TexasCHLforum.com

http://shockwavetechnologies.com/site/?page_id=88

What do y'all think of this? Is it legit? How likely would I be to have issues if a cop somehow noticed a pistol grip only birds-head gripped 12GA with a barrel shorter than 18 inches, but an overall length of over 26?

I actually have a pistol grip only 500A on the way, & I own a birdshead grip. The 18.5" barrel has a bulge in it, so I was going to cut it & thread it for a muzzle brake. I could permanently attach it to make the barrel the same length as stock, but I would prefer to have the option of just having a thread protector on or even a suppressor.

I can't answer your question, but I am anxious to see the answers. It would be nice to have one with about 11.5" barrel on it for traveling as long as I was not going to be put in jail by an officer who doesn't know the law.

A shotgun with a barrel shorter than 18" is subject to the NFA, regardless of the overall length of the firearm.

From ATF:

2.1.1 Shotgun A shotgun is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder and designed to use the
energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of
projectiles or a single projectile for each pull of the trigger. A shotgun subject to the NFA has a barrel
or barrels of less than 18 inches in length.

ScottDLS wrote:A shotgun with a barrel shorter than 18" is subject to the NFA, regardless of the overall length of the firearm.

From ATF:

2.1.1 Shotgun A shotgun is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder and designed to use the
energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of
projectiles or a single projectile for each pull of the trigger. A shotgun subject to the NFA has a barrel
or barrels of less than 18 inches in length.

You missed an important part.

Pawpaw wrote:

ScottDLS wrote:A shotgun with a barrel shorter than 18" is subject to the NFA, regardless of the overall length of the firearm.

From ATF:

2.1.1 Shotgun A shotgun is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder and designed to use the
energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of
projectiles or a single projectile for each pull of the trigger. A shotgun subject to the NFA has a barrel
or barrels of less than 18 inches in length.

You missed an important part.

If it has a smooth bore it is an AOW or Weapon Made from a Shotgun in the case of the OP idea and is also subject to NFA.

2.1.2 Weapon made from a shotgun. A weapon made from a shotgun is a shotgun type weapon that
has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches in length.
The overall length of a firearm is the distance between the muzzle of the barrel and the rearmost portion
of the weapon measured on a line parallel to the axis of the bore.

A shotgun is a smoothbore firearm designed to be shot from the shoulder. A short-barreled shotgun is a smoothbore firearm designed to be shot from the shoulder, which has an OAL <26" and/or a barrel length <18", or a short firearm made from a shotgun. A smoothbore AOW cannot have and must never have had a shoulder stock (otherwise it would be a short-barreled shotgun) and must be "concealable." There's no specific length defined for AOW concealability in the law, but ATF regs say "concealable" is <26" OAL, which I think it reasonable since that length is used elsewhere for OAL limits.

A smoothbore firearm which does not have (and has never had) a shoulder stock is neither a title I or short-barreled shotgun, because shotguns have to have a shoulder stock (or have had one in the past). If such a firearm's OAL is not <26", then it's not "concealable" and it's not an AOW. So a smoothbore firearm which does not now have and has never had a shoulder stock, and which is >26" OAL, has no barrel length limit.

CleverNickname wrote:A shotgun is a smoothbore firearm designed to be shot from the shoulder. A short-barreled shotgun is a smoothbore firearm designed to be shot from the shoulder, which has an OAL <26" and/or a barrel length <18", or a short firearm made from a shotgun. A smoothbore AOW cannot have and must never have had a shoulder stock (otherwise it would be a short-barreled shotgun) and must be "concealable." There's no specific length defined for AOW concealability in the law, but ATF regs say "concealable" is <26" OAL, which I think it reasonable since that length is used elsewhere for OAL limits.

A smoothbore firearm which does not have (and has never had) a shoulder stock is neither a title I or short-barreled shotgun, because shotguns have to have a shoulder stock (or have had one in the past). If such a firearm's OAL is not <26", then it's not "concealable" and it's not an AOW. So a smoothbore firearm which does not now have and has never had a shoulder stock, and which is >26" OAL, has no barrel length limit.

Except a firearm with a bore greater than .50 cal which is not a sporting shotgun is a Destructive Device and must be registered and OP's example was made from a shotgun.

ScottDLS wrote:

CleverNickname wrote:A shotgun is a smoothbore firearm designed to be shot from the shoulder. A short-barreled shotgun is a smoothbore firearm designed to be shot from the shoulder, which has an OAL <26" and/or a barrel length <18", or a short firearm made from a shotgun. A smoothbore AOW cannot have and must never have had a shoulder stock (otherwise it would be a short-barreled shotgun) and must be "concealable." There's no specific length defined for AOW concealability in the law, but ATF regs say "concealable" is <26" OAL, which I think it reasonable since that length is used elsewhere for OAL limits.

A smoothbore firearm which does not have (and has never had) a shoulder stock is neither a title I or short-barreled shotgun, because shotguns have to have a shoulder stock (or have had one in the past). If such a firearm's OAL is not <26", then it's not "concealable" and it's not an AOW. So a smoothbore firearm which does not now have and has never had a shoulder stock, and which is >26" OAL, has no barrel length limit.

Except a firearm with a bore greater than .50 cal which is not a sporting shotgun is a Destructive Device and must be registered and OP's example was made from a shotgun.

Mossberg confirmed that this has always been a pistol grip only 12ga firearm. By the ATF's definition, since it never had a stock & was not designed to be fired "from the shoulder" then it is technically not a shotgun.

I may end up hating this & either permanently mounting a muzzle device that would bring the barrel length back to 18" or getting a stamp for it to put on a stock.

The big deal here is it has to be over 26"... So a 14" barrel with that long club looking grip is fine. If you try to use something useful like a Hogue Tamer, the barrel will need to be more like 16", and what is the point for 2"?

I have a SBS. It is an 870 with the barrel cut even with the magazine tube, ends up being about 12". It is cool to show to my friends, but I can't even shoot dove loads comfortably out of it with only a grip. Most times it has a youth stock on it.

Stick with an 18" unless you have a need for a short barrel.

AJSully421 wrote:The big deal here is it has to be over 26"... So a 14" barrel with that long club looking grip is fine. If you try to use something useful like a Hogue Tamer, the barrel will need to be more like 16", and what is the point for 2"?

I have a SBS. It is an 870 with the barrel cut even with the magazine tube, ends up being about 12". It is cool to show to my friends, but I can't even shoot dove loads comfortably out of it with only a grip. Most times it has a youth stock on it.

Stick with an 18" unless you have a need for a short barrel.

Any 12 gauge with just a pistol grip, will do as much damage to the shooter, as the target. If I can find my pistol grip for my Mossberg, I will gladly give it to someone. I have never been able to stand the practice it takes to hit my targets consistently. They may look cool in the movies, but, if you want to be able to place the limited number of rounds available, on target, stick with a stock, and the legal length barrel.
I see no reason to challenge a possible loophole in the law for something I wouldn't want to shoot. JMHO

The 500A I picked up seems to be perfect for this project because there is a bulge in the barrel just before the muzzle which makes the muzzle slightly crooked. Cutting 2 inches off is all that I'll need to do in order to remove the bulge.

And I did fire it after swapping on the birdshead grip. It isn't painful at all. In fact, it seems to be less painful than a normal stocked 12GA because your arms absorb all the recoil. It does take a moment to get back on target, but your shoulder doesn't take any direct impact.

Maybe it was easier for me since I have a relatively large frame and sometimes enjoy shooting a 5.56 pistol?

http://www.serbu.com/super-shorty-aow-s ... gauge.html

Just pay the $25 AOW stamp for this little firecracker...