Brace or Stock?

Shooting News Weekly has an article about a Florida man pulled over in a traffic stop who was ultimately charged with possession of an unregistered SBR. The excuse for pulling the man over was dubious, but the point was that the officers believed they had probable cause to search his vehicle. The man had been returning from a shooting excursion and among his collection of weapons in the vehicle was an AR pistol with a brace. Or was it a brace? The officers ultimately determined that it was not a pistol brace and now the man is facing felony charges for an unlicensed SBR. The article relates:

Smith had owned the AR pistol for nearly seven years. He found it on a website and had it shipped to his local gun dealer. He had mounted a red-dot sight and what he thought was an aftermarket brace. “I was under the impression it was totally compliant,” Smith said. “The brace was actually smaller than the one it came with. I thought it was a brace, not a buttstock.” 

Unfortunately, as one of the comments to the article pointed out, it was not a brace at all but a Strike Industries MOD1 stock. The irony is that when the man purchased the AR pistol, it actually shipped with a perfectly serviceable pistol brace.  

    The lesson here is don't be like Florida man. Don't replace your pistol brace with a stock unless you have first obtained the ATF's permission to convert the pistol to an SBR.