Can a 18 year old buy a shotgun with a pistol grip stock?

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MistWolf said:
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.
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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.
MistWolf said:
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.
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That wasn’t the part I was citing. Here’s the part of that letter that’s relevant to this topic:

“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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Theohazard said:
If someone told you that it’s illegal for an 18-year-old to buy that, they’re wrong. Under federal law, it doesn’t make any legal difference whether a shotgun’s stock has a pistol grip or not; the stock is the important part. A shotgun with a barrel length of at least 18”, an overall length of at least 26”, and a stock (pistol grip, no pistol grip, folding, telescoping, fixed; none of that matters) is a shotgun and is legal under federal law for a dealer to sell to persons 18 and over. I’m no expert on Texas law, but I’m pretty sure they don’t have any laws that would contradict that.

Whoever told you that is confusing the rules about pistol-grip-only (PGO) shotguns that come from the factory with no stock at all, just a pistol grip. Those aren’t legally shotguns under federal law since part of the definition of a shotgun requires a stock, they’re “other” firearms that fall outside of the “long gun” category and therefore require the buyer to be 21.

EDIT: I was assuming that the OP was referring to buying this shotgun from a dealer, in which case the age rules I described would apply; I was specifically referring to federal law as it pertains to buying from a dealer. But I just realized he never actually mentioned where he tried to buy this shotgun, so my assumption might have been incorrect. Private sales age limits vary from state to state and are often different than the federal age limits when buying from dealers, and I don’t know what Texas’ private sale age limits are.

@john fisher: are you referring to buying this shotgun privately or from a dealer?
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From a dealer
 
john fisher said:
From a dealer
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Then the person who told you that is wrong. That shotgun you described is legally a shotgun since it has a stock. The fact that it also has a pistol grip is irrelevant, and the fact that the stock is foldable is also irrelevant. A shotgun is a “long gun” and can be purchased from a dealer by anyone over the ago of 18.
 
Theohazard said:
Then the person who told you that is wrong. That shotgun you described is legally a shotgun since it has a stock. The fact that it also has a pistol grip is irrelevant, and the fact that the stock is foldable is also irrelevant. A shotgun is a “long gun” and can be purchased from a dealer by anyone over the ago of 18.
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Well I fought it and they told me I can't, the people there said they can't sell it to me because in the system it was classified as a pistol grip and they couldn't go back and change it. The employees don't know much about guns and I'll never go back again.
 
john fisher said:
the people there said they can't sell it to me because in the system it was classified as a pistol grip and they couldn't go back and change it.
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So instead of figuring out how to fix that mistake they doubled down on it? That’s not a good sign. If nobody in the store knows how to fix a mistake in their bound book and they don’t seem interested in learning how even to make a sale, then that store is going to have problems.

john fisher said:
The employees don't know much about guns and I'll never go back again.
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Good idea. I’ve worked at stores that sometimes hired new people who didn’t know much about guns initially. But they were firmly instructed to ask whenever there was an issue like this, and there were always a bunch of people in the store who knew a lot and could help.
 
Their loss I suppose. If they dont want to sell to you that's their deal.

pdsmith505 said:
You can legally buy a long gun (IE a shotgun with a stock and a barrel longer than 18") from anyone willing to sell to you. Dealer or private party. Doesnt matter what grip it has on it.
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Should be easy enough to find another shop with a gun that strikes your fancy. Mossberg 500's and Rem 800's are a dime a dozen.
 
As others have said, find a better dealer. Better yet, find yourself a shotgun with a stock and then spend $20 bucks on eBay and buy yourself a pistol grip if you really want one. Best of both worlds.
 
In 1990 I was 19 years old and wanted to buy a MOS 500A w/ 18 1/2 " barrel and a factory synthetic stock. As displayed at the local gun store, it had the pistol grip installed and not the standard stock (it came with both). The two employees went back and forth about the whole thing and decided if the standard stock was on the shotgun when I took possession it would be OK....the pistol grip was in the box and it was on me if I wanted to swap it out later. Point being, they made the sale work and wanted to. SOMEONE WANTS YOUR MONEY...FIND THEM! (and for what it's worth, I have the standard stock on the gun today and the pistol grip somewhere in the basement...Good Luck!)
 
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