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AR pistols and general "assault" pistols exist because of manufacturers working around the NFA. "Short Barrel Rifles" only exist because of the NFA.
An AR15 with a barrel under 16 inches without a stock is a Pistol.
An AR15 with a barrel under 16 inches with a stock is a Short barrel rifle.
Or either, with an OAL of less than 26'' will be a pistol or a SBR.
(excluding AOW's and OAL decisions by ATF that change opinions on weapon classification. eg Franklin AOW/Pistol) (further legal def. in GCA.)
Two weapons with the same barrel lengths, one configured as a pistol, one as an SBR, both configurations are of equal overall length category, or presumed, "conceal-ability" as referenced in the law. The only difference is one may be a pistol while the other is a registered NFA weapon.
A common OAL of a common handguns, such as a Glock, is substantially shorter. There is not common hand guns of this common OAL that have armor piercing ammunition in common civilian circulation. This is supported by the separation of typical handgun ammunition vs. rifle ammunition.
Further, statistically saying that crime is generally with hand guns is true according to FBI crime statistics. However, FBI does not clearly state if the handguns are common OAL handguns or assault pistols. This is not a fair comparison in generalizing how concealable the weapon is, nor its statistical use in crime.
There is very little to no data on how many times an assault pistol of any of these armor piercing rifle chambering has been used in US crime.
Therefore the definitions of pistol and rifle are not traditional in the sense of a common handgun. The application of this projectile can be of equal use in a full size rifle , short barrel rifle, or pistol/assault pistol. All of which are legally registered weapons in their respective classifications. All of which have various "sporting" purposes and are in common use.
Alternatively, if the view of the 2nd under current SCOTUS is of weapons in
common military use, "arms" would include ammunition, which would include ammunition in common military use. Frustratingly, it should include machine guns and short barreled rifles in the very least. But they do not view it that way.
(The elephant in the room is that the purpose of the 2nd is to NOT allow the government to ever have the upper hand. The argument that civilians cannot own certain ammo because it is dangerous to government and LEO is completely against the purpose of power equilibrium in the amendment. There was never a sporting purpose at all.)
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