Rifle Hunting In Lower Michigan Question

[CrowBill]

I have a T/C Encore and thinking of getting a S/w 500 Barrel 17' which I believe would require me to register it as a handgun, Will I be allowed to hunt with this rifle in this cartridge in lower Michigan even If I left the buttstock as original?

Thanks~CROWBILL

[Swamp Monster]

No, you would not be able to hunt with this in the shotgun zone, at least with the standard rifle buttstock. I don't believe you will need to register it as a handgun unless the barrel is the 14" version or shorter. If you buy a shorter barrel, say 12" and put a handgun stock on it, it will be perfectly legal to hunt with in the shotgun zone. You must use straight walled cartridges in the shotgun zone in your single shot pistols...ie .444 Marlin, 45-70 gov't. .500 S&W etc. The .375JDJ and other bottleneck rounds popular in the encore/contender are not legal below the shotgun zone.

[CrowBill]

Thanks Swamp Monster!

[ART]

If your Encore was bought as a rifle, you can put a 17" barrel on it, and it still is a rifle. You can only use it in the rifle zone.
If your Encore was bought as a rifle, you can't put a barrel shorter than 16" on it, you can't put a pistol grip on it. You would be violating Federal law!
A rifle can't be registered as a pistol, it must be shipped from the factory that way.
If you get caught with a rifle made into a pistol, your life will become miserable.

[jmoser]

Art is 100% correct. You can in no way, ever, put a pistol grip on your Encore purchased as a rifle or muzzleloader. This is Federal law regarding 'manufacturing a handgun.' Don't waste your breath arguing about it.

Shortest allowable bbl on any rifle is 16" - below that the BATF will nail you for having a 'short barreled rifle.' Just as bad as a sawed off shotgun.

If I knew this at the time I would have bought my Encore as a pistol, but too late now.

These are Federal felony issues with guaranteed 100% go-directly-to-jail penalties. Do not do it, and next time vote Republican! :lol:

[Swamp Monster]

Crowbill, those guys are 100% correct! I just found this out last night as I was looking at Encores and asked how the pistol should be registered if I switched it to handgun form, was told that if I were considering that, then buy it as a pistol first, it's the only legal way. And in rifle form, keep the registration with you because by law it is still considered a handgun as far as registration is concerned at least, but carry and use fall under the regular long gun laws.
This may very well change how I purchase mine as well...maybe a stainless 7mm-08 with 12" barrel is in my future.