A sawed-off shotgun is an extremely lethal weapon which poses "an ominous threat in and [of] itself." United States v. McKinney, 477 F.2d 1184, 1186 (D.C. Cir. 1973). The weapon has virtually no legitimate use outside, perhaps, of uses by law enforcement and military personnel. "Sawed-off shotguns cannot be used against game or wild animals and their only known uses are to frighten or kill human beings." United States v. Reed, 935 F.2d 641, 643 (4th Cir. 1991). See Brook v. State, 448 N.E.2d 1249, 1251 (Ind. Ct. App. 1983) ("The overall rationale for the legislative ban of sawed-off shotguns centers on their concealability and therefore likely use for criminal purposes rather than for sport or hunting"). While a sawed-off shotgun can be lawfully registered in Massachusetts, "its lawful possession is, in ordinary experience, rare indeed," United States v. Truitt, 521 F.2d 1174, 1177 (6th Cir. 1975), and "possession of [a sawed-off shotgun] is a serious crime...." Porter v. United States, 335 F.2d 602, 607 (9th Cir. 1964), cert. denied, 379 U.S. 983 (1965). It is not surprising then to find that numerous courts have concluded that a reliable report about a sawed-off shotgun, by itself, provides either probable cause for the police to conclude that the shotgun may be unlawfully possessed, see United States v. Naugle, 997 F.2d 819, 823 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 997 (1993); United States v. Decoteau, 932 F.2d 1205, 1207 (7th Cir. 1991); United States v. Melvin, 596 F.2d 492, 500 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 837 (1979); United States v. Bills, 555 F.2d 1250, 1251 (5th Cir. 1977); United States v. Truitt, supra; United States v. Canestri, 518 F.2d 269, 274-275 (2d Cir. 1975); United States v. McKinney, supra; United States v. Story, 463 F.2d 326, 328 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 988 (1972), or reasonable suspicion of illegality and danger justifying an immediate inquiry by the police. See Porter v. United States, supra; State v. Bolden, 380 So. 2d 40, 42 (La. 1980).