Ok guys, I got a confusing question that I can't seem to find an answer to regarding TC Encores and the NFA.
OK, so I'm wanting to recreate the Rossi 12 gauge pistol (bottom pic) using the Encore. The goal is a 6.5"-8" smooth bore barrel.
This is where it starts to get a little confusing.
The encore can be bought as
Just a frame, a pistol, rifle, a shotgun, or a muzzleloader. To make matters even more confusing, TC sued the ATF and WON.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit...Center_Arms_Co.
The ruling states that with the same receiver, you can switch between a rifle/shotgun/muzzle loader and a pistol. It is still illegal to put a stock on it with a short barrel, but the law of contagion doesn't apply to the receiver (meaning once it's a rifle, it's always a rifle).
Now, I'm wanting to turn this into a 12 gauge pistol. In the ATF's eyes, shotguns can't be pistols. So it will be considered either a SBS, DD, or AOW. I'm really confident that this will not be an AOW due to the OAL being too short. And I'm pretty confident it won't be a DD as I will use a smooth barrel, so that leaves SBS.
Now, here comes the trickiest question of them all. If I register the receiver as a SBS, will I still be able to swap barrels like a regular TC? If the rules of contagion doesn't apply, can I have it registered as a SBS with a 6.5" bbl, remove the barrel and throw on a pistol length rifle barrel? Or take the grip off, throw on the stock and a 16" barrel to make it a rifle? It's a very murky area... obviously if I put a stock on it with a short rifle barrel that would require an SBR stamp as well. I like to keep my interactions with the ATF to a minimum but I might have to run this past them. What are y'alls thoughts?