Can an AR be registered as a pistol in Canada?

doog_laand said:
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.
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Once you change the status from frame/receiver to a firearm you are good, since AR is prescribed as restricted not classified in Canada, having a stock on it doesn't changed the classification (see attached regulation) there is no need to to update your certificate.
  • 4 (1) Subject to section 5, the Registrar shall attach to a registration certificate that is issued in respect of a firearm the condition that the holder of the certificate shall advise the Registrar, within 30 days after the modification, of
    • (a) any modification to the firearm that results in a change of class of the firearm;
    • (b) in the case of a firearm registered as a frame or receiver only, any modification that makes it capable of discharging ammunition;
    • (c) any modification to an altered automatic firearm; and
    • (d) any modification that results in the firearm ceasing to be a firearm.
  • (2) Subject to section 5, the Registrar shall attach to a registration certificate that is issued in respect of a firearm the condition that when the type, action, calibre or gauge of the firearm is modified, the holder of the certificate shall advise the Registrar of the modification,
    • (a) if the modification is intended to be permanent, within 30 days after the modification; and
    • (b) if the modification is not intended to be permanent but still exists 30 days after it is made, without delay after that period.
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doog_laand said:
You might be right. Does Canada provide a definition for what qualifies as a pistol?
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Kind of. The criminal code defines a handgun. "handgun means a firearm that is designed, altered or intended to be aimed and fired by the action of one hand, whether or not it has been redesigned or subsequently altered to be aimed and fired by the action of both hands;"

This isn't very helpful because identical firearm receivers have been classified as both a handgun and not a handgun based on furniture and unregulated cosmetic changes.

Important to know that once a handgun, always a handgun. If you register your AR as a pistol, and magic happens and all ARs are unprohibted/restricted by OIC, but yours is registered as a pistol, it will still be restricted forever.
 
doog_laand said:
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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One thing to consider: For the purposes of this conversation, rifle, pistol, handgun, firearm, receiver, etc, are legal terms. Where those terms differ between Canada and the US, the same firearm need not have identical terms applied. Just because its a pistol in the US doesn't mean it has to be a pistol in Canada and vice versa.

Classic example is the Mare's Leg lever action firearm being manufactured by several firearms makers. Sold and marketed in the US as a handgun to avoid SBR legislation, sold and marketed in Canada as a rifle to be classed as NR.

I would never want any AR registered as a pistol, because now that firearm will be restricted regardless of barrel length or OIC. You already have access to and can use AR pistol mags regardless of what your AR is identified as, so there really is no benefit.

If the US needs it to be classed as a pistol, then do whatever the US law requires for it to conform to the requirements for a pistol. You can substitute a lot of the furniture on an AR without needing to notify CFO and change you registration. IF this does not require a change in classification under Canadian law, then why re-class the firearm as a pistol?
 
I have an NEA15 pistol lower. Bought it because I figured at some point the lords above will tell us that you can't use a pistol mag unless you have a pistol.
emGtPGMl.jpg
 
Cameron SS said:
Important to know that once a handgun, always a handgun. If you register your AR as a pistol, and magic happens and all ARs are unprohibted/restricted by OIC, but yours is registered as a pistol, it will still be restricted forever.
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So... I guess I'll hope that ARs never become non-restricted. Wait, no!
 
Cameron SS said:
IF this does not require a change in classification under Canadian law, then why re-class the firearm as a pistol?
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I would do it because when I roll up to the US border I expect they'll require me to prove that the firearm is registered as a pistol, not just an SBR with a pistol brace on it. I want my registration to show pistol.

I didn't get the impression from my call with the RCMP that the 'type' of firearm for an AR can't be switched back to rifle once its been changed to pistol. However, if that really is the case, and if for some reason ARs ever get non-restricted it would still be restricted by barrel length. If I wanted at non-restricted 9mm AR then I would buy another 9mm lower and a 16" barrel, cannibalize the rest of the parts from my AR pistol, and then call the CFO to tell them that my pistol is now in a non-firing condition, and that my new lower is now a 9mm rifle.
 
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mwjones said:
I have an NEA15 pistol lower. Bought it because I figured at some point the lords above will tell us that you can't use a pistol mag unless you have a pistol.
emGtPGMl.jpg
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Where did you find an NEA pistol lower? I built my other AR from a blem NEA lower I bought from SFRC but when I got my registration came with the type listed as 'rifle'.
 
By the way, I need to come here more often. These responses have been wildly more helpful than the responses I got on /r/canadaguns.
 
Got it at SFRC. Serial Number is NEAP******. It was sold as a pistol lower and was not a blem.

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It is policy that if a restricted firearm is registered as a handgun, it cannot be reclassified as non-restricted if reconfigured as a rifle. Once a pistol, always a pistol.
Whether this applies to restricted handgun to restricted rifle I do not know.
 
I don't think it would. Much more likely to change the magazine laws to something asinine like "you can only use pistol magazines in a pistol" than de-restrict the ar-15 anyway though :)

You wouldn't be able to just put a stock on it and re register is as a rifle. It is a pistol. You can put a stock on it, but it will still legally be a pistol.
 
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