From Shockwave:
I get a lot of questions from customers about the “new” ATF ruling regarding pistol-grip-only (PGO) firearms with 14″ barrels that aren’t considered NFA items.
Well, first off, let me say, it’s not a new ruling. It’s the same position that ATF has always taken regarding PGO firearms that fire a fixed shotgun shell that have NEVER had a buttstock attached to them—they’re NOT shotguns! They’re simply firearms. As such, they don’t necessarily need to have 18″+ barrels on them to remain out of the purview of the NFA.
You see, the very definition of a “shotgun” requires that it be “designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder…” Without a buttstock ever having been fitted to the PGO firearms in question, they can’t be fired from the shoulder and are therefore not shotguns. Hence, with a 14″ barrel, they can’t be considered short-barreled shotguns, as they aren’t shotguns to begin with. Read the full definition of a shotgun here.
With all that as an explanation,,then why wouldn't BATF allow the 'Judge' in 28ga that was shown at the SHOT Show a year or 2 ago to be sold on the market, but instead the BATF ordered it pulled from commercial sales.
It's a PGO firearm,,it can't be fired from the shoulder as a butt stock was never designed nor fitted to the gun and they fire fixed shotgun shell.
(The 410 Judge gets a pass cause it also chambers and fires the 45Colt and is rifled)
If never having a butt stock fitted to the gun by the factory, firing a fixed shotgun shell and having short bbls (less than 18"in length) simply put the gun under a 'firearm(?)' classification (outside of NFA rules),,then Ithaca Auto&Burglar guns both Flues and NID models should be legal to own w/o NFA registration,,but they are not.
Remington Model 17P (Police) 20ga pump shotguns (14" bbl w/ pistol grip stock as mfg by Remington Arms Co commonly called the Whippet) should be legal to own w/o NFA registration,,but they are not.
Something is amiss. If it is truely mfg as a handgun, it is a smoothbore and that alone places it in NFA territory.
..and FWIW,, the BATF NFA manual currently states the bbl length/overall length thing as 'either/or' when refering to a weapon MADE FROM a rifle or a shotgun.
The OAL is less than 26" OR the bbl length is less than 16" (rifle) 18" (shotgun).
In NFA speak,,a 'Rifle' is a shoulder fired firearm w/a bbl less than 16"
A 'Shotgun' is a shoulder fired firearm w/a bbl less than 18".
The AOW (Any Other Weapon) is the catch-all for the rest of the firearms that don't neatly fall into the above.
H&R Handy Guns, Ithaca Auto&Burglar Guns, MArbles Game Getters, Remington M17 Police 'Whippet' Shotgun, Smoothbore revolvers, disguised guns like pen guns & lighter guns,ect.
Interesting though. I'd like to see how it was all sorted out.
Larry
