COMPLETE LOWERS

[jamesob]

i was looking at gb and i saw an ad that said they wouldn't ship the lower completed. well i was wondering what makes a complete lower illegal? as long as the lower doesn't have a upper on it it shouldn't be illegal. the reason i am saying this is because the upper determines if its a semi or pump action. dpms makes a pump upper and im sure its not a big seller. my lower doesn't say semi auto on it so what do you guys think about that? i know the easy adaptability of a semi upper ould have somthing to do about it but ading a pistol grip is just as easy.

[betch]

pump action upper? haha that'd be a sight

[kermit]

Pump AR

http://www.dpmsinc.com/firearms/firearm.aspx?id=44

And they make itas a pistol, too.

[jacques]

That would be cool to get your kid started on. I wonder how much they are?

[Experimentalist]

This question has come up in the context of .22 lr rimfire uppers.

The conclusion then is the same as yours. The upper portion determines caliber (e.g. .223 remington vs .22 lr rimfire) and operating characteristics (e.g. pump or semiauto).

Thus it would be possible to own an AR lower with a .22 lr rimfire upper attached with all the naughty goodies, including a regular magazine release. Once one was safely out of California (e.g. in Nevada) one could then swap uppers to the conventional .223 Remington and have fun.

As to your original question I think there is some squeamishness about appearances and potential legal fallout. Its possible that as dealers become more socialized to the laws they will become more willing to deal in complete lowers by themselves, or lowers with .22 lr uppers. Time will tell.