So if it isn’t on a gun is it legal and if illegal how can they sell them
Thanks

It would be legal in at least two situations. First, as part of a a pistol, and second, as an SBR (if it had a stock).

This one is legal. 😉

Love it, right on! 4th son now has mine, what a shooter it was.

All you need are night sights and a flashlight taped under the barrel!

Betcha there’s more than a few Tacticool SAA or workalikes out there…

The legal part is on the guy who puts one together with that barrel, not the seller. Personally, I consider prison to be very un-handy.

You could make one into a rifle if you weld on a 6” flash hider or brake so it can’t be removed, but better get that welded before you have a lower in hand that could be assembled into an SBR with it. Then, there’s the muzzle blast to consider…..

I’m looking or thinking of having the upper in my safe not attached for when shtf
If it isn’t attached to a lower ,,,,,,,and if ur not out brandishing in public what’s the foul?

If you have a lower and the short upper - they consider that "intent to construct" and you need to have the SBR tax stamp. - or so I understand it.

In your case - no harm/no foul so long as LEO NEVER EVER enters your home EVER and sees it/finds it and you never ever remove it from the home where someone might see/find it.

Reminder, LEO might be in your home for a reason not related to the firearm...

It's perfectly legal to own, just buy it if you want it. Do not put it on anything but a pistol lower, unless you pay a tax stamp to SBR it. Pistol lowers are still legal as long as you don't have a pistol brace attached. Setting it up as a pistol with an RDS works great.

Get a pistol lower from PSA for a very reasonable price, and you're good to go.

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa...l-lower-no-magazine-black-516445009.html


Your 10.5" is a perfectly legal pistol. I use a sling to get the most out of mine, now that the braces are verboten.

That hurts my ears just looking at it. 😁

It’s always smart to rely on a completely untested piece of gear when the SHTF.

"Accumulative construction" I think is what the feds call it. If you have all the pieces, assembled or not, in your possession, to put a SBR together, they can / will charge you with possession if an unregistered SBR. Legally, from what I've been told, you can't even have the sub- 16 inch barrel in you possession while you're waiting on a tax stamp, if you don't have a dedicated pistol lower to put it on.

Do like Montana Marine said, get a pistol lower, no brace, and you should be good to go. Or, do the paperwork and get a tax stamp for a SBR. Either way, a couple hundred bucks is cheap compared to what the penalties would be if by chance the law would happen to come knocking for whatever reason.


And one more thing..if you get a 10.5 inch upper, invest in some quality hearing protection.

And one more thing..if you get a 10.5 inch upper, invest in some quality hearing protection.

Trying to fight with one of those, especially indoors, without earpro would be a very very bad idea. If you really want a shorty, get a .300 or a pistol caliber upper, and a can.

At the range, I can always tell when someone breaks out one of those stubbys, even when I’m yards away on one of the rifle ranges. I wait for a pause, then double up on the earpro.

10.5" is legal for: pistol, SBR, or machinegun receivers.

The potential issue is referred to as "constructive possession". If you own a pistol, SBR, or MG receiver you can have a drawer full of 10.5" uppers with no issue......so long as you do not assemble any of them using a Title 1, non-NFA rifle lower.

Long ago I used to worry about having a Title 1 AR-15 in the same place as a pile of shorty uppers. But it's a non-issue......again.......so long as I do not mount a shorty upper on a Title 1 AR lower.

Constructive possession is more an issue with other platforms.

and if you go the SBR route, don't forget to always have that paperwork with you. If you travel, I believe you have to inform every state you plan to go through. I can't see having a short barrel worth the crap you have to go through. Yeah, I have one. lol

It was a sad sad day at home.... FJB.

Best thing to keep quiet if one plans to do these things.

No questions on the net is a good place to start. Paying cash for said barrel through a shop is another good idea.

Those regs are SO insane to me! 😖
You can build an AR pistol without a permit.
You can ONLY build a SBR with a permit! (?)

Put a plastic stock on your AR pistol and it suddenly becomes a SBR?
Pull that stock off your SBR and it's suddenly a pistol?
Gimme a break! 😡

Putting a brace on an SBR does not turn it into a pistol. It's still an SBR.