You could not modify an old 870 to be a TAC-14 legally without having to register it as a short barrel shotgun.

The difference is that a TAC-14 or Shockwave receiver never had a shoulder stock attached to it, so it is classified as a firearm and not a shotgun like a standard 870 or 590. An overall length of over 26" keeps it from being classified as an AOW.

The law doesn't make sense, but federal law usually doesn't.

 

You have to start with a receiver that has never had a stock attached.

 

Mossberg sends a letter from ATF that is very clear about their Shockwaves. For that to be a legal length barrel, the receiver must be new and never had a stock attached to it. It's not a shotgun, under the law. BUT...….. wait a while. I'm sure some Fed eventually will do a "Pistol Brace" type rewind!

Flash

 

. It's not a shotgun, under the law. BUT...….. wait a while. I'm sure some Fed eventually will do a "Pistol Brace" type rewind!
Flash

This.
Unless the market gets flooded with them, and they become commonly owned, they are in danger of being called "short barrel shotguns." Loopholes sometimes close.

 

If Remington or some other gun shop was able to sell you a brand new receiver, that never had a stock attached to it, then yes, you could build one from scratch. You can't take an old 870 out of your closet and build one.

 

One may utilize the receiver from a Mossberg 500/Maverick 88 that was factory built and purchased in the "Cruiser" pistol grip configuration, as this model DID NOT LEAVE THE FACTORY with a stock. As such, it is not defined as a "shotgun" by law and may LEGALLY be used for the creation of a "firearm" such as the Shockwave with a barrel length shorter than 18.0" - *as long as the firearm in it's final configuration meets ATF's minimum 26.0" OAL requirement.

Personally, I wouldn't want to be the test case should an issue arise, but having the docs and such (original receipt + original box w/serial# proving the origin of the receiver) supporting the "Cruiser" angle should be ample proof of legality should for whatever reason things get messy.

 

Is this correct? A Mossberg cruiser from that factory can be made into a shockwave legally?

 

If not, why? What makes the TAC-14 receiver different than a basic 870?

It was never a shotgun.

 

Hey all.

I’ve been curious about these unique firearms since their intro. As I understand it they are in no way classified as an NFA or AOW and require no tax stamp or extra background checks to get one.

My question is whether or not someone that had an 870 in the closet could get it and cut the barrel to 14 inches, put a birdshead grip on it, duplicate it in every way possible and then have his own TAC-14.
If not, why? What makes the TAC-14 receiver different than a basic 870?

That's an easy one. No.

The legal status of those guns is based specifically on the fact that they were originally made in that configuration and were not made from a long gun or handgun. If Remington took one of their 870's off the shelf and turned it into a Tac 14, it would be an NFA weapon.

A Tac 14 is legal only because it came from the factory as a Tac 14.

BTW, an 870 with a pistol grip and 18" barrel is almost exactly the same length as a Tac 14 and is legal to make from a shotgun, if you really want to.

 

The whole "shockwave" thing came about because someone figured out that a mossberg 500 that came from the factory with a pistol grip didn't fit the definition of a shotgun. This led to conversion kits and shockwave grips to make the original "shockwave" short barrel smoothbore firearms. Heck, homemade ones have been around for almost 10 years. The popularity of them is what caused Mossberg to come out with a factory made version. The rest as they say, is history.

So yes, you can make your own shockwave as long as you start with a Mossberg 500 that came from the factory with a pistol grip, or a virgin receiver like Black Aces used to sell.

 

OK, thanks guys for helping to clear that up.

I figured that was the case. But now why is it not classified as an AOW? I thought the reason the AOW tax was only $5 was that it was built on a virgin receiver that came out of the factory having never been a complete firearm.

What makes one 870 receiver an AOW and different than the receivers used for the Shockwave and TAC14 guns?

This is why it confuses me so much. How would the FEDS or other LEO's determine if the TAC14 you are shooting at the range is legal and NOT one that was made from your old squirrel gun? Surely there is some kind of designation that the BATFE can check where it would verify that it came from the factory a legal TAC14 instead of a home made one. Isn't there?

