The 2000 Assault Weapons in the state of California sparked a renewed interest in the AR-15 rifle. It is estimated that some 60,000 California Legal AR-15s are in existence in that state.[citation needed] Replacing the Lower Receiver of a standard AR-15 with one that has a fixed (10 round) magazine (see below) will render the firearm "California legal", and able to utilize banned features such as a telescoping stock and pistol grip. The magazine is not detachable, so to load the rifle the shooter must pull the rear takedown pin, hinge the upper receiver on the front takedown pin, and load the now exposed magazine either with a stripper clip or by hand, then close. Popular lower receivers for this purpose are manufactured by Stag Arms, Fulton Armory, Dane Armory, Mega, and Ameetec. By California law if the magazine requires a tool to remove it, that changes the classification of the firearm. A tool called the "Bullet Button" is gaining in popularity, the bullet button works by replacing the magazine release button with a hollow shell that protrudes a short distance from the lower, the shooter must then push the inset pin to activate the mag release, doing so requires a tool e.g., a bullet, hence the name. Stag makes a lower receiver called the STAG-15 which is considered an "off-list" receiver by the CA DOJ and is legal. As of December 2006, Doublestar, Stag Arms, CMMG, and MEGA all qualify as "off-list" lowers in the state of CA. There is also one model made by Colt, the CAR-A3 HBAR Elite, that was never banned by name, and thus still legal to own in California provided it has the correct configuration, this receiver can be made into a full rifle if the following requirements are met: the receiver has a fixed magazine with no more than 10 cartridges - in which case the rifle may have pistol grips, folding or collapsing stocks, etc.; or, the receiver may have a detachable magazine but may not possess any sort of attachment such as pistol grips, folding or collapsing stocks, etc.
.....
