Whoa, whoa, hold on there. Let me explain. Please read this in entirety before jumping to any conclusions. I'm no lawyer, this isn't legal advice, and even if this is legal, you'd probably freak out a few yim-yams at the range and likely regret it.
Please keep in mind, this applies to shotguns which came from the factory and have never at any point had a stock attached to them.
It all started when I stumbled uponthis website selling a birdshead-style pistol grip for the Mossberg 500 shotgun. Pictured is one with a 14.5" barrel claiming to be non-NFA.
Immediately, I called bs. But after doing a little research, it seems they are correct, as per Federal law.
Shotguns coming from the factory without a stock, i.e. a Mossberg 500 with a pistol grip, are not considered a shotgun under the GCA/NFA, provided the weapon has never, and will never, have a stock attached to it. The federal definition of a shotgun is:
"a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder, and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger."
This is apparent in the fact that one must be 21 to buy a pistol-grip-only shotgun federally, the form 4473 does not list it as a long gun but as a firearm, and one cannot purchase it in a state in which they do not reside. I.E., you as an NJ resident cannot buy a pistol grip only shotgun in PA (legally).
The ATF has clarified this:
Now, if it is not a shotgun, but has a 14.5" barrel, wouldn't that make it an AOW? No, because an AOW (Any Other Weapon) under the NFA must be less than 26" in overall length. So, a firearm of the above mentioned type, can have a barrel under the 18" minimum, provided that the overall length is over 26" and at no point in its life has it ever, or will it ever, have a shoulder stock.
This is also clarified in ATF letters: http://www.nfaoa.org/documents/PistolGrippedShotgunLike.pdf http://www.nfaoa.org/documents/testttt20001.pdf
But what about NJ Law?
Now, this is the real question here. Looking at Chapter 39, it seems that NJ's definitions of shotgun mimics Federal law:
How about NJ's definition of Destructive Device?
It seems that although it is capable of firing a projectile greater than 60 caliber, and it's not a hotgun, but the description of Destructive Device exempts a gun firing shotgun ammunition, which appears to put this weapon in the clear.
So, I guess the long and short of it is, this appears to be NJ Legal from everything I have read. But, is it? Do our legal experts have any opinions on this?
