Legal AR in MD

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  • NBCHUNTER

    Member
    Dec 7, 2014
    39
    Balto Co
    Are all HBAR legal, are their any other parts of an AR that make it illegal in MD.
     

    DC-W

    Ultimate Member
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 23, 2013
    25,290
    ️‍
    HBAR AR15 rifles are exempt by name in the law.

    MD says a semi-auto centerfire rifle shorter than 29" long is an "assault weapon".

    Having any two of the below features make a rifle an "assault weapon"

    -folding stock
    -grenade launcher
    -flash hider

    You're not going to find a HBAR with the first two features there.

    If in doubt, check with your local FFL or one of the industry partners here -- chances are they sell HBARs ;)
     

    MKR03

    Active Member
    Apr 1, 2014
    675
    State of Montgomery
    Yeah, that was totally idiotic! Like Bushmaster was in some way more fearsome and terrible than all the others. They should have filed a lawsuit!:sad20:

    I'm convinced it's because there's a scary looking snake on the receiver. All "assault weapon" bans have really targeted scary looking features (barrel shrouds, shoulder things that go up etc). Ask Owe'Malley, he'll probably say that when the 30 round clip is used up (after approximately 1/1000 of a second), the snake on the logo comes alive and targets babies and minorities.
     

    brianns

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 29, 2015
    3,559
    Montgomery County
    If its a .308 they are exempt too. Md does not have the ability to regulate the uppers so you should be able to have a flash hider. That was explained to me by the dealer who transferred my AR .308 lowers to me.

    They explained the .308 ARs were not considered to have been an actual military battle rifle and consequently avoided enumeration in the law as banned. Further one of the DPMS .308 ARs was enumerated as exempt. You can see that on the MSP website.
     
    Feb 28, 2013
    28,953
    Yeah, that was totally idiotic! Like Bushmaster was in some way more fearsome and terrible than all the others. They should have filed a lawsuit!:sad20:

    The banned bushmaster was a model of Gwinn Firearms. The current Bushmaster didn't even exist yet. :sad20:

    If its a .308 they are exempt too. Md does not have the ability to regulate the uppers so you should be able to have a flash hider. That was explained to me by the dealer who transferred my AR .308 lowers to me.

    They explained the .308 ARs were not considered to have been an actual military battle rifle and consequently avoided enumeration in the law as banned. Further one of the DPMS .308 ARs was enumerated as exempt. You can see that on the MSP website.

    They weren't seen in any Arnold Schwarzenegger movies either, so they're perfectly safe.:rolleyes:
     

    Markp

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 22, 2008
    9,392
    HBAR AR15 rifles are exempt by name in the law.

    MD says a semi-auto centerfire rifle shorter than 29" long is an "assault weapon".

    Having any two of the below features make a rifle an "assault weapon"

    -folding stock
    -grenade launcher
    -flash hider

    You're not going to find a HBAR with the first two features there.

    If in doubt, check with your local FFL or one of the industry partners here -- chances are they sell HBARs ;)

    So then the question becomes, if I call any rifle an "AR-15 HBAR" and imprint/stamp it as such, is it legal because the law doesn't define it? Stupid laws....
     

    dontpanic

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 7, 2013
    6,631
    Timonium
    So then the question becomes, if I call any rifle an "AR-15 HBAR" and imprint/stamp it as such, is it legal because the law doesn't define it? Stupid laws....

    MD State Police define it as stamped HBAR or advertised as an HBAR. I don't recall it saying it had to be stamped by the manufacturer. But I would not do it myself.

    There are a lot of good options in HBAR barrels. They can be fluted as well.
     

    mac1_131

    MSI Executive Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 31, 2009
    3,280
    So then the question becomes, if I call any rifle an "AR-15 HBAR" and imprint/stamp it as such, is it legal because the law doesn't define it? Stupid laws....

    Possibly not. You might want to search one of the dozens of previous HBAR threads.

    To answer your question directly, MSP has consistently said an HBAR is such when the selling dealer can articulate the rifle is an HBAR. That meant catalog sheet, slick sheet, bill of sale, stuff like that.

    A paper trail indicating it is such if you will. They do not want to have to look at it and decide, nor may the average LEO be qualified to do so.

    So just grabbing any rifle and stamping it probably won't get it.

    Yes it's weird, it's Maryland.

    On a self build, myself I wouldn't do it unless I had documentation on the upper saying it was an HBAR.
     
    Last edited:

    Markp

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 22, 2008
    9,392
    Possibly not. You might want to search one of the dozens of previous HBAR threads.

    To answer your question directly, MSP has consistently said an HBAR is such when the selling dealer can enumerate the rifle is an HBAR. That meant catalog sheet, slick sheet, bill of sale, stuff like that.

    A paper trail indicating it is such if you will. They do not want to have to look at it and decide, nor may the average LEO be qualified to do so.

    So just grabbing any rifle and stamping it probably won't get it.

    Yes it's weird, it's Maryland.

    On a self build, myself I wouldn't do it unless I had documentation on the upper saying it was an HBAR.
    Exactly, but what if for instance century arms takes their C39v2, and makes a very similar but not identical heavy barrel version and markets it as the AR-15 HBAR complete with catalog and all the advertising. See where I am going with this?

    Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    Exactly, but what if for instance century arms takes their C39v2, and makes a very similar but not identical heavy barrel version and markets it as the AR-15 HBAR complete with catalog and all the advertising. See where I am going with this?

    Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

    If Century Arms says it is an HBAR, then in MD it is an HBAR.

    Just like a couple of manufacturers market mid-weight barrels, with the same profile as others that are called Heavy or HBAR. The ones marketed as mid-weight would not be legal in MD.

    Unless you can get an FFL to state that based on their information and comparison to another barrel marked Heavy, they were the same. But not may will stick their neck out that far.
     
    May 13, 2005
    2,769
    Are all non-223 AR rifles legal in MD? I know AR-10 .308 rifles are, what about 9mm, 5.45x39, 300 blackout, 5.7x28 etc or do those still have to be HBAR as well?
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    Nobody knows for sure.

    Some people say non-.223 are not covered. However, they could be covered as a copy. It would depend on how many parts needed to be changed to convert. AG letter basically says, if you can swap ANY single part between them (like .223 to .330BO) then it is a copy.

    Not everyone agrees.

    YMMV.
     

    iH8DemLibz

    When All Else Fails.
    Apr 1, 2013
    25,396
    Libtardistan
    Whatever you do, don't put a 24 inch non fluted and non HBAR marked BULL barrel on a post FSA lower.

    You will end up with an illegal gun that's much heavier than the legal and lighter in weight HBAR gun.
     

    vandrv

    Active Member
    Oct 8, 2013
    100
    Harford County
    I recently purchased my first AR upper and went with a Colt that is stamped HBAR, so I'm good to go. But Just out of curiosity, can anybody explain to me why in a politician's mind, a heavy barrel is ok, but a regular barrel isn't? Maybe this is just a rhetorical question, since I doubt it is even possible to explain their thought process.:)
     

    ShafTed

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 21, 2013
    2,214
    Juuuuust over the line
    You used the words "politician" and "mind" in the same sentence. Pure oxymoron. At least as far as the liberals go, there is no thought process whatsoever, only "feelings" and then only the ones that the Party tells them that they have!

    And the Bushmaster situation was explained earlier. The original list was compiled decades ago. There was one model called a "Bushmaster" which had nothing to do with the modern company of the same name. They never looked at the list again, they just kept using it over and over with their standard ever-tightening incremental steps towards their ultimate goal of complete disarmament. The fact that they could ban everything from a new(er) company was just a happy coincidence.
     

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