Another SBS question

[Maser]

Last night a friend and I were talking online about NFA guns and we started talking about SBSs and he was telling me that the length of the barrel don't mattter. It's all about the overall length of the gun. I always thought it was the barrel that had to be 18+ inches long to be non-NFA.

Anyways, if that's true can I theoretically hack off 2 inches off my 18.5" barrel and then add a 2 inch spacer to my stock and will it still be legal? I appologize if this is a stupid question, but I am just ignorant on this topic.

Please don't give me an ATF link because I tried looking at their site and my browser wouldn't load a .PDF file.

 

[CleverNickname]

It's both. A shotgun must have a >18" barrel and a >26" overall length in order to remain title I. Same for rifles, except it's only a >16" barrel.

 

[MDW Guns]

Actually, rifles have to be more then 16" barrel lenght and overall does not matter.
For your PDF trouble, download your Adobe Reader here: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

 

[Csspecs]

Nope overall is 26 on a rifle as well. (Unless they upped and changed the law)

 

[shaggy]

For rifles its <16" and/or an overall length <26". OAL most certainly does matter...

18 USC 921(a)(8) The term “short-barreled rifle” means a rifle having one or more barrels less than sixteen inches in length and any weapon made from a rifle (whether by alteration, modification, or otherwise) if such weapon, as modified, has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches.