Purchasing a postban out of state and bringing it into MA in pieces?

[TonyDedo]

I was in a neighboring free state recently, and I came across an AR-15 for sale that was chock full of evil features.

I have a preban lower sitting at home just waiting to have evil components installed on it.

The rifle in the shop happened to have the same model components I've been considering buying separately and installing onto my preban lower.

Given the price of the rifle, it would be cheaper for me to buy the whole rifle for the components I wanted, rather than buy them all separately.

Why couldn't I purchase the rifle in said free state, remove the flash hider equipped upper and collapsible stock before entering Massachusetts, register the receiver (now stripped of any evil features) and install the components on my preban lower?

I could even bring the preban lower with me and move all parts before returning to Massachusetts.

The shop manager said I couldn't do it...

 

[jdubois]

Yes, you could do it. As long as you brought the preban with you and swapped the parts out of state you'd be all set. But (there's always a but) the shop cannot sell you the rifle, because their FFL precludes them from selling you a rifle that you cannot possess in your own state.

 

[raxafarian]

Not sure about MA law but couldn't you just ask them to take it apart and sell you the upper separately.

Now you are buying a preban upper for your existing lower. And you are buying a postban lower (the firearm) for future use.

 

[jdubois]

Now you are buying a preban upper for your existing lower. And you are buying a postban lower (the firearm) for future use.

If they sold you just the upper, that's one thing. But just physically separating the upper and lower but still selling them both to you? If I were an FFL dealer, I wouldn't risk my license playing games like that.

 

[KMaurer]

Buy a the cheapest compliant post-ban upper you can find. Have the dealer swap it with the upper on the gun you want to buy and sell you that now perfectly legal and Mass compliant gun for the same price he was offering the evil pre-ban configuration gun. You then take the evil pre-ban upper and put it on your pre-ban lower, creating a second completely legal and Mass compliant gun.

Ken

 

[TonyDedo]

Buy a the cheapest compliant post-ban upper you can find. Have the dealer swap it with the upper on the gun you want to buy and sell you that now perfectly legal and Mass compliant gun for the same price he was offering the evil pre-ban configuration gun. You then take the evil pre-ban upper and put it on your pre-ban lower, creating a second completely legal and Mass compliant gun.

Ken

Or I just pull the compliant post-ban off my current rifle. I'd have to do the same for the collapsible stock, but it makes sense to me.