AR15 Lower Transfer - MA to RI - Question

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I've been researching this on NES and I'm coming up with conflicting info. I have an AR lower, complete with FCG and an A2 buttstock. The lower has never been assembled as a rifle and has never been FA10'd in MA. I want to sell this to a RI resident.

I know that at some point this will have to go through an FFL. My question is this: can the buyer meet me at an FFL in MA and do the transfer? In OTW, the same way that one would buy a long gun out of state? I'm pretty sure that if I was selling him a complete rifle it could be done this way, but I'm reading conflicting posts about just the lower.

I suspect that I'm going to have to ship it to a RI FFL, but just wanted to verify. Any help would be appreciated.

ETA: Hadn't thought of this before, but could I bring the lower into RI and do the transfer at an FFL there?
 
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No, since MA passed the Simons Rock Law that prohibits ANY NR (even with a NR LTC) from buying any long guns or ammo in MA!!

Fed Law declared lowers (incomplete rifles, even if it has a stock on it) as "other" and demands that FFLs transfer them the same way as handguns . . . meaning ONLY via an FFL in the new owner's state.

Therefore, it must go thru a RI FFL in this case.
 
No, since MA passed the Simons Rock Law that prohibits ANY NR (even with a NR LTC) from buying any long guns or ammo in MA!!

Fed Law declared lowers (incomplete rifles, even if it has a stock on it) as "other" and demands that FFLs transfer them the same way as handguns . . . meaning ONLY via an FFL in the new owner's state.

Therefore, it must go thru a RI FFL in this case.

Thanks, Len. I was afraid that would be the case, and it's what I told the buyer. I wanted to check to make sure I was correct. Now to find out if the FFL he wants to use will accept shipment from a non-FFL holder.

This is one of the few times when transferring to another MA resident is simple. Maybe I can talk him into moving into the PRM. [laugh]
 
A little thread drift. I'm a novice with AR's. So I'm building my knowledge base there.

Do any individual parts of AR's qualify as a firearm? If one were to build one in a free state or MA, what if any parts are going to be background checked, etc.
 
A frame (lower for AR) is a gun per Fed Law and thus has to go thru an FFL. All other parts of an AR-15 are NOT controlled parts and can be ordered/possessed by anyone and shipped to your home.
 
A frame (lower for AR) is a gun per Fed Law and thus has to go thru an FFL. All other parts of an AR-15 are NOT controlled parts and can be ordered/possessed by anyone and shipped to your home.

Thanks. Where the lower needs to go through a FFL. Two things. First I would like to not have a MA neutered AR. I would not be shooting the AR in MA, I would be shooting it in VT and NH. Say I bought a complete lower with an adjustable stock. Would a FFL in MA either sell that or accept it in for a transfer from an online seller? I know that would put it in violation of the MA law if it's an assembled gun. But would it be in violation just as a lower with the adjustable stock?

Also, what if I were to bring the parts back into the state, a lower with an adjustable stock and an upper with the exrtra's but they were separate and in different cases for transport and stored separately at home. I would not assemble or shoot the AR in MA.

These freakin' laws are such a mess, I get a headache trying to figure them out.

Thanks.
 
If you have enough parts to make a gun (or off an existing AR), you have constructive possession of an illegal AW and if caught could be royally screwed.

Buy a bare lower in MA, take it to VT/NH and build it up however you like. You just have to leave it out of state, it can never cross the MA state line in AW configuration.
 
Thanks. Where the lower needs to go through a FFL. Two things. First I would like to not have a MA neutered AR. I would not be shooting the AR in MA, I would be shooting it in VT and NH. Say I bought a complete lower with an adjustable stock. Would a FFL in MA either sell that or accept it in for a transfer from an online seller? I know that would put it in violation of the MA law if it's an assembled gun. But would it be in violation just as a lower with the adjustable stock?

Also, what if I were to bring the parts back into the state, a lower with an adjustable stock and an upper with the exrtra's but they were separate and in different cases for transport and stored separately at home. I would not assemble or shoot the AR in MA.

These freakin' laws are such a mess, I get a headache trying to figure them out.
broker.
Thanks.

Well I am a newly registered member who wanted to post a reply to your "transfer of a lower" question. Let me first give you some facts. I am a seller in Florida who recently sold a complete lower with pistol grip and adjustable stock to a Massachusetts buyer through Gunbroker. Buyer paid quickly and gave me the ffl info. I packaged the item contacted the ffl letting him know I would ship within 48 hours. Being the cautious seller that I am checked him on ezcheck verified he was active/address etc and went ahead and shipped to the address given which also matched the atf address on file. So about a week goes buy and the buyer emails me and says the ffl needs me to fax my ffl info asap. I replied I am an individual seller and told him so when I contacted him after he won the auction. Well to make a long story short I contacted the ffl and he proceeded to give me the 3rd degree. He tells me what am I doing sending a lower to a "ban state". I have committed a "felony" and that just ticks him off that people go on Gunbroker like its Ebay selling guns to whoever whenever. Mind you this is a Massachusetts ffl. Now I am not ignorant of the federal law and I realize state laws do vary but have sold dozens of lowers to many different states. But to be quite honest after talking to him for about 10 minutes I started to wonder that maybe after what was going on with the bombing and all that just maybe he was just a little gun shy and maybe he's just trying to be cautious I mean after all its his perrogative whether or not he does the transfer. But then he tells me now he is in a major predicament and cannot just send the lower back to me. He is going to have to contact the ATF to see what they will suggest. I got to tell you I lost a little sleep over this one waiting for his call back. So I get on this website and read for hours and finally conclude that I can sell a lower to a buyer through an MA ffl as long as it is not a complete weapon capable of firing a round down range. Now maybe the stock and grip is questionable but to tell me I am breaking the law? So I guess what I am trying to say is I tried to accommodate a MA buyer within the bounds of the law and had such a horrible experience doing so that I promised myself I would never ship another AR lower to MA. I can understand how frustrating it can be on your end but with ill informed ffl's making threats of legal actions I can see now why few sellers are willing to ship to MA.
 
xd45, you are correct and the ignorance of FFLs knows no bounds. Sorry you had to undergo that unjust aggravation and can't blame you for your decision.
 
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