9mm SBR barrel purchase

[chrisp51]

I have a 9mm ar carbine. I would like to replace the 16 inch barrel with a 10.5 barrel and make an SBR. I know about the need to get the tax stamp before constructing the SBR. What i don't know is it illegal for me to purchase the short barrel before getting the stamp? Is this intent to construct a SBR even though it could also be used to construct a ar pistol which is legal? The reason I ask is because I have an opportunity to get the barrel I want at a very reasonable price right now. I have done site searches and can't seem to find an answer to my question.

 

[dallasb]

I have a 9mm ar carbine. I would like to replace the 16 inch barrel with a 10.5 barrel and make an SBR. I know about the need to get the tax stamp before constructing the SBR. What i don't know is it illegal for me to purchase the short barrel before getting the stamp? Is this intent to construct a SBR even though it could also be used to construct a ar pistol which is legal? The reason I ask is because I have an opportunity to get the barrel I want at a very reasonable price right now. I have done site searches and can't seem to find an answer to my question.

If you do not already have an AR pistol then I wouldn't have a pistol/SBR barrel just laying around.


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[ShootistPRS]

Chris,
The problem you have is you have ownership of a rifle lower but not a pistol lower. The law implies that having the parts to make an NFA restricted gun is the same as having the gun.
If you want to know if you can be prosecuted then give the ATF a call.
As I understand it you cannot legally possess the parts to make a SBR without the process for your stamp completed.

 

[MarkCO]

That is my understanding as well. After I asked the ATF, I built a complete pistol lower which mostly sits in the back of the safe, so I can have pistol/SBR barrels on hand.

 

[fl_rich]

Thought there was a proximity requirement for the law. Could he own the barrel and keep it off site without a legal violation?

 

[Theohazard]

The law implies that having the parts to make an NFA restricted gun is the same as having the gun.
[...]
As I understand it you cannot legally possess the parts to make a SBR without the process for your stamp completed.

That's not always the case, depending on what other parts you own and how close those parts are to each other. In 1992 the Supreme Court ruled that merely possessing the parts to make an illegal SBR wasn't enough to break the law by itself. See US v. Thompson-Center Arms Co.

In 2011 the ATF published Ruling 2011-4, which clarified their take on that court decision:

A firearm, as defined by the National Firearms Act (NFA), 26 U.S.C. 5845(a)(3), is made when unassembled parts are placed in close proximity in such a way that they: (a) serve no useful purpose other than to make a rifle having a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length; or (b) convert a complete weapon into such an NFA firearm.

So, in order to be in possession of an illegal SBR merely for having the parts to make one, those parts must be in "close proximity" to each other and you must have "no useful purpose" for having them.

Now, the term "no useful purpose" seems clear to me; if you have a short-barreled upper and a rifle-configured lower, then also possessing a pistol-configured lower would give you a legal "useful purpose" for having those parts even if they were in close proximity to each other. However, the term "close proximity" is pretty vague.

I once asked the lead ATF agent for an FFL/SOT audit what "close proximity" meant exactly, and he told me to ask a lawyer. That vagueness is why people often avoid having the parts together in the same house just to be safe.

 

[Theohazard]

So to answer the OP's question directly: Yes, it's perfectly legal to purchase your short upper before your tax stamp comes in, just make sure that upper isn't in "close proximity" to a compatible rifle-configured lower.

Now, I'm no lawyer, but if those parts were on different floors in my house I'd feel comfortable that they weren't in "close proximity" to each other. But if you want to be 100% safe, just have a friend who doesn't own an AR hold onto the short upper for you until your tax stamp comes in.

 

[chrisp51]

seems that there may be a little confusion. I am not proposing to buy a complete short barreled upper i am talking about buying just the barrel. Does that make a difference? It is obvious that a barrel without the rest of the upper installed is not easily installed on a lower. If the barrel was in the same room as the present 9mm carbine would close proximity mean the same thing as if it were a complete short barreled upper that is easily and quickly attached to the lower?

 

[Theohazard]

seems that there may be a little confusion. I am not proposing to buy a complete short barreled upper i am talking about buying just the barrel. Does that make a difference? It is obvious that a barrel without the rest of the upper installed is not easily installed on a lower. If the barrel was in the same room as the present 9mm carbine would close proximity mean the same thing as if it were a complete short barreled upper that is easily and quickly attached to the lower?

Sorry, that's a reading comprehension fail on my part. But it makes no difference: You can buy and possess that short barrel before you get your tax stamp, so long as you don't have the rest of the parts to make the SBR in "close proximity" to that short barrel. And if the parts to make an SBR are in close proximity to each other, it's still OK as long as you have a "useful purpose" for having them (a pistol-configured lower to go with the short barrel, for example).