another AOW or SBS question

[ShootistPRS]

Houston, we have a situation...

If the manufacturer of the pistol grip only gun a "shotgun" does that leave a loophole for the ATFE to call it a short barreled shotgun?

This smells of an ATF misinformation ploy. The letters imply that it is not a shotgun and that the rules don't apply to it because it was never a shoulder fired gun but the manufacturer calls it a shotgun. They never come out and say what you are doing is legal. I'm not sure that you have a valid defense since you knew when you ordered it that it was a shotgun. I know that if I make a shotgun from scratch without a shoulder stock and keep the overall length 26 inches it is considered a shotgun whether it has a shoulder stock or not. My home made gun is legally a shotgun but my advantage is that I made it from scratch and in order to be at least 26 inches long the barrel has to be more than 18 inches. I am unsure what would happen if I made the action longer to be able to remove some of the barrel.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

You can argue all day what it isn't. I'm telling you what it IS as per the ATF.

Your home made pistol gripped shotgun would be classified as a FIREARM, not a shotgun.
The OAL of a FIREARM must be 26 inches or more. The barrel can be less than 18 inches.

 

[ShootistPRS]

Bill, I don't doubt your belief but the letters in the link from the ATF did not say it was legal. They skirted around doing so while defining what other arms were. I don't trust the ATF at all. Now if they came out and said that your concept was legal then I would be more willing to believe it. Having a letter from the ATF saying your gun was legal would be an adequate defense in court. I don't see anything wrong with the concept although I don't know of a use for such a gun, for me, personally.
wish you all the luck and profits you can use in your enterprise.

 

[Theohazard]

It is clearly not a "shotgun" or a rile or pistol because it is a smooth bore. Doesn't that place it in the "Any other firearm" category?

You're thinking "Any Other Weapon". In this case, it wouldn't be an AOW since the overall length is over 26" and it's not being concealed on someone's person.

It is a firearm and the definition of a pistol fits, with the exception of a rifled barrel.

So that makes it not a pistol. That's why it's a non-NFA "other": it's a smooth-bore firearm with an overall length over 26".

It is also shooting a larger projectile than .50 caliber... "a destructive device"?

Traditional shotgun shells are exempted from the federal definition of "destructive device". This firearm isn't legally a shotgun, but it fires shotgun shells.

If the manufacturer of the pistol grip only gun a "shotgun" does that leave a loophole for the ATFE to call it a short barreled shotgun?
[...]
but the manufacturer calls it a shotgun. They never come out and say what you are doing is legal. I'm not sure that you have a valid defense since you knew when you ordered it that it was a shotgun.
[...]
I know that if I make a shotgun from scratch without a shoulder stock and keep the overall length 26 inches it is considered a shotgun whether it has a shoulder stock or not.

No. Per federal law, it's not a shotgun if it has never had a stock installed on it. It doesn't matter what the manufacturer calls it and it doesn't matter what you call it. What matters is the stock.

Bill, I don't doubt your belief but the letters in the link from the ATF did not say it was legal.

Actually they did. They made it very clear what category this firearm does and does not fall into. But the ATF doesn't make the law. In this case, the ATF letters are simply stating what is already written in federal law: This firearm doesn't fall into the category of a pistol; this firearm doesn't fall into the category of a shotgun; this firearm doesn't fall into the category of a destructive device; this firearm doesn't fall into the category of a short-barrel shotgun; this firearm doesn't fall into the category of an AOW; the only category this firearm falls into is a non-NFA "other firearm". Keep it over 26" in OAL, keep a stock off it, and don't try to carry it concealed, and it will stay as an other firearm.