Pistol or SBR? - The Firearms Forum

ariggsd · 01-11-2011, 12:17 PM

I was looking around an unnameable gun auction site when I discovered that under the NFA section there were .22 cal rifles listed as SBRs, so this got me to thinking; Since .22 cal is a pistol and a rifle caliber, and since Ruger produces the 22 Charger with a barrel length of 10.00" without it being classified as a SBR, What are the requirements for a .22 cal firearm to go from a long barreled pistol or small rifle to being considered an SBR? Or are .22's really classified by the ATF as SBRs at all?

Alpo · 01-11-2011, 12:32 PM

Ruger's Charger was built as a pistol. It is a pistol. If you took a 10/22, which is the same gun, but with a longer barrel and a shoulder stock on it, and put it into a Charger stock, you are fine, as long as your overall length is still 26 inches or greater. If, however, you replaced the 10/22's 20" barrel with a Charger's 10" barrel, you have created a Short Barreled Rifle.

Simply put, if a rifle was built, originally, with a shoulder stock on it, it is now and forever will be, a rifle. You can cut it down, and make it a "Short Barreled Rifle", but it is still a rifle. If the barrel of this rifle that you cut down is at least 16 inches long, and the overall length of this rifle you cut down is at least 26 inches (and both of these requirements must be met) then it is still a rifle, and not a Short Barreled Rifle.

If the gun's action, whether or not it is normally a "rifle" action, has never had a shoulder stock attached to it, it can be made into a pistol. The Ruger Charger is an example. Rossi makes a copy of the Winchester 92 lever action rifle. They also make a copy of the sawed-off 92 that Steve McQueen carried, as Josh Randall, in Wanted Dead or Alive. They take a 92 rifle action, put a short barrel and a short stock on it, and call it a pistol. It is a pistol, and is legal wherever a pistol is. But if you buy a Rossi 92 rifle, and cut the barrel and stock down to the exact same size, it is a Short Barreled Rifle, and needs to be papered.

This make sense, or did I confuse you more?

ariggsd · 01-11-2011, 01:11 PM

Right I get it now. So basically with .22 its just once a pistol always a pistol.

Alpo · 01-11-2011, 02:26 PM

No. If you took that Charger (which is a pistol) and removed the 10" barrel and mounted a 20" rifle barrel, and then put it into a 10/22 stock, you have turned it into a rifle. Now that it's a rifle, it is always going to be a rifle. If you change it back into its original, pistol, configuration, you have broken the law.

Yes, the law is stupid. It's still the law.

You can turn a pistol into a rifle with no legal problems. Turning a rifle into a pistol is harder. And once you have turned the pistol into a rifle, it is a rifle (see my first post - once a rifle always a rifle).

ariggsd · 01-11-2011, 07:56 PM

Sorry, I meant to say rifle not pistol. Dang typos.

3/2 STA SS · 01-18-2011, 09:33 PM

It also has to do with the serial numbered receiver-especially 10/22's

01-11-2011, 12:17 PM	#1
ariggsd V.I.P. Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 53	Pistol or SBR? I was looking around an unnameable gun auction site when I discovered that under the NFA section there were .22 cal rifles listed as SBRs, so this got me to thinking; Since .22 cal is a pistol and a rifle caliber, and since Ruger produces the 22 Charger with a barrel length of 10.00" without it being classified as a SBR, What are the requirements for a .22 cal firearm to go from a long barreled pistol or small rifle to being considered an SBR? Or are .22's really classified by the ATF as SBRs at all? -->

01-11-2011, 12:32 PM	#2
Alpo Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: NW Florida Posts: 8,662	Re: Pistol or SBR? Ruger's Charger was built as a pistol. It is a pistol. If you took a 10/22, which is the same gun, but with a longer barrel and a shoulder stock on it, and put it into a Charger stock, you are fine, as long as your overall length is still 26 inches or greater. If, however, you replaced the 10/22's 20" barrel with a Charger's 10" barrel, you have created a Short Barreled Rifle. Simply put, if a rifle was built, originally, with a shoulder stock on it, it is now and forever will be, a rifle. You can cut it down, and make it a "Short Barreled Rifle", but it is still a rifle. If the barrel of this rifle that you cut down is at least 16 inches long, and the overall length of this rifle you cut down is at least 26 inches (and both of these requirements must be met) then it is still a rifle, and not a Short Barreled Rifle. If the gun's action, whether or not it is normally a "rifle" action, has never had a shoulder stock attached to it, it can be made into a pistol. The Ruger Charger is an example. Rossi makes a copy of the Winchester 92 lever action rifle. They also make a copy of the sawed-off 92 that Steve McQueen carried, as Josh Randall, in Wanted Dead or Alive. They take a 92 rifle action, put a short barrel and a short stock on it, and call it a pistol. It is a pistol, and is legal wherever a pistol is. But if you buy a Rossi 92 rifle, and cut the barrel and stock down to the exact same size, it is a Short Barreled Rifle, and needs to be papered. This make sense, or did I confuse you more? __________________ Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy, and taste good with catsup - George of Lod, Year of Our Lord 297 I always take precautions. Beware the Evil Bullet Fairies.

01-11-2011, 01:11 PM	#3
ariggsd V.I.P. Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 53	Re: Pistol or SBR? Right I get it now. So basically with .22 its just once a pistol always a pistol.

01-11-2011, 02:26 PM	#4
Alpo Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: NW Florida Posts: 8,662	Re: Pistol or SBR? No. If you took that Charger (which is a pistol) and removed the 10" barrel and mounted a 20" rifle barrel, and then put it into a 10/22 stock, you have turned it into a rifle. Now that it's a rifle, it is always going to be a rifle. If you change it back into its original, pistol, configuration, you have broken the law. Yes, the law is stupid. It's still the law. You can turn a pistol into a rifle with no legal problems. Turning a rifle into a pistol is harder. And once you have turned the pistol into a rifle, it is a rifle (see my first post - once a rifle always a rifle). __________________ Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy, and taste good with catsup - George of Lod, Year of Our Lord 297 I always take precautions. Beware the Evil Bullet Fairies.

01-11-2011, 07:56 PM	#5
ariggsd V.I.P. Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 53	Re: Pistol or SBR? Sorry, I meant to say rifle not pistol. Dang typos.

01-18-2011, 09:33 PM	#6
3/2 STA SS Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Tampa Bay Area, FL Posts: 1,440	Re: Pistol or SBR? It also has to do with the serial numbered receiver-especially 10/22's __________________ MORS DE CONTACTUS-DEATH ON CONTACT