[Aleksfoxtrot]

How short can a shotgun pistol be? And do y'all know of any company that sells them? If I'm not mistaken a handgun that shoots shotgun shells can be as short as you want it (like the judge). I just can't find anyone that manufactures them. Mossberg makes a 14" pump action but it's 26" long. I was looking for something a little shorter. Maybe brake action 10" or something similar.

 

[CoffeeMate]

There's a big difference between a revolver that can use shells versus a short pump shot gun. For one thing, how many hands is each designed to use for operation?

Handguns are considered designed to be operated with one hand.
Pumps are considered designed to be operated with two hands.

One is fine but the other requires lots of paperwork.



(And no, it does not need to make sense)

 

[Adam5]

You can get a Serbu Super Shorty if you don't mind waiting on a tax stamp.

http://www.serbu.com/super-shorty-aow-shotgun-12-gauge.html

 

[rmodel65]

Smooth bore pistols are AOW's

 

[Adam5]

If it was made at the manufacturer with out a stock, and never had a stock on it, you go as short as 26.1 over all length without it becoming and NFA item.

 

[Adam5]

http://shockwavetechnologies.com/site/?page_id=88

 

[45_Fan]

How short can a shotgun pistol be? And do y'all know of any company that sells them? If I'm not mistaken a handgun that shoots shotgun shells can be as short as you want it (like the judge). I just can't find anyone that manufactures them. Mossberg makes a 14" pump action but it's 26" long. I was looking for something a little shorter. Maybe brake action 10" or something similar.

The Judge is a .45 Long Colt revolver with a rifled bore meaning it is not a shotgun. It is incidental that the chambers are slightly elongated and .410 shotgun shells can be chambered.

Smoothbore and shorter than 26" overall is an NFA item classified as an AOW (Any Other Weapon) unless it happens to have a shoulder stock...in which case it would be defined as a short-barrelled shotgun if the barrel is shorter than 18".

Editing to add:
I haven't yet found a break-action shotgun that comes from the factory with only a grip and not a full shoulder stock. The significance is minor as modifying a stock to a grip and cutting the barrels shorter would require the same NFA process as taking a pistol-grip break-action shotgun and cutting the barrels.

If you wish to go through the NFA process ($200, prints, waiting), then you can basically have any length of shotgun you are comfortable using.

 

[gunsmoker]

If you want what is functionally a sawed off shotgun and you do not intend to fire any regular cartridges through it --only shotshells buckshot or slugs--- you can have this IF YOU BUY a certain type of firearm that looks like a cut down shotgun but is actually a non-shotgun firearm because it was never intended to be fired from the shoulder and it comes with a pistol grip only . Such a fire arm would never ever have had a shoulder stock on it from the day it was manufactured .

If the overall length of this weapon is more than 26 inches, that takes it out of the A0W category.
Since it was never intended to be fired from the shoulder, it is not a "shotgun" either.
Since it never was a rifle or shotgun, shortening the barrel ( or purchasing it with a shorter than 18 inch factory barrel) is OK .
The trick is getting a gun that has a short enough barrel and still exceeds 26 inches overall length .
I've seen this done with break open shotguns by elongating the pistol grip extending it backward a few more inches from the end of the receiver rather than putting it directly below the back of the receiver .

 

[moe mensale]

(And no, it does not need to make sense)

The operative phrase when discussing firearm "laws" and "regulations." The MA Attorney General recently reinforced that mantra with her reinterpretation of MA's assault weapons laws.

 

[Jmark]

If it was made at the manufacturer with out a stock, and never had a stock on it, you go as short as 26.1 over all length without it becoming and NFA item.

+1 I'm going to build an 870 like this soon, they can be a little hard to find. Most end up doing these conversions with Mossberg's.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_1/440753_Non_NFA_14_Mossberg_500_.html

 

[Aleksfoxtrot]

If you want what is functionally a sawed off shotgun and you do not intend to fire any regular cartridges through it --only shotshells buckshot or slugs--- you can have this IF YOU BUY a certain type of firearm that looks like a cut down shotgun but is actually a non-shotgun firearm because it was never intended to be fired from the shoulder and it comes with a pistol grip only . Such a fire arm would never ever have had a shoulder stock on it from the day it was manufactured .

If the overall length of this weapon is more than 26 inches, that takes it out of the A0W category.
Since it was never intended to be fired from the shoulder, it is not a "shotgun" either.
Since it never was a rifle or shotgun, shortening the barrel ( or purchasing it with a shorter than 18 inch factory barrel) is OK .
The trick is getting a gun that has a short enough barrel and still exceeds 26 inches overall length .
I've seen this done with break open shotguns by elongating the pistol grip extending it backward a few more inches from the end of the receiver rather than putting it directly below the back of the receiver .

Cool looks like that Mossberg is the way to go.
That's what I was trying find info about overall length. 26.1. Mossberg is 26.5 to be safe.
I think trying to shoot a pistol grip 12 gauge smaller than that would suck pretty bad anyway.

 

[FrontSight]

Thompson Contender, with .410 barrel

 

[phantoms]

:runaway:

 

[GAfirearmsReference]

I'd like to see somebody invent a 3 or 4-barreled 20 gauge shotgun/pistol (legally an A.O.W.)
Break-open action.
It should have 6" barrels and a normal sized pistol grip.
Give it a forward handgrip option, too.
Maybe let it come with two fore-ends. One plain, for easy carry. One tactical, with a second pistol grip up front and a built-in laser/light unit.

 

[45_Fan]

I'd like to see somebody invent a 3 or 4-barreled 20 gauge shotgun/pistol (legally an A.O.W.)
Break-open action.
It should have 6" barrels and a normal sized pistol grip.
Give it a forward handgrip option, too.
Maybe let it come with two fore-ends. One plain, for easy carry. One tactical, with a second pistol grip up front and a built-in laser/light unit.

Very...very close to what you requested:
http://chiappafirearms.com/product/2752

 

[johnski]

Le Mat black powder revolver 9 shots of .44 (.454) and a 20-gauge single shot:

 

[jp233]

always have been a big fan of the Ithaca Auto & Burglar, but unfortunately it was incorrectly classified as an AOW a long, long time ago.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

How short can a shotgun pistol be?

It would not be wise to shorten the barrel any shorter than the length of the shells you are putting into it.

 

[CoffeeMate]

(I see what you did there)

 

[Aleksfoxtrot]

It would not be wise to shorten the barrel any shorter than the length of the shells you are putting into it.

Don't tell me how to live me life! lol!