Can You Shoulder An AR-15 Pistol Brace?

The laws and regulations regarding a pistol or gun are ever-changing and it certainly gives rise to the confusion that whether, in the current scenario, one is allowed to shoulder an AR-15 pistol brace or not. Since the ATF rules have been changed and modified a couple of times, AR15 users often get doubtful about the legality of the firearm in their country.

According to ATF rulings concerning pistols classification, there are some few laws to be abided to evaluate the legitimacy of AR-15 Shouldering –

• The overall length of the rifle should be at least 26″.
• The barrel length of the AR15 pistol shouldn’t be less than 16″
• If the barrel length is 16′ or more, there should be no buttstock.
• If a barrel of the AR15 pistol is shorter than 16″, SBR buttstock is allowed.
• For short-barreled pistols, the SBR buttstock must be an NFA item with a tax stamp for authorization.

What is a Pistol Brace?

A pistol brace is a resistance adjusting firearm equipment that will strengthen against the wrist or forearm to support with convalescent precision and provides a backer when one is firing a heavy AR pistol. AR-15 Pistol braces come in a medley of different styles and configurations. Some of the model features-

• Matching fixed buttstocks
• Padded buffer tube

The relevant concern i.e. whether the shouldering of AR-15 is legal or not actually emerged due to the fact that these models are not designed or meant to be shot from the shoulder. Without proper SBR paperwork, this type of utilization of the firearm will be counted as a transgression offense.

Is It Legal To Shoulder a Pistol Brace?

There has been a long-spun debate concerning the brace legality. In 2012, a fresh SB15 Pistol Stabilizing Brace had been discovered by Sig Sauer. It was the initial model of brace that inspired the entire debate. It was designed to be strapped around the forearm to enhance the balance when shooting. Few opportunist shooters started pressing the pistol brace on their shoulders and using the pistol as a rifle rather than a pistol brace.

In 2014, as per the ATF rulings, the shouldering of a pistol Brace was prohibited. However, three years later, in 2017, ATF changed their legal statement denoting that shouldering of an AR pistol can be legal only under three explicit stipulations-

• Sporadic
• Incidental
• Situational

For better understanding let’s have a look into the chronological timeline of ATF rulings modification on brace legality-

2014: Prohibition of Shouldering Pistol Braces

In 2014, political diplomats started to raise their fierce opinions on the Sig shoulder brace saga. To restrain the federal circumstances, ATF issued a law that had vindicated shouldering of a pistol brace would make an AR pistol an illegal SBR. Although the ATF ruling legalized the installation of pistol brace, the shouldering practice got banned. If anybody practices the short-barreled firearm as SBR without relevant ATF paperwork, their firearm would be labeled as an illegal NFA without the attainment of a $200 tax stamp that is imperatively required to have an NFA weapon.

2015: ATF Introduced Modification of Illegal Shouldering Law

Since plenty of gun users used to curb the law by executing the approach of redesigning the weapon for shouldering the AR pistol, Acting Chief of the ATF’s Firearms Technology Criminal Branch, prominently Max Kinger circulated another letter restating on the agency’s view that the stabilizing of pistol brace never legalized for shoulder stocking. Since shoulder stock implies the redesigning of the weapon, the gun holder took the opportunity to change the entire functional configuration of the firearm device.

This misapplication of Federal Law was revoked by the ATF ruling and the chief also declared that utilization of short-barreled stabilizing brace would necessitate every gun holder to register a Primary ATF Form 1 and requite the relevant tax otherwise their tactical gear firearm would be subordinated to all NFA legal terms.

2017: The ATF Modifies and Clinches Its Final Verdict

Firearm keepers and companies did not overcome the pistol brace controversy. The ATF started getting reports from the manufacturing industry defying their legitimate opinion. The ATF apparently understood that it would be a mere waste of time and effort to demonstrate that only holding something adversely than calculated would convince the judgment of the authority or jury that it formulates redesigning a weapon. ATF ruling eventually changed its verdict and dispensed the latest statement in March 2017, after the synergy with SB tactical and its attorney.

The final verdict asserts that ATF has resolved that using the pistol brace as forearm support would not create a short-barreled rifle as the configuration as presented and certified by the law is not meant to be conveniently discharged from the shoulder. Nevertheless, if the gun holder with proper tactical gear, redesign the configuration of the weapon to utilize the pistol as a shoulder stock or permanently fixes the brace to end of the buffer tube eliminating the arm-strap or impairs its capacity to be practiced as a brace, he/she has impartially violated the rule of firearm ‘redesigned’ for the persistence of the NFA. Here is a simple summary of the entire modified version of ATF Laws and Regulation regarding the shouldering of Pistol Brace–

• ATF declared that the authority and federal rules never stated the shouldering a pistol brace was unconstitutional.
• The ATF elucidated that remodeling a brace in any way and then shouldering it aggregates the creation of an NFA weapon.
• The ATF announced that the infrequent practice of an unaltered brace does not form producing an SBR or NFA firearm.

The latest modified statement of ATF ruling also explicates the infrequent practices in three particular provisions-

1. Sporadic: Befalling at occasional intervals or only in specific areas that are remote or private.
2. Situational: Correlating to or depending on a particular circumstance.
3. Incidental: Unplanned or unintentional

Final Verdict: Is Shouldering Of AR Pistol Brace Considered Legal in The Modern Times?

Yes, shouldering of an AR pistol brace can be considered as a legal practice in the modern but since ATF didn’t want to be transparent about their legalization plan in clear language, it better not show off! While shouldering the pistol brace lawfully, it is better to comply with the three conditions as prescribed by the ATF. But the frequent practice of AR Pistol shoulders may cause a person to face serious legal consequences of zealous ATF judgments.

It is better to go for smart practices and stay well familiarized with all the stages of law modifications of ATF rulings since 2014 when ATF declared the shouldering activities of the pistol would classify the firearm as SBR that is illegal without the execution of customary paperwork. One year later, ATF the ATF justified their evaluation by alleging the practice of a brace as a buttstock enacts an armament redesigning. Again in 2017, the ATF ruling modified their verdict by declaring that the practice of an unmodified arm brace as a buttstock can not be illegal in certain circumstances.

As up to 2020, the last opinion of ATF has not been changed which means, users can still shoulder a pistol brace. However, considering the law fluctuations and authoritative inexplicit language, we rationally suggest not to shoulder the pistol brace continuously.

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This article was written by Harsh Nankani, a Digital Marketer at Activant Solutions. He mostly focuses on content marketing. He believes that the prospects of any business should get something without paying anything. Apart from being a digital marketer, he likes to study business trends, technology, current affairs and scrolling through social media. He is also involved in Philanthropic activities.