Can an AR be registered as a pistol in Canada?

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doog_laand

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I'd like my next AR build to have a short barrel, but I'd like to be able to bring it into the US when I shoot there with friends, especially now that you can shoulder stabilizing braces in the US. AR pistols aren't regulated by the NFA in the States, but I'd like my registration to actually say "AR 15 Pistol" on it so the US CBP doesn't give me grief.

If I build an AR with a short barrel and a stabilizing brace, will the RCMP allow me to register it as an AR Pistol? Or, if I get Prophet River or IRunGuns to import an AR pistol from the States, will it still be considered a pistol in the eyes of the RCMP, or will they just call it an AR 15/Ar 15 rifle on my registration?

I believe that in the eyes of the ATF, this will need to have started out its life as a pistol - I can't just slap a stabilizing brace on an SBR, call it a pistol, and ask to be let in the country with it.

I'll call the CFO before moving forward with it, but I just wanted to know if this has been done before, or if I'm in uncharted water.
 
Deckard said:
ATRS made a dedicated pistol. Getting a US made with PISTOL on it might work.
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Im curious if it is actually classified as a pistol as opposed to ATRS just calling it a pistol AR. Wouldn't the magazine capacity restriction change apon reclassification from rifle to pistol? Not that it would matter much as we already use pistol mags in the rifles anyways.
 
Ebola said:
Im curious if it is actually classified as a pistol as opposed to ATRS just calling it a pistol AR. Wouldn't the magazine capacity restriction change apon reclassification from rifle to pistol?
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You would think it has to be reg as a pistol. Thats how they were allowed to manufacture magazines that are 10 rounds.??
(I dont know though, that whole thing is just crazy and not logical)
 
That's my understanding. I think Questar imported some pistol marked lowers. That and a pistol buffer should suffice. Beware that you can't use the arm brace on your shoulder.
 
You have to be able to register an AR pistol in Canada. Th RRA pistol is even mentioned in the Special Bulletin 72 and hence the ability to purchase and use the LAR 15 magazines. Just my 2 cents.
 
It looks promising that there's precedent for an AR pistol in the FRT.

I'm planning to build a 9mm pistol with a lower to accept Glock mags. I'll need to either source a lower receiver here, or have one imported. If I have the lower imported, I might as well either buy a complete 9mm pistol in the US, or have one built to my specs as a pistol and then import it - would have a ton on parts.

As far as shouldering it - that's no longer a problem in the US. The latest AFT letter says its okay. Once I get it in Canada, however, I may or may not slap a stock on it and pull it apart at least once every 30 days to avoid registering it as a rifle.
 
Why would putting a stock on it require reregistration as a rifle? Stocks on pistols isn't an issue here, the way it is in the US.

If you buy a stripped lower receiver (never assembled as a functional firearm) how is it classified? It is restricted, of course, but is it a handgun or a rifle receiver? Assembling it with a pistol length 9mm barrel doesn't automatically mean that the thing is a pistol.
 
tiriaq said:
Why would putting a stock on it require reregistration as a rifle? Stocks on pistols isn't an issue here, the way it is in the US.

If you buy a stripped, never assembled as a gun, lower receiver, how is it classified? It is restricted, of course, but is it a handgun or a rifle receiver?
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You might be right. Does Canada provide a definition for what qualifies as a pistol?

For my purposes it doesn't really matter, though I suppose if an AR pistol with a stock on it can still qualify as a pistol then I wouldn't have to remove the upper from my lower at least once every 30 days, or tell the RCMP that I've modified the gun.

Question: do you guys update the RCMP once you've assembled your ARs? I still haven't done that. I think I'm in the clear because its been 'disassembled' at least once every 30 days, but I've technically taken my AR "frame/receiver only" across the border into the US 'temporarily assembled' as a rifle several times now. No one on either side of the border has cared.
 
tiriaq said:
Why would putting a stock on it require reregistration as a rifle? Stocks on pistols isn't an issue here, the way it is in the US.

If you buy a stripped lower receiver (never assembled as a functional firearm) how is it classified? It is restricted, of course, but is it a handgun or a rifle receiver? Assembling it with a pistol length 9mm barrel doesn't automatically mean that the thing is a pistol.
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I just gone through this with the CFC earlier this year with my QC10 9 mm build, called the CFC to have the status changed from a frame/receiver to a firearm, they asked me the usual questions like calibre and length of barrel, because I had the 7.5" barrel imported from the US and they didn't had the manufacturer in their database, the lab came back a month later asking for more details about the barrel and the company, they also asked if I assembled it as a pistol without a stock or a rifle with a stock, I ended up providing them with photos (with a stock) and links to the manufacturer, in the end it took about 4 months to get my updated certificate registered as a rifle.
 
hbean said:
I just gone through this with the CFC earlier this year with my QC10 9 mm build, called the CFC to have the status changed from a frame/receiver to a firearm, they asked me the usual questions like calibre and length of barrel, because I had the 7.5" barrel imported from the US and they didn't had the manufacturer in their database, the lab came back a month later asking for more details about the barrel and the company, they also asked if I assembled it as a pistol without a stock or a rifle with a stock, I ended up providing them with photos and links to the manufacturer, in the end it took about 4 months to get my updated certificate registered as a rifle.
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Great, thanks for the datapoint. It sounds like I'm good to go in terms of getting it registered as a pistol, but that I'll need to be careful not to keep a stock on it for longer than 30 days.
 
Be careful with the 30 days business. 30 days to submit the report - but you have to submit the report.
 
If your AR15 lower is registered as a pistol, using an arm brace or some other variety of "stock" is completely legal. It's legal for the same reasons that adding a stock and/or a foregrip to a Glock in Canada does not require a $200 tax stamp like it does in the United States, it's completely unregulated.
 
JuicyFruit said:
If your AR15 lower is registered as a pistol, using an arm brace or some other variety of "stock" is completely legal. It's legal for the same reasons that adding a stock and/or a foregrip to a Glock in Canada does not require a $200 tax stamp like it does in the United States, it's completely unregulated.
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Ah ha, there it is. Okay that makes more sense. If its not illegal to put a stock on a Glock then it wouldn't be illegal to put a stock on an AR pistol. Thank you.
 
I just called the RCMP to update my other build as a rifle. They confirmed that you can register an AR as a pistol in Canada.

What's interesting is that on my old registration the barrel length is listed as "frame/receiver only", but the type is listed as "rifle", even though it was just a frame. It seems that in Canada, a lower receiver may start out its life defaulting as a rifle, but can be changed to pistol.

This could potentially cause issues for me taking it into the US, because there you can make an AR pistol into an SBR, but you cannot go the other way around and make an AR rifle into a pistol.

So to meet the letter of the law for the US, I would need to buy a lower receiver that is already marked and listed from the manufacturer as a pistol. The problem there is that I'm wanting to make a 9mm Glock mag AR... and I'm not aware of any that are specifically marked as 'pistol'. This means I'd probably need to buy the gun in the US already assembled as a pistol and then have it imported.

Or perhaps I'm just overthinking this... I can just buy it in Canada, have the RCMP change the type to pistol once its assembled, and then when I cross into the US I would hope the US CBP doesn't call the RCMP and ask them if the firearm was ever previously registered as a rifle.
 
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