I think a man was arrested in Ohio and charged with a felony for legally buying a Shockwave or TAC14 at a local gun store. I don't know what happened in that case, but I know it happened a year or so ago. I haven't checked if these "guns" are legal or not in Ohio at this time. Anyone know for sure?

Like you all, I would certainly NOT take the chance on making one when you can buy one of the things for about $250 or so. That's not enough to risk my freedom and right to own any weapons for the rest of my life. I'm just curious about these things and how such rulings are arrived at in these alphabet soup agencies that govern our everyday lives.

I have thought about getting one of the Mossberg Shockwave guns though. If I did, I would likely fill out the proper papers and pay the required tax so I could then attack an AR shoulder stock to it and then have a legal SBS.

Thank you all for the help and clarification.
Larry

 

It's not an AOW because it is over 26 inches long. That is under Federal law. Certain states may have laws of their own prohibiting Shockwave/Tac14 type firearms.
Checking the serial number with the manufacturer should give law enforcement all the information they need about how the gun was originally manufactured.

 

From my understanding, the TAC-14's and Shockwave receiver's serial numbers are designated as "firearm only" from the factory and was submitted for BATF regulation as that...Firearm only receiver (it is neither a long gun nor a pistol). Whereas the regular 870's serial numbers are designated as long guns. Making them a pistol will be a felony.
I think the BATF can find out what the designation of the receiver is, by referencing the serial number sequence.

 

It was being done before Mossberg actually started selling the shockwave . I originally had all the part numbers to build one but before I got to it they started selling them .

A couple thing that MUST be followed . As mentioned earlier , it has to be a new receiver that has never had a stock installed or a " firearm " that left the factory as a pistol grip ONLY and not one in a combo deal that came with a stock and a pistol grip . It also takes the birds head grip to get it to the length needed I have seen braces put on them and that might work but I prefer the grip that comes on them . A regular pistol grip leaves it too short.

I am probably not wording this correctly but I do know when the 4473 was done on my shockwave they had to check firearm other or pistol grip only or something like that and not shotgun . I would not want to have a older one that was originally a pistol grip only that might have had the 4473 done as a shotgun even with it not really being a shotgun and was a "Firearm " by ATF standards .

 

This reminds me of the discussion that went on a couple of times about the TC Contender.

A Contender that started life as a pistol can go readily between being a carbine and a pistol (assuming the proper barrel length while being in carbine configuration), but a Contender that came out originally as a carbine cannot legally have the parts swapped out to be a pistol, although physically it can be done readily.

.

 

I have Shockwaves in 20 gauge and .410 and really like the little guns. Thinking ahead, if the Feds change their minds, I'm not going to get AOW stamps for them. I'll buy two barrels and use them with 18- 20" barrels and 26" overall length.

Flash

 

Is it legal to put a birds head grip on a shotgun with an 18 +” bbl?

 

Is it legal to put a birds head grip on a shotgun with an 18 +” bbl?

Yes

 

Dogman 10x said: ↑
Is this correct? A Mossberg cruiser from that factory can be made into a shockwave legally?

MAC66 and Dogman both have it right. A couple of years ago, about 13 months or so before the Shockwave was available, I ordered a PGO 500 and the Mossberg kit to make it a legal 14" barrelled NOTASHOTGUN. Put it together, liked it so much I spent $200 on a tax stamp to get a Class III made for me with a barrel 14" long (so it would hold 5+1 2 3/4" shells) and waited eight months for it. The Class III IS a bit shorter than either the Shockwave or the 500 I put together with the Shockwave grip, but it is no way handier or better.

After the Shockwave came out, I put an 18 inch barrel on a Mossberg 20 gauge 500, and added the Shockwave grip. It's just 4 inches longer than the two lots-more-expensive 12 gauges, and just as fun to shoot.

In the binder I keep for the Class III to prove legality, I keep the paperwork showing that the other 12 gauge 500 was sold to me as a pistol-grip-only firearm.