Under the
ATF’s own definition, which is written into
federal law, one of the definitions of a firearm is a frame or receiver. And defines a frame or receiver as . . .
That part of a firearm which provides housing for the hammer, bolt or breechblock, and firing mechanism, and which is usually threaded at its forward portion to receive the barrel.
An AR lower clearly doesn’t meet that definition. While it houses the hammer, it doesn’t provide or housing for the bolt or breechblock
and it isn’t threaded to receive the barrel.
But . . .
Per the ATF, this is
also a firearm. But without a slide, that thing above no more meets the legal definition of a firearm than an AR lower does.
So the question is, if an AR lower isn’t a firearm under current law, why is this thing a firearm?