Why are shotguns the "Sacred Cow" of gun restrictions?

Perhaps because of the very thing you mention. Shotguns are covered by a blanket exemption from the Title II Large Bore Destructive Device classification because they are considered especially suitable to 'sporting purposes.'

Remember, some of the more oddball shotguns were un-exempted as you mentioned, and there was quite a concern about a year ago that the Saiga shotguns were going to get the same treatment.

In the end, though, most of the currently common "scary tactical" shotguns only differ from their "sporting" cousins by mag capacity, and some not even that. Probably seen as too small a nit to pick with such larger targets (pun!) available.

Also some of the most black rifle hating gun owners I know are shotgun shooters

like you said, everyone has one. In Australia and England the last thing they tried to regulate was the ''farm gun'' the simple single or double barreled break open shotgun, that nearly every gun owner has at least one of, for durability, and just plain utility.

It would be a mistake to give the gun control nuts credit for using any common sense, but as for shotguns you have capacity and length of the barrel. Otherwise they are all pretty much the same; semi-auto or pump. Even the short barrel pgo isn't real stealthy. Only the Sega style has removable mags. I agree that if they were to go after anything it would be the Sega, but as long as the mag size meets what ever might be set for hi cap mags it would make no sense to go after the shotgun. As far as I understand, they aren't giving any special attention to higher cal rifles like the 308 vs the 223 so there's no reason to think that the 12g is going to be a target.

Now I go back and remind myself that there is absolutely nothing logical or reasonable about anything they are proposing.

Another plus is that shotgun ammo seems to be not as affected by panic buying, at least in my experience. I can't get any rimfire or centerfire ammo right now but can still find shells pretty easily.

The difference between a hunting shotgun and a tactical shotgun is usually just color and length. The line is too fine.

My Benelli is 8 shots:



But my Mossberg is 13 shots of 12 ga. goodness:

Snobbery and ignorance.

Snobbery in that the shotgun sports have more social cachet than other shooting activities. They are social/networking activities, like golf.

Ignorance in that the hoplophobes still think gun=hunting.

For the most part, they're look less scary.

They're associated with shooting clays, which seems harmless enough to the layperson. There is no equivalent in the rifle or handgun world (though I suppose you -could- try shooting a round of clays using a handgun and glaser safety shotshell bullets)

Though shotguns aren't off limits. Didn't someone post the NY revised AWB which included Remington 1100 and Benelli M2's?

You have guys with really big bucks buying shotguns. They tend to be political donors as well. You don't want to antagonize them with taking their guns.

Like when Dick Cheney shot his lawyer friend, Cheney had a $17,000 Perazzi 28 gauge. The lawyer had something equally rich. These are all over and under, two shot, guns. Not as scary as a 30 round mag.

Give the antis time.......

They'll get to them. One step at a time.

the simple single or double barreled break open shotgun, that nearly every gun owner has at least one of, for durability, and just plain utility.

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now that is a great bit of advice and would make a heck of a sales pitch.

Because these pump shotguns have no black plastic they are not military style and do not need special regulation:

Double standards. Is a DC norm.

bushmaster1313 said:

Because these pump shotguns have no black plastic they are not military style and do not need special regulation

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Except trenchguns used "traditional wood stocks" for a hundred years before going to synthetic.

In England at least, it was because of rural areas and the rich folk who use shotguns.

A shotgun is an essential tool for a farmer, and a status symbol for the well-to-do.

A shotgun in the States is also a common home defense weapon, and I bet that a lot of people who aren't firearms enthusiasts but are sensible keep a shotgun at home just in case.

Don't worry though, shotguns are on the anti's list, they're just further down...

I think most politicians are shotgun owners and that is the reason why they are not touched as much. Sure there are some laws that make a typical pump an "assault shotgun" but by and large there isn't much law against them. Even the governor of NY has a shotgun.

I think even a lot of Dem politicians have shotguns for hunting. They probably think the hunting thing is the only thing that passes the "sporting" test/theory/fallacy.

Call me a tinfoil hat wearer, but I've often wondered if secretly, they leave us the notion that we can always hunt with shotguns and bolt action rifles because they're not well suited for civil war (at least against a heavily armed military such as ours). The most prominant gun grabbers recently have stated "we're not taking away people's guns" while in the same sentence, they call for a ban (or so restricting them so no one can own them in current form) on EBRs.

I will tell you why, because there are many Democrats that need a small amount of rural support. They bank on union member country boys who only own a shotgun for hunting. They have to get those votes so they leave the fuddies shotguns alone. He in rural IL I meet lots of those people. They couldnt give a crap about 10 round magazine restrictions or any of that. "As long as they leave my shotgun alone, I dont care" is the normal refrain.

They don't like handguns for the same reasons their forebears, the powerful in Old Blighty didn't like them, they are the weapons of the poacher, and of the thief, and the assassin. They're powerful, yet portable, and easily hidden.

Cesiumsponge said:

They're associated with shooting clays, which seems harmless enough to the layperson. There is no equivalent in the rifle or handgun world (though I suppose you -could- try shooting a round of clays using a handgun and glaser safety shotshell bullets)
?

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Maybe there is....SA revolvers and the mounted shooting sports. (They also have rifle and shotgun).

That's ok...we're rallying our members to fight too.

I'm surprised you don't shoot off the end of the magazine. Gotta wonder if you could swing the rifle up fast enough to force that to happen.