well I went through fox ridge and here is the response I got. I asked " I want to check to see if my encore frame can legally have a less than 16 inch barrel put on it, in other words was the frame sent from the factory as a rifle or pistol frame." The response was "we sell you a frame they are all interchangeable and can put a rifle, pistol, muzzleloader or shotgun barrel on it and it is up to you to follow the rules of your state. It does not matter what barrel you put on it as long as you make it legal in your state." when I rephrased the question and asked out right can you check my serial number and tell me how it left the factory as rifle or pistol as I want to adhere to federal laws, I got the exact same answer as if he was reading it off a card. When I asked him to put that in writing he said he could not. So I do not know any more than I did before I called. The sad part of it is it took me a week of calling and emailing to get such a useless response. I see some barrels and stocks and maybe a frame going down the road. I will buy a brand new frame set up for pistol to be sure I am legal.