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Originally Posted by ramius
As for real vertical grips, if your firearm is over 26in in length and does not have a stock, it is likely a non-NFA "firearm" rather than a pistol.
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There is no legal length limit to a pistol under federal law. If you have a pistol with a barrel length over 26”, it’s still a pistol. The difference is in the presence of a vertical foregrip.
The ATF says that if you add a vertical foregrip to a pistol with a overall length less than 26” it is an NFA-regulated “Any Other Weapon” (AOW). This is because it’s now no longer a pistol since the forward grip means it’s no longer designed to be fired with just one hand (part of the federal definition of a pistol). And because it’s less than 26” in overall length the ATF says it’s designed to be concealed. Both of those things combined means it fits into the AOW category.
If you add a vertical foregrip to a pistol with an overall length greater than 26” it’s also no longer a pistol, but since it’s over 26” the ATF says it’s not designed to be concealed so it’s also not an AOW. At that point it’s just a “firearm”, similar to an AR lower or a PGO shotgun. [Edited to clarify: a lower transfers as a "receiver", but it's in the same category as this type of firearm as listed on question 16 on the 4473.]
The ATF has previously described vertical foregrips as extending 90 degrees from the axis of the barrel, and they’ve specifically said that angled foregrips like the Magpul AFG aren’t vertical foregrips. But keep in mind that the whole foregrip thing isn’t specifically mentioned in federal law, so future regulatory changes could effect it. If you want to make sure your angled foregrip doesn’t count as a vertical foregrip, make sure the manufacturer has obtained an ATF letter that explicitly says so.