March 2015
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2015/03/foghorn/atf-an-sb-15-stabilizing-brace-on-ak-pistol-is-legal-but-careful-how-you-do-it/
Yes, this is the letter I was thinking of. Short version of my take is the way the batf has interpreted and acted previously, you're pretty much setting yourself up for constructive possession or similar allegation by/from the batf or other LE if they decide to make your life difficult. As those things typically go for firearms owners, the burden of proof will be on YOU to prove YOUR INNOCENCE... A pretty costly and high stakes affair, and exactly opposite of the way our justice system is supposed to work, especially considering that per the BATF
your intentions are what matters as to whether your weapon's configuration constitutes an SBR, not just how it's been used... And if you intend to ultimately/eventually make a pistol an SBR or hypothetically ever see the need or circumstance to mount the components that could constitute a stock to your shoulder, you can't have possession of components to make it an SBR until paperwork has been filed and approved, etc, else you're committing a felony. Even legal pistol tube usage would technically be a violation under batf guidance if you ever intend to possibly convert a given pistol to an sbr. Bottom line, the BATF's guidance is a complete mess, and it's probably easiest to just stay out of the rabbit hole...
And from the article above:
That may somehow make sense from the ATF?s perspective, but in terms of practical usage there?s a little bit of confusion. Do you need a tax stamp to transit through the NFA-regulated middle position of an AK pistol with a buffer tube on you way to a pistol? How about if you intend to use the buffer tube as a chin weld device, which is perfectly OK? As always, there are more questions than answers.
Further, per the batf, the only legal way to make an unregistered SBR legal is to file paper work to make it an SBR and then file paperwork again to remove it from the registry... (I'm not actually sure if you can, per letter of law, legally register an unregistered SBR -- have never looked at the paperwork and all the legalese one agrees to and whether you're perjuring yourself or otherwise have to affirm that it hasn't yet been made an sbr...)
Accidentally or inadvertently "remaking" the weapon whether touching to your shoulder or not having a pistol tube approved device on the tube would mean, per the batf, that you have an illegal weapon in perpetuity unless you follow the BATF's prescription for properly registering and then removing as noted above... And it's not how a weapon is being used in a moment, it's how the weapon has EVER been used (in addition to intentions), so if you/a buddy touches your gun's sig brace to his shoulder (even perhaps if it's someone who can't handle a given pistol's recoil), it's still an illegal weapon... And technically, the burden would be on you to prove you've never used/"remade" the components that could constitute a stock in a way that would make them a stock... Again, this is all mess...
And if you intend to play in the gray zone, you'd be legally best suited to buy a pistol from a retailer in a configuration that has received brace/other "pistol" aid features approval batf in that configuration...
*I'm not a lawyer and this does not constitute legal advice. Just offering my perspective.
