definition: carbine vs rifle

According to the BATF, a pistol is a pistol if A: it's registered as a pistol, B: it doesn't have a stock. Barrel length doesn't matter.
A shotgun must have a barrel longer than 18" to be legal. Anything shorter is considered a SBS (short-barreled shotgun) or AOW (any other weapon), both of which require the tax stamp to transfer/purchase legally. A 'sawed-off' is just hollywood for illegal SBS.

Carbine Definition: Carbine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Cliff notes: it's a loose term, but means a generally shorter/lighter version of a rifle. E.g. an M16 is a rifle, an M4 is a carbine. The main differences between those two are 20" barrel vs. 14.5", and a collapsable stock.

yep what jrod said.


Practically speaking these days

a 16" barrel is legal carbine length.

a 20" barrel is considered rifle length.

Anything under (total length) 16 inches is considered illegal for a rifle.
To own a rifle with a shorter barrel you need to register it as a SBR and pay for a stamp.

You can have a 14.5" barrel with a permanently attached (welded) flash supressor or compensator.. but the overall length has to be 16"



If you are under 16" total length you are in pistol territory.

For an AR platform to be a legal pistol you have a couple options.

1. Buy a production pistol from the factory

2. Buy a stripped virgin lower and build it as a pistol (this is very similar to 3 and slightly more risky)

3. Buy a stripped lower new from the factory.. and designate it as a pistol from day 1 when you do the FFL transfer from the dealer.



In any case, none of these can EVER have any type of traditional buttstock attached. If you put a buttstock on a virgin lower, or a pistol designated lower or take the pistol buffer off your factory gun and attach a buttstock you have broken the law.

It's a REALLY big deal. You can go to jail. You will likely never be allowed to legally own a firearm again in your lifetime.. DON'T DO IT.

I like pickchurs...

those are handgaurd lengths.. but it definitely helps illustrate the point

..note the barrels are 16 or 20!!

richardlpalmer said:

I like pickchurs...

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the upper gun here is a 16" barrel with a flash suppressor that adds to the length.

the lower gun was most likely a 14.5 inch barrel with a permanantly welded flash that gives it a total length of 16"

original rifle and carbine! lol

M1 Garand and a .30 carbine

sunofnun said:

those are handgaurd lengths.. but it definitely helps illustrate the point

..note the barrels are 16 or 20!!

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Actually, it wasn't just handguard lengths, but gas tube lengths. But it was a good picture to show the different sizes. Why you always gotta be picking on my pickshurs? Bully!

richardlpalmer said:

Actually, it wasn't just handguard lengths, but gas tube lengths. But it was a good picture to show the different sizes. Why you always gotta be picking on my pickshurs? Bully!

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I luv your pickshurs... I was just pointing out the barrel lengths are the same on the smaller of the two. (thus they're both still carbines)

yance1270 said:

ok, now i have thought of a question - - how can an m-16 be a rifle at 20inches and my 30-30 is a carbine with the same barrel length?? i read a post a few days ago that said the 30-30 was a rifle because of the 26 inch barrel..

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well... the 30.30's or all the lever actions in various calibers have a very different family tree. But I'm pretty sure carbines are still considered 16-20 and rifles 20 and up.







And don't forget the "sidearm" or whats now classified as the pistol

yance1270 said:

ok, now i have thought of a question - - how can an m-16 be a rifle at 20inches and my 30-30 is a carbine with the same barrel length?? i read a post a few days ago that said the 30-30 was a rifle because of the 26 inch barrel..

Click to expand...

Because its all relative. There's no set definition based on a specific barrel length.