New Hampshire gunmaker Sig Sauer updated its website to list firearms with the once-again legal pistol brace. According to the gun blog The Truth About Guns, Sig brought back the Sig M400 Tread and the M400 SDI X. They're both smaller versions of a Sig rifle of the same name but packaged as braced pistols. Plus, a review of Sig's website shows two pistol braces sold as an attachment and another AR pistol with a brace listed in its current offerings.
While the exact date of the update is unclear — Sig has not released materials promoting the guns or the item or responded to email inquiries — reports about the update come about a month after the Supreme Court reversed a federal ban on the device. However, according to previous reports, Sig has been planning a comeback for the braces for a while now.
A brief history of the pistol brace
The pistol stabilizing brace was introduced circa 2012 by a company called SB Tactical. The owner of the company and inventor said he designed the device to give disabled shooters an easier time controlling a handgun. The way the brace worked was you'd slip it around your forearm and fasten it, so you'd have an easier time shooting one-handed.
While the ATF agreed with the proposed intent, the agency expressed concern that the item could also function as a buttstock, meaning it could legally transform a pistol into a heavily regulated short-barreled rifle. Still, the agency approved the initial design as a firearm accessory.
However, between 2012 and 2023, the ATF said its concern became a reality. While some may have used the brace to improve their one-handed shooting, gun companies began marketing their braced pistols as SBRs. Plus, videos and images surfaced showing the gun-buying public shouldering their braced pistols either incidentally or intentionally.
Then, in 2021, a gunman used a braced pistol to murder 10 people and injure one in a mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado. Months later, the Biden administration responded by directing the ATF to draft a rule prohibiting the item. The ATF proposed a rule later that year and opened it to public comment. Then, the agency published the rule on Jan. 31, 2023.
The Supreme Court's pistol brace ruling
Under the rule, braced pistol owners would have to either get rid of the brace or register it as a National Firearms Act item, which includes SBRs, machine guns, and silencers. However, multiple gun rights advocacy groups filed suit.
Then, in November 2023, a federal judge issued a ruling blocking the pistol brace rule as the case continued through the court system. Months later, in response to the direction of the case, Sig reportedly sent out an email to vendors, informing them that it would be once again selling firearms equipped with stabilizing braces.
Finally, the case Mock v Garland eventually made its way in front of the Supreme Court. The high court opted to vacate the government's rule in June 2024, arguing the ATF violated procedural requirements. And because of the ruling, pistol braces are legal again.
