Opinions on "Obrez" project

[Rosereader]

Now before I get started I should state that I have fairly particular tastes and this is very specifically a personal, 1-off project. I have been thinking about it for a few months and am nearing the point where I may well jump on it and am making this post as a kind of "what would you do?" poll, testing the waters as it were for what will in the end be a pure range toy. The general features I intend to include are as follows:

-A dramatically shortened barrel (no more than 5" of rifling)

-A perforated heat shield

-A fixed front blade sight, ideally in gold or polished brass (no rear sight)

-A new, slicker, checkered stock built from the ground up out of some manner of hardwood that has yet to be determined

The main issue at hand now is the method of [B]producing[B] the weapon. The two options I've run into during a casual online search are to either cut two Mosin-Nagants in half (demilling) and welding the receivers to build a "virgin" receiver that can be used in a "pistol" build. This seems to be the cheapest and fastest manner of going about it but I'm not entirely confident on the strict legality and it would entail having no stock at all, rather than the short (mares leg short) stock that I want.

The other option is the conventional SBR paperwork. I am not entirely sure how to go about this and from what I have heard it will be a drawn out process involving a hefty fee. Not something I look forward to.



In addition I have been trying to determine a way of extending the capacity of the internal magazine to 10 rounds. This would be much easier if the floorplate wasn't serialized. If anyone has any advice on how to build a box that incorporates the original floorplate it would be very helpful, although I'm not entirely sure I have to (the archangel stock with detachable magazines confuses me).

So, any thoughts? Oh and before anyone has a fit the build will be made out of a (possibly multiple) abused Chinese M44 knockoffs that have seen better days. Probably. No valuable (subjective term) veterans will be harmed.

[SDgarrick]

99% likely that an SBR will be a no-go in CA, unless you're special.

The question your facing is how to turn a rifle into a pistol, when a rifle is always a rifle. ATF has made a few comments about pistol>rifle>pistol recently. I don't remember exactly what they stated, but I think it mainly affected the Mec Tech carbines. Goodluck, This seems possible, but difficult as the laws are rather ridiculous and often convoluted.

[Capybara]

There are several Calgunners who have built these, hopefully one or two will chime in. You aren't registering an SBR in California without a DOJ DWP (Dangerous Weapons Permit) and you aren't getting one of those unless you are an FFL07/SOT2 who builds and sells guns to the government/LEAs or you are a movie armorer.

All of the ones I have seen have been crafted from cut up receivers.

Good luck, not an easy project to build safely.

[Quiet]

Under Federal laws...
You can not legally make a Title 1 Rifle into a Title 1 Handgun, the resulting firearm is considered a Title 2 Short Barrel Rifle which requires BATFE approval to make.

You can legally destroy multiple Title 1 Rifles and use the parts to make a Title 1 Handgun.

The CA legal "Oberz" style handguns that have been made, were made from several destroyed Mosin-Nagant receivers.
Receivers are destroyed per BATFE specifications (cut up in three different pieces).
The cut up receiver parts are then welded together to make a "new" receiver, which can then be legally used to make a Title 1 Handgun.

I believe they cut up two Mosin-Nagant rifles to make one functional receiver, which was used to make the CA legal "Obrez" style handgun.