Interesting ATF regulatory decision

Olle · 07-08-2019, 01:17 PM

This SBR business is starting to get ridiculous, especially since the "experts" at ATF have been going back and forth with it for years. IMO, an AK or AR-15 without buttstock is more dangerous than one with a stock, it's a very awkward weapon that can't even be aimed properly. Still, this configuration seems to be what ATF prefers in order to "satisfy the letter of the law".

I can't remember where I read this, but somebody traced down the origin of the SBR to an oversight in the NFA of 1934. The original proposal included a restriction that made handguns subject to the $200 tax stamp, so they had to define what constitutes a pistol. The proposed pistol restrictions were later removed, but some of the definitions were left in the final document. Thus, the law came to define a rifle of certain dimension as a pistol, and being a pistol it cannot have a buttstock. In other words: The whole SBR thing appears to stem from a simple mistake, which is now causing great confusion among gun owners, as well as ATF agents.

07-08-2019, 01:17 PM	#8
Olle User Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Tennessee Posts: 1,149 Thanks: 159 Thanked 664 Times in 318 Posts	This SBR business is starting to get ridiculous, especially since the "experts" at ATF have been going back and forth with it for years. IMO, an AK or AR-15 without buttstock is more dangerous than one with a stock, it's a very awkward weapon that can't even be aimed properly. Still, this configuration seems to be what ATF prefers in order to "satisfy the letter of the law". I can't remember where I read this, but somebody traced down the origin of the SBR to an oversight in the NFA of 1934. The original proposal included a restriction that made handguns subject to the $200 tax stamp, so they had to define what constitutes a pistol. The proposed pistol restrictions were later removed, but some of the definitions were left in the final document. Thus, the law came to define a rifle of certain dimension as a pistol, and being a pistol it cannot have a buttstock. In other words: The whole SBR thing appears to stem from a simple mistake, which is now causing great confusion among gun owners, as well as ATF agents. __________________ Deer Hollow Enterprises, LLC Gun repair and restoration