Last year we witnessed a huge but short lived craze, the AR15 pistol with arm brace. What started it all was the advent of the Sig SB15 pistol stabilizing brace. Developed for disabled shooters to be operated one handed with the intention of making the pistol less unwieldy. The brace also inadvertently made a pretty good buttstock, turning an AR pistol into a quasi-legal short barrelled rifle (SBR) without the NFA paperwork! The BATF originally ok’d shouldering the brace as they considered the act as not being a redesign of the pistol itself. This opened the floodgates for everyone that ever wanted a SBR but didn’t want the hassle or expense of the NFA process. All was fine and dandy for a few months. AR pistols, a super low volume niche, were suddenly selling like hotcakes, breaking all sales records. Then as suddenly as it started the AR pistol craze came to a screeching halt when the BATF, bombarded with letters from gun owners and manufacturers asking if this brace was really legal, realized they created a loophole for people to get around the NFA process. The BATF then issued a statement saying that they considered an AR pistol equipped with a brace fired from the shoulder to be illegal. Sales of AR pistols died overnight. During the rush, we did manage to obtain one to mess around with and despite the reversal, were able to create a super nice blaster. In the process, we have figured out cool ways to shoot it without becoming felons. You might find this interesting as well. Check out our AR pistol build and maybe you still might want to consider getting one.
