Mossberg "590 Shockwave": factory-made 14" barrel non-NFA 12GA firearm

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Mossberg announced a factory-made 14-inch 590, the "Shockwave" edition. Ships with the Shockwave "bird's head" pistol grip pre-installed, list price $455. So even at list price you save money compared to buying a 590 Cruiser, raptor grip, and 14" fore-end ($350 + $26 + $230 = $606).

This is great news for Shockwave, maybe not so great for Sirearms, which was making bank on assembling and selling this setup for $600.

SHOT show videos also mention an inexpensive adapter to ensure good feeding with mini shells, looks like the $15 OPSol Mini-Clip. Hopefully this means Mossberg dealers will stock the clip, since everywhere I have looked is out of stock, including Amazon.
 
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Anybody know how this fits into Massachusetts law? IIRC, MA state law bans shotguns modified to have short barrels, while this comes that way from the factory.
MGL said:
"Firearm", a pistol, revolver or other weapon of any description, loaded or unloaded, from which a shot or bullet can be discharged and of which the length of the barrel or barrels is less than 16 inches or 18 inches in the case of a shotgun as originally manufactured; provided,

I can see them being popular in New Hampshire, especially if the "loaded shotgun in a vehicle" rules are cleaned up this legislative session.

How is it not an NFA regulated item?
This falls through the NFA categories into the class known as "Firearm" instead of "Shotgun":
  • Never had a shoulder stock
  • Not capable of being concealed on the person, OAL is +26"
There's a good explanation on the Shockwave website, they have 4 separate BATFE letters to Len Savage.
 
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My 500 will feed the Aguila minishells as long as you hold the gun on it's side while you rack the pump. If you hold it straight, they just fall out the bottom.

I'm going to order one of those Opsol adapters, though. It's cool to be able to jam 10-11 little shells into the tube.
 
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"If" the barrel is rifled, wouldn't it be a pistol? So my question is, "is the barrel rifled?"

With a threaded barrel wouldn't there be an issue of the bore being over 0.5"? Isn't that what's prevented the "12 gauge handgun" all these years?

Either way, if I were to buy one outside MA and FA-10 it (since the LGS here definitely won't carry it) what would it be considered?
 
With a threaded barrel wouldn't there be an issue of the bore being over 0.5"? Isn't that what's prevented the "12 gauge handgun" all these years?

Either way, if I were to buy one outside MA and FA-10 it (since the LGS here definitely won't carry it) what would it be considered?

Sporting purpose? LOL
 
BATFE has consistently taken the position that a shotgun that leaves the factory with a pistol grip and no buttstock, and is kept in that condition, is a "Firearm" rather than "Shotgun", for example:
ATF said:
Pistol Grips and Shotguns
Firearms with pistol grips attached: The definition of a shotgun under the GCA, 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(5), 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 an explosives to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or single projectile for each single pull of the trigger.
Under the GCA, 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(29)(A), handgun means “a firearm which has a short stock and is designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand.” Federal law provides under 18 U.S.C. 922(b)(1), that if the firearm to be transferred is “other than a rifle or shotgun,” the purchaser must be 21 years of age or older.
Certain commercially produced firearms do not fall within the definition of shotgun under the GCA even though they utilize a shotgun shell for ammunition. For example, firearms that come equipped with a pistol grip in place of the buttstock are not shotguns as defined by the GCA.
A firearm with a pistol grip in lieu of the shoulder stock is not designed to be fired from the shoulder and, therefore, is not a shotgun. Since it is a firearm “other than a rifle or shotgun,” the purchaser must be 21 years of age or older.
Above is from http://www.atf.gov/publications/newsletters/ffl/ffl-newsletter-2009-11.pdf

"If" the barrel is rifled, wouldn't it be a pistol? So my question is, "is the barrel rifled?"
With a threaded barrel wouldn't there be an issue of the bore being over 0.5"? Isn't that what's prevented the "12 gauge handgun" all these years?
Rifled pistols that fire shotshells over .50 diameter (everything over 410 gauge) are potentially large-bore destructive devices unless they can be shown to have a “sporting purpose.”

The reason for the +26" OAL minimum length is that is ATF's quick test for "capable of being concealed on the person", as seen in this early letter:

These firearms started getting popular around 2011, a couple of firms have been doing brisk business converting Mossberg PGO weapons with the 14" front end kit.

I have no idea how these fit into state laws. I think this would be a shotgun under most New Hampshire RSAs, including the "loaded ... in a vehicle" rules.
 
OK, that's what I remember hearing. I think the 32 flavors of "3-gun" competition mean that anything has a sporting purpose these days.


So supposing I bought one as an MA resident, I'm still confused as to what I'd call it in an FA-10.
 
Anybody know how this fits into Massachusetts law? IIRC, MA state law bans shotguns modified to have short barrels, while this comes that way from the factory.

It would seem that under MA law it would be classified as a "firearm"...

MGL 140-121 said:
''Firearm'', a pistol, revolver or other weapon of any description, loaded or unloaded, from which a shot or bullet can be discharged and of which the length of the barrel or barrels is less than 16 inches or 18 inches in the case of a shotgun as originally manufactured...

https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXX/Chapter140/Section121
 
Though the furniture is newish, I have seen similar for sale in MA before listed as AOW with a $5 tax stamp. Almost bought one from Collectors a few years back.
 
IANAL...

