WE ATTEMPTED THE ATF PISTOL BRACE TEST, AND IT DIDN'T GO WELL
7th Jul 2021
Source Credit to guns.com | CHRIS EGER
With a 71-page proposed rule to clarify when attached stabilizing brace accessories convert pistols into illegal short-barreled rifles now open for public comment, we disastrously attempted to apply it.
In a test with a pair of unloaded large-format AR-style pistols, Guns.com's Chris Eger and Ben Philippi tried to honestly wade through the minefield of potential disqualifiers on proposed ATF Form 4999 to determine if a pistol/brace combos selected-- which are legal now-- would continue to be so should the rule goes into effect as-is.
And it didn't work out very well.
In the end, the ambiguity of the worksheet and accompanying documentation left the final answer up in the air, at least in our experience. It was confusing, often contradictory, and not user-friendly. The whole thing makes perfect sense, as long as you don't think about it, and is a one-size fits almost none solution to a problem that could impact up to 40 million users, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service.
Check out the video for the test, which is not legal advice or a "how-to," and will probably make you want to drink at some point.
The proposed rulemaking, "Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached Stabilizing Braces" as of June 24, has 102,000 public comments.
The last day to file comments is Sept. 8.
