bkjeffrey, I think you're getting a few issues mixed together here, and missing some of the differences between classifications of Title II "shotguns."
There are firearms which may not be imported because they are "non-sporting" which may still be owned, used, and produced here in the US as a Title I firearm. That's what the whole 922(r) compliance thing is about. That's why Saigas come here in "neutered" form. In "converted" form, they would not be importable, but once imported, they can be reconfigured as a "Made In the USA" gun, which doesn't have to meet those "sporting" criteria.
The ATF just released a rather odd study which found, it appears, that IF these guns were being imported in "converted" form, that wouldn't be legal ... but they aren't, so they are legal. The paper almost seemed to say, "We have determined that things are o.k. as they are...carry on."
This, of course, has alarmed the pants off of the shooting community.
...
I think what you are asking is, what if guns which are converted to "non-sporting" form are suddenly declared to be Title II weapons?
They won't be "Any Other Weapons." In the case of shotguns, the "Any Other Weapon" classification only applies to shot-firing weapons configured as smooth-bore handguns. And, those firearms cannot at any point have had installed a shoulder stock. So the little PGO super-sub-compact guns like the Sebu Super Shortys are "AOWs." Unless you get a bare AK receiver and build your own Saiga 12 PGO-style gun on it, you WON'T have an AOW.
Of course, if a full-sized shotgun is cut down so that the barrel is under 18" and/or the total length of the weapon is under 26", it will become a "Short-Barreled Shotgun." But that wouldn't apply to a normal Saiga anyway. You COULD register yours as one, if you want, and cut it down (or not) as you see fit.
The possibility that has some folks concerned is that the ATF could reclassify Saigas -- or more likely
converted Saigas -- as "Large Bore Destructive Devices." All guns over .50" caliber are large-bore DDs, unless exempted (and the term "sporting" does come into play). Shotguns are pretty much universally exempted. Some large hunting rifle cartridges and oddball target wildcat cartridges are as well. Occasionally, a gun so alarms the powers that be that they decide to remove the exemption for that gun -- as happened with the SPAS-12, Street Sweeper, etc.
It
could happen with converted Saiga 12s. It seems pretty unlikely -- just IMHO, of course -- because there are SO many of them out there. This would be a major inconvenience to hundreds of thousands of owners. Not just the few hundred (maybe few thousand?) SPAS 12 owners there were the last time this came up. Part of the "sporting" declaration seems to hinge on whether or not this is a firearm that is in common use for sporting purposes. If there aren't many around, a negative decision is easier to justify than if there are
MANY.
So, I don't think it would happen, but it could. If you put your Saiga 12 into the registry as an SBS (you can't register it as an AOW. It CAN'T ever be one) then it would already be Title II registered, just as it would have to be if declared a large-bore destructive device.
So you might "beat the rush" so to speak (though I don't know if there's a benefit to that) and in the mean time, you could cut it down to a shorty and have more
fun.
One possible down-side, sort of, is that sometimes when classifications are changed after the fact, owners are offered the chance to register their existing guns tax-free. You might save $200 -- if a DD registration ever is imposed -- by waiting. But, then, it would be registered as a Destructive Device, not an SBS, so you still couldn't cut it down.
(Whew...did that make sense?)