So these things were being made by people prior to Mossberg selling it as a complete firearm from the factory. By my reading of the MGL Ch. 140 S 121 definitions of "Shotgun" and "Sawed-off shotgun," when created by assembling from a standard factory 18" barreled PGO it would be a felony while the as-built firearm from Mossberg would not.

Don't you just love MA lawrz?
 
IANAL...

So these things were being made by people prior to Mossberg selling it as a complete firearm from the factory. By my reading of the MGL Ch. 140 S 121 definitions of "Shotgun" and "Sawed-off shotgun," when created by assembling from a standard factory 18" barreled PGO it would be a felony while the as-built firearm from Mossberg would not.

Don't you just love MA lawrz?

Mossberg has made AOWs in the past and there were some companies that did the modification that were classified as "manufacturers" but yes, in MA at least if you made one yourself, it was illegal even if you filed the appropriate NFA paperwork.
 
I have been thinking about buying a Mossberg 590 Short Barreled Shotgun, but here in Mass, I would have to order it through a class 3 dealer directly from Mossberg as a factory SBS and then wait months if not years for the NFA tax stamp to be approved.

If I bought one of these shockwaves from Mossberg, couldnt I then enjoy it while my Short Barreled Shotgun tax stamp paperwork was being processed by the ATF, and then once the stamp was approved, install a shoulder stock on to it without running afoul of Mass law? Or am I missing something?

MGL Chap 140 Sec 121 definitions

''Shotgun'', a weapon having a smooth bore with a barrel length equal to or greater than 18 inches with an overall length equal to or greater than 26 inches, and capable of discharging a shot or bullet for each pull of the trigger.

''Sawed-off shotgun'', any weapon made from a shotgun, whether by alteration, modification or otherwise, if such weapon as modified has one or more barrels less than 18 inches in length or as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches.
 
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Might have to pick one of these up later this year. I'm sure after people shoot them a bit and hate it I'll be able to find one used for $250 eventually.
 
My 500 will feed the Aguila minishells as long as you hold the gun on it's side while you rack the pump. If you hold it straight, they just fall out the bottom.

I'm going to order one of those Opsol adapters, though. It's cool to be able to jam 10-11 little shells into the tube.

Mine feeds minishells just fine, then after four they stick in the chamber and won't eject.
 
Anybody know how this fits into Massachusetts law? IIRC, MA state law bans shotguns modified to have short barrels, while this comes that way from the factory. I can see them being popular in New Hampshire, especially if the "loaded shotgun in a vehicle" rules are cleaned up this legislative session.


This falls through the NFA categories into the class known as "Firearm" instead of "Shotgun":
  • Never had a shoulder stock
  • Not capable of being concealed on the person, OAL is +26"
There's a good explanation on the Shockwave website, they have 4 separate BATFE letters to Len Savage.

It's not going to be legal in Massachusetts you can't even sell them a pistol grip shotgun because it's logged in as a firearm the thing that weirds me out is in New Hampshire a loaded pistol and a car is classified as concealed but this is neither a shotgun or a pistol it's a firearm but if it's concealed it's classified as an AOW it becomes against the law
 
For the purposes of RSA159, this is a pistol under NH law

I was under the impression that PGO shotguns are allowed in MA?
the thing that weirds me out is in New Hampshire a loaded pistol and a car is classified as concealed but this is neither a shotgun or a pistol it's a firearm but if it's concealed it's classified as an AOW it becomes against the law
This is one of the few areas where NH gets even more confusing. [thinking]

RSA 159:1 starts out with "Pistol or revolver, as used herein, means any firearm with barrel less than 16 inches in length....", so for the purposes of that section, the Shockwave is a pistol. Technically, the "loaded pistol in a car" is a distinct matter in RSA 159:4, separate from "concealed". On the other hand, the prohibition on "a loaded rifle or loaded shotgun" in a motor vehicle is in 207:7, and unlike 159, there is no explicit call out of barrel length in RSA 207, and no definition of shotgun anywhere in the RSAs.

[strike=The question will be moot soon, assuming HB84 is successful.]The question will be moot soon, assuming HB84 is successful.[/strike]
 
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It's not going to be legal in Massachusetts you can't even sell them a pistol grip shotgun because it's logged in as a firearm

Not sure what you are talking about in terms of legality... Only "long guns" can be sold and transfered by a dealer outside of your home state, receivers or "firearms" cannot and need to be transfered by a dealer within your state of residence. That's federal and has nothing to do with Massachusetts

A pistol grip only shotgun is categorized as a firearm as it cannot meet the definition as "shoulder fired". Again, this is federal law. A shotgun sold with a shoulder stock that includes a pistol grip for the end user to install would be perfectly legal to sell as an out of state purchase provided it's legal to posses in the purchaser's home state
 
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If the Shockwave Edition is MA legal, wager on how long before Maura"fixes" that?

A pistol grip only shotgun is categorized as a firearm as it cannot meet the definition as "shoulder fired". Again, this is federal law. A shotgun sold with a shoulder stock that includes a pistol grip for the end user to install would be perfectly legal to sell as an out of state purchase provided it's legal to posses in the purchaser's home state
The 14" barrel Shockwave Edition works in Federal law because it meets the 26" OAL minimum and never had a stock, and is transferred on a 4473 just like a pistol -- this classification requires that it never had a shoulder stock, and no stock was included in the box. Mossberg has had a handful of PGO models in their catalog for years.

New Hampshire law's only reference to barrel length is what I quoted above from RSA 159, there is also no definition of "shotgun" anywhere in state law. So it appears that this is a "pistol" for NH purposes.
 
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