mail AR receiver?

[wayneinFL]

I had heard that the ATF does not view a stripped receiver as a rifle, because it could be assembled as a handgun.

But a complete lower with a rifle stock is a rifle, correct? And therefore mailable as a long gun through USPS, correct?

[dogtown tom]

wayneinFL I had heard that the ATF does not view a stripped receiver as a rifle, because it could be assembled as a handgun.

But a complete lower with a rifle stock is a rifle, correct? And therefore mailable as a long gun through USPS, correct?

An AR lower with buttstock is an "Other Firearm"....not a handgun and not a long gun. It is NOT a rifle as it does not have a rifled barrel attached.

It is not mailable via USPS except by dealers and manufacturers. Only rifles and shotguns may be mailed by you mortals.

[Aguila Blanca]

But a complete lower with a rifle stock is a rifle, correct? And therefore mailable as a long gun through USPS, correct?

Unless the invisible barrel is only 10 inches long, in which case it's an illegal short-barreled rifle.

Personally, I wouldn't risk it. "Constructive possession," and all that rot.

[wayneinFL]

I'm going to give the ATF and postmaster a call and see if they can clarify. The postal regulations say that handguns are non mailable by an unlicensed party. So if it isn't either a rifle or handgun, it should be legal.

[tulsamal]

An AR lower with buttstock is an "Other Firearm"....not a handgun and not a long gun.

Well..... I'm going to disagree. I have no idea how the US Post Office would view it but I'm fairly certain about ATF. If you buy a stripped lower, that's your "Other Firearm" and it can be built as anything. But if you order a complete lower with buttstock attached, that will be logged onto the 4473 as a rifle.

This is why T/C spun themselves crazy trying to sell Contender and Encore frames. If they sold them with no pistol grip or stock, they were being treated as pistols. If they sold just the frame with a buttstock, they were being sold as rifles. When I bought my Encore frame, the pistol grip was right there in the box and it was logged as a pistol. Even though there was no barrel and I didn't even own an Encore barrel at the time.

Gregg

[dogtown tom]

wayneinFL I'm going to give the ATF and postmaster a call and see if they can clarify. The postal regulations say that handguns are non mailable by an unlicensed party. So if it isn't either a rifle or handgun, it should be legal.

Clarify what?
Postal regulations are clear as to who can ship firearms other than rifles or shotguns.........and thats only licensed dealers and manufacturers.


A postmaster cannot give advice on the legality of mailing a firearm.(see 12.3)
http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/601.htm#1198527

tulsamal

Well..... I'm going to disagree. I have no idea how the US Post Office would view it but I'm fairly certain about ATF....... But if you order a complete lower with buttstock attached, that will be logged onto the 4473 as a rifle.

Absolutely 100% completely wrong:
Spend a couple of minutes and read the instructions in the Form 4473, specifically Section B Question 18 "Type of Firearm" on page 5 of 6.

And

http://www.atf.gov/regulations-rulin...ing-2011-4.pdf

....The term “rifle” is defined by 26 U.S.C. 5845(c) and 27 CFR 479.11 as “a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger, and shall include any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire a fixed cartridge.”....

As a complete AR lower receiver with buttstock DOES NOT have a "rifled bore" it is not a "rifle"......and therefore not mailable via USPS except by licensed dealers and manufacturers.

This is why T/C spun themselves crazy trying to sell Contender and Encore frames. If they sold them with no pistol grip or stock, they were being treated as pistols. If they sold just the frame with a buttstock, they were being sold as rifles. When I bought my Encore frame, the pistol grip was right there in the box and it was logged as a pistol. Even though there was no barrel and I didn't even own an Encore barrel at the time.

When you bought your T/C the ATF interpretation of the 1934 National Firearms Act was different......basically "once a rifle, always a rifle". The US Supreme Court ruled several years ago that ATF's interpretation was in error.
ATF Rul. 2011-4 addresses this.