Delaware Open Carry

Just curious: anyone know if MechTech carbine conversions for Glocks,etc are legal in DE?

Mac19701 wrote:Just curious: anyone know if MechTech carbine conversions for Glocks,etc are legal in DE?

I'm no expert but I know several people who bought them while living in Delaware.

Viper98 would be your best source for an authoritative answer.

Adding a shoulder stock to a pistol is against the law without the proper tax stamps

2xTony wrote:Adding a shoulder stock to a pistol is against the law without the proper tax stamps

True, but that is not what the MechTech conversions I've seen are. The MechTech conversions I've seen are rifle "upper" with a 16" barrel and stock that you put the lower half of your pistol in. There is a block you put in to make the feeding work but there are no modifications to the pistol lower. It is not a "PDW" type conversion like Sig Sauer makes where your whole pistol is dropped in, barrel and all. That Sig thing is definitely still a pistol and would be an SBR with a stock.

The question I've always had is if you make your pistol into a rifle with a MechTech conversion or some other 16" barrel can you then return it to a pistol? I looked it up once on the ATF website and it looked legal to go back and forth but you must start with a pistol not a rifle. But I'm no expert.

Well i guess if you follow the same rules as people who build ar15s out of stripped lowers, if you use a rifle length barrel you can add a stock and its fine. But no stock on less than 16" barrels unless you sbr. I just really hope all these bs laws are preventing gun crime and shootings somewhere in the us

Interesting discussion and I appreciate the rational responses. Given that, maybe we can broaden the discussion: has anyone has any first hand experience with these attachments/conversions?

Mac19701 wrote:Interesting discussion and I appreciate the rational responses. Given that, maybe we can broaden the discussion: has anyone has any first hand experience with these attachments/conversions?

I've seen them first hand. I shot one based on a Glock. Seemed to work fine. They look a bit odd to me but they work. I was considering one but instead I decided to get a pistol caliber carbine that used Glock mags. My thinking was the more guns is better.

The Atf reg you are quoting, correctly in my opinion, is 11-4.

If born a rifle, you CAN NOT make it a pistol. Ever. (Well, maybe with appropriate stamps)
If born a pistol, you can switch back and forth to your hearts content. Just be careful in the way you switch as some configs may be SBR if you're not careful.

Also, if you start from a stripped lower, how would anyone know or prove it was anything but a pistol first? The silliness of federal gun law.

Owen wrote:

2xTony wrote:Adding a shoulder stock to a pistol is against the law without the proper tax stamps

True, but that is not what the MechTech conversions I've seen are. The MechTech conversions I've seen are rifle "upper" with a 16" barrel and stock that you put the lower half of your pistol in. There is a block you put in to make the feeding work but there are no modifications to the pistol lower. It is not a "PDW" type conversion like Sig Sauer makes where your whole pistol is dropped in, barrel and all. That Sig thing is definitely still a pistol and would be an SBR with a stock.

The question I've always had is if you make your pistol into a rifle with a MechTech conversion or some other 16" barrel can you then return it to a pistol? I looked it up once on the ATF website and it looked legal to go back and forth but you must start with a pistol not a rifle. But I'm no expert.

pick_six wrote:The Atf reg you are quoting, correctly in my opinion, is 11-4.

If born a rifle, you CAN NOT make it a pistol. Ever. (Well, maybe with appropriate stamps)
If born a pistol, you can switch back and forth to your hearts content. Just be careful in the way you switch as some configs may be SBR if you're not careful.

Also, if you start from a stripped lower, how would anyone know or prove it was anything but a pistol first? The silliness of federal gun law.

That was my take away too.

I agree that the guns laws make no sense. I think they were created to give new "tools" to LE when other crimes could not be proven. We are caught up in laws intended to fight organized crime but instead they get us honest law abiding folk.

pick_six wrote:Also, if you start from a stripped lower, how would anyone know or prove it was anything but a pistol first? The silliness of federal gun law.

If the stripped lower left the manufacturer as a stripped lower, it would have been registered with the ATF as an AOW (any other weapon). These can be made into either a pistol or a rifle without paperwork. If you bought a finished lower (stock, pins, and trigger), this is registered with the ATF as a rifle and it can not be made into a pistol without filing the correct paperwork.

The only way they'd prove it is if they contacted either the manufacturer, or the ATF and sought the information on how it left the factory.

This is worth keeping in mind if you ever buy a stripped lower second-hand. Did they purchase it that way, or strip it out of a prebuilt rifle? It'll matter if you ever want to build it as a pistol and stay on the right side of the law.

I actually registered one of my pistols as an SBR (HK USP) just in case I ever wanted to pick up one of those stocks that fits around the pistol. I also have an Kriss Vector and a DPMS lower registered as an SBR. It's a pain to do, but I think it's worth it.