by Jeff Quinn in this report on Day One of the SHOT Show starts off with a great interview of Ruger CEO Mike Fifer. The other highlights were a Colt representative talking about the reintroduced Colt Cobra and a discussion by Linda Powell of Mossberg’s new 590 Shockwave shotgun. This latter product is quite interesting in that it is a pistol-gripped 14″ shotgun that does not require a NFA tax stamp.
To read more about the Mossberg 590 Shockwave, go here. Ammoland.com does report that the shotgun is sold with this disclaimer:
Disclaimer: Although the Mossberg 590 Shockwave is classified as a “firearm” under the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA), and is not subject to the provisions of the National Firearms Act (NFA), state and local laws may be more restrictive. Even though, it is legal federally, the 590 Shockwave may be considered a “short-barreled” shotgun or “assault weapon” by certain state and local laws; and therefore illegal to possess. Please check with your local authorities concerning the legality of possessing a firearm of this configuration.
Checking North Carolina law, 14 NCGS § 14-288.8.(c)(3) classifies a shotgun as a “weapon of mass death and destruction” if it has “a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches in length or an overall length of less than 26 inches.” If you have a Federal tax stamp then possession of such a shotgun is permitted. As I read this – and I’m not a lawyer – the shotgun must be both greater than 26 inches overall in length and must have a barrel of 18 inches in length or greater. By using “or” instead of “and” in the description of such a prohibited shotgun the legislative intent is that both conditions must be met. This leads me to say that this is a law that needs changing as I’d like one of those shotguns!
UPDATE: Regarding North Carolina law and the legality of possessing the Mossberg Shockwave, I received this message on Facebook from fellow blogger Chris Maynard.
It is not a shotgun because it never had a stock, rather a pistol grip from the factory… If it was under 26″ in length, it would be an AOW… But over 26″ makes it a “firearm”… Per federal law…
So that should mean that it is not restricted by NC law supposing they follow the federal definition of “shotgun”
But the same statute also restricts ” Any type of weapon (other than a shotgun or a shotgun shell of a type particularly suitable for sporting purposes) which will, or which may be readily converted to, expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or other propellant, and which has any barrel with a bore of more than one-half inch in diameter” so this gun should qualify under that.
I wonder how weatherproof that Shockwave is. It's the kind of gun you'd carry on a farm when working late at night in the rain. I kept a Mossberg 500 (pistol grip, full length) with me when checking livestock at night. A little laser on the end was helpful. I was considering building something just like this at the time.
I've had a gun rust from the rain. I got it working again, but some guns are just tools. It's always nice if they can take some minor abuse.