![]() ![]() ![]() And by omitting a traditional shoulder stock, the owner can maintain the gun's status as a pistol - while also keeping the barrel length under the 16-inch minimum that's required for rifles. If a short barrel is used, like on the Dayton gun, it can be easier both to conceal and to handle in close quarters. "If a lower receiver is built into and registered as a pistol first, it can be stripped down and converted into a rifle in the future," the National Rifle Association says on its American Rifleman website, where it has published a guide for any people who want to build their own AR-15 pistol. And with an AR pistol, the process can result in an imposing weapon in a compact package. While it can be cheaper to build one's own AR-15, the approach also allows gun owners to customize their guns, from choosing the caliber of bullet it will chamber to trying out unique accessories. Everything else, from the barrel to the firing mechanism, can be easily bought directly - online or in a store.įully assembled AR-15 rifles can be bought for less than $500 - and the price goes up sharply from there. That's the shell-like piece that houses the trigger and bears the maker's serial number. law, the only part of a gun that's technically considered a firearm - and must be shipped to a licensed firearms dealer - is the lower receiver. "You're talking, really, a weapon of mass destruction that you're giving over the counter to anybody," said Joseph Vince, a former special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who now works as a gun crime consultant. Before it was turned against civilians, the gun was built from easily obtained components - leading to questions about America's gun laws and a gray area that exists between traditional categories such as rifles and pistols. The AR-15-style pistol used in Dayton is capable of pouring a stream of high-velocity bullets, thanks to its huge ammunition magazine. But while the weapon might look like a rifle to many people, it's technically classified as a pistol under federal law. The gun that was used on Sunday to kill nine people and wound more than a dozen others in Dayton, Ohio, inflicted that damage within just 30 seconds. ![]() A close-up of the gun's lower receiver (bottom right) shows the only part of the gun that is legally considered a firearm. Legally classified as a pistol, it was fed by a 100-round "double drum" magazine (lower left). The gun used in the Dayton shooting (top) has a barrel that's shorter than the federal minimum for a rifle. ![]()
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