Legalities of owning 80% Lower AR 15's?

[smcrea]

I'm speaking purely hypothetically of course:

If I owned a couple of completed 80% lower that were machined, anodize finished and ready to build into an AR15 rifles then where would I stand with legally? (zero markings on the lowers)

- Would I at some time in the near or distant future find myself with a rifle that is illegal?

- Where do you stand if you ever wanted to transfer it? Can you even transfer an un serial numbered lower?

- If I had several serial numbered lowers that had gone through DROS and a couple of finished 80%'s and was trying to decide which ones to build into AR's first then what would be the best approach?

a) Bury them in the bottom of my safe
b) Bury them in my yard
c) Send them to my buddy in Free America for safe keeping
d) Build them into AR's first and before the serial numbered lowers

Thanks!

[db42]

There is nothing illegal about owning guns built from 80% receivers - never has been.
There is nothing illegal about owning finished 80% receivers that are yet to be built - never has been.

You cannot sell the guns unless you give them serial numbers and a city of manufacture.

[Sunday]

Read the law!!!!

[riddler408]

No need for serial numbers. if you are worried then look up and keep a print out of the law with your rifles. It is an atf reg.

[RamonSJC]

Only way 80% is illegal. If you are a prohibited person.

[vospertw]

Read the law!!!!

While I get your point and agree, it might be more helpful to provide a link so the OP, and anyone else interested (like me), could read it.

[Write Winger]

Here's the thing... laws are written to either regulate something or to make something illegal. It generally doesn't say what you CAN do. If it isn't illegal or regulated, you have the liberty to do what you want.

Just as an example, lets say there was a law that states you can't turn left at an intersection. It doesn't say anything about going straight, turning right, making three right turns to eventually go in the direction you want to go, or making a u-turn. That's what some would call a "loophole". No, it's liberty. All the law says is that you can't turn left.

So think of it that was when asking "can I do that?" or "what's the law saying I can?"

[BumBum]

Another rule of thumb that is often handy if you are unsure if something is legal/illegal: is there a bill pending in the legislature aimed at the subject? In this case, see SB 808. If it were already illegal, there probably wouldn't be pending legislation seeking to regulate the matter.

[CSACANNONEER]

There is nothing illegal about owning guns built from 80% receivers - never has been.
There is nothing illegal about owning finished 80% receivers that are yet to be built - never has been.

You cannot sell the guns unless you give them serial numbers and a city of manufacture.

Not true. You can legally sell unmarked firearms as long as they were manufactured prior to SNs being required on firearms built with the intention of being transferred. There are millions of production firearms out there without SNs. They were manufactured prior to the GCA of '68.

As far as homebuilt firearms go, your list is incomplete. While federal law requires a SN and a city, it also requires the manufacturer's name as well as the city and STATE it was manufactured in. There are also minimum size and depth requirements.

[smcrea]

Definition of Moron: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI6e...mbedded#at=426

This is where I was coming from with my post..

IF I had an 80% then I could find myself with an illegal weapon if this idiot has his way..

[jtfernandez213]

Welcome to the fight smcrea!

[riddler408]

d) Build them into AR's first and before the serial numbered lowers

[Intimid8tor]

Legalities of owning 80% Lower AR 15's?

Read the law!!!!

Or the 5000 posts about it.

And no one knows the future. Anything that is legal today, can be made illegal.

[BMartin1776]

yea what they ^^^ said... I put a serial on mine only in case of theft. As long as you are not selling, giving, gifting, transferring it etc you don't need a serial

[Sheriff71]

I'm new to the CalGuns forums so excuse me if I'm inept. I have a question that I haven't seen expressed yet. If one builds (finishes) an 80% lower and builds an AR around it, what happens when you die? Can that 80% lower-based rifle be passed through inheritance to a close family member, i.e. a daughter? I know it can't be sold/transferred w/o serial number/FFL but what about at one's BIG END?