On Jan 13, 2023, days before large crowds of gun enthusiasts gathered in Las Vegas for Shot Show 2023, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) issued a new “ruling” requiring millions of Americans to register their pistol should it be attached to a brace or stabilizer.
According to the new ATF Pistol Brace rule if an individual, manufacturer, or retailer attaches one of these popular accessories on a firearm that was designed to be a pistol and has a barrel under 16 inches long, it is now considered a short-barreled rifle (SBR) under the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA).
That means, in order for you to remain a law abiding citizen you will now be required to pay a tax stamp along with registering your weapon as a short-barreled rifle with the ATF within 120 days from the date of publication which falls on May 13th. The normal SBR tax will be waived.
Should anyone not want to register, the ATF recommends removing the brace “to return the firearm to a pistol,” or surrender the weapon to the ATF.
This news lit the gun community on fire with many online commentators discussing the topic.
Attorney and Gun Rights Activist, Colin Noir made this assessment on the ATF Pistol Brace Ruling -
“This new rule which isn’t even a law, but has the consequences of being a law asserts that any weapon that is designed, redesigned, manufactured or modified to be fired from the shoulder will now legally be a SBR… Here’s what’s even crazier, they are going to study how weapon manufacturers market their guns to determine if adding a device to your gun makes it an SBR…. It doesn’t take a genius to see how this is a defacto gun registration.”
"...this is a defacto gun registration."
Colion would go on to explain the various absurdities and potential legal traps this new “ruling” can affect millions of gun owners. He predicts a potential wave of lawsuits that will arise that will slowly drain the system and a long haul for those who will be at the forefront of fighting this ruling through the courts.
He expresses particular concern to the average novice gun owner who potentially isn’t even aware that this rule has been set, now unwittingly and unknowingly is in possession of illegal contraband, they presumed was legal at the time of purchasing one of these stabilizing devices.
“The Government is not on your side when it comes to protecting your 2nd amendment. The Government has no incentive whatsoever to be a proponent of your 2nd amendment rights because the 2nd amendment was written by enlarge; for the most part; truth be told almost all of it because OF The Government. That’s why the 2nd Amendment even exists. So of course the Government will do everything in its power to undermine the 2nd Amendment that gives the power to the people.” – Colion Noir
Former VICE Journalist, Tim Pool took to his youtube podcast "Timcast" to lament the ATF Pistol Brace ruling.
“The ATF is not Congress. The ATF does not get to make legislative decisions on banning certain things. The ATF cannot just come out and say “We hereby decree that a brace is a stock”. That’s not how it works … I think this shows the egregious nature of the ATF’s overreach.”
"I think this shows the egregious nature of the ATF's overreach."
Tim questions the validity of even having short barreled rifles to be regulated under the NFA to start with. Throughout his video he points out how unfair it is for an organization like the ATF to be able to sidestep congress to classify devices, seemingly at a whim, endangering so many with jail time if they don’t comply by either registering or turning in their weapon.
The future of these devices may be in peril due to this, many would say unconstitutional, ATF Pistol Brace Ban.
However, Meta Tactical’s APEX Carbine Conversion Kit was designed to convert most Glock, P80, and Palmetto State Armory pistols into actual rifles by attaching a 16 inch barrel that goes into a Chassis. Other brands such as Smith & Wesson, Canik, CZ-USA, Sig Sauer, Springfield Armory and Taurus will soon have APEX Series Carbine Kits developed.
Over 2 years ago, Meta Tactical saw the issue with most of the devices that claimed to “convert” a pistol into a rifle. The issue was – they didn’t actually convert anything. They simply made pistols “look” like rifles, while recommending people not to “shoulder it” as means to fly under the radar as to not be classified as an SBR or the be seen as stocks.
This led Meta Tactical to engineer a product that meets the demands of the most experienced shooting enthusiasts and addresses the problems facing the industry including the new regulations, which Meta Tactical saw coming. The result was the META TACTICAL APEX Carbine Conversion Kit (CCK).
The APEX-Series CCK features our proprietary 16” barrel that is engineered and manufactured by META Tactical right here in the USA. Technical precision with American muscle that leads to performance that can sustain 10s of thousands of rounds. Once the 16” META Tactical barrel is swapped into the user’s handgun, it is inserted into the head-turning bullpup-style CCK platform. It can be legally shouldered because of the 16” barrel and 26” final length.
No need for stabilizing braces.
The APEX has been put through the paces by retired operators, self-defense experts and passionate shooters who agree the performance exceeds expectations from trigger responsiveness to shooting steel at 200 yards. In fact, “Wow, that was awesome” are the most common words uttered after the first magazine is spent in the APEX Series.
ATF Pistol Brace Ban Leaves One Solution
Although this ATF ruling is considered a travesty among gun enthusiasts and 2nd Amendment activists, Meta Tactical is grateful to having the foresight to see the writing on the wall when the ATF began infringing on America’s rights by regulating stocks.
Meta Tactical continues to improve the APEX Carbine Conversion by keeping their eyes and ears open to customer feedback. The goal is to produce precisely engineered products that provide creative solutions to complex problems customers may have.
The APEX Carbine Conversion kit is, for now, the only legal solution to converting your pistol into an actual rifle, as it is NOT a stabilizer nor brace, therefore –
