Is your AK w/folding stock minimum length?

[BillyBang]

Some may remember the discussion
a couple of months ago in "AK General discussion".

It ended with confusion about how AK's are measured to obtain
the minimum federal length for a rifle.

After a lengthy internet search to no avail,
I wrote the ATF myself.

Here's the letter I sent to them:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Since the sunset of the 1994 AWB,
I have been seeing many AKM style rifles for sale at various places.
Some of these rifles have a folding or underfolding stock.
I know about the legal length for rifles,
with minimum barrel length of 16” and an overall length of 26”.

I have looked at some of these AKM underfolders and measured
from the tip of the barrel to the end of the receiver (with stock collapsed)
and I find some of these rifles measure at most 25-3/4”,
even though they have a barrel of 16” or more in length.

Are the AKM’s with collapsible stocks measured with the stocks extended?
Or are they measured with the stocks collapsed?
And are these AKM’s that I have seen and measured, legal for me to purchase as is?

As a side note:
I read about the “Marbels game getter”,
in the atf’s regulations, for what is defined as NFA weapons and it says:
"If it has the folding stock and with the folding stock extended,
the “Marbels game getter” is over 26” and therefore considered a legal (not NFA) firearm,
as long as the stock is not removed.

Thanks for clearing this issue up as I hear many rumors
 about this and would like to talk about it with some certainty.

Sincerely

Here is the letter I received:

(click for full size image)

This pretty much puts this one to bed IMO.


BB