Theohazard
Member
Laws often don’t state things explicitly, but they are interpreted to mean certain things by the courts and by regulatory agencies. In this case, the definition of a shotgun (and a rifle for that matter) under federal law has long been interpreted as requiring a stock based on the phrase “intended to be fired from the shoulder”. Until an appropriate court overturns that long-standing precedent (or the law itself is changed), it’s accurate to say that federal law requires a shotgun to have a buttstock.Stating that a shotgun is designed to be fired from the shoulder may imply a buttstock, but it does not definitively state a buttstock must be used.
That wasn’t the part I was citing. Here’s the part of that letter that’s relevant to this topic:The letter to Mr Savage talks about an AOW being created if a shotgun either has a barrel OR an overall length less than the legal minimum. It does not address a shotgun meeting both legal requirements.
“With regard to your second question, under the NFA, barrel length is relevant only in regard to rifles and shotguns. Firearms that come quipped with a pistol grip in place of a buttstock are not ‘shotguns’ as defined by the NFA.”
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