What is AOW Classification, 6" 12gauge

[Lovesbeer99]

I saw a shotgun for sale with a 6" barrel made by a company in Tampa, Fl. The company is Serbu and the item is the Super Shorty. It claims that it is classifed as Any Other Weapon (AOW). What does this mean?
Can you actually buy a shotgun with a 6" barrel?

Thanks in advance
Lovesbeer99

 

[MachIVshooter]

No stock, it is AOW. Stock, it is SBS. You can buy either with BATF approval and a $200 tax stamp.

 

[wdlsguy]

(e) Any other weapon

The term ``any other weapon'' means any weapon or device capable of being concealed on the person from which a shot can be discharged through the energy of an explosive, a pistol or revolver having a barrel with a smooth bore designed or redesigned to fire a fixed shotgun shell, weapons with combination shotgun and rifle barrels 12 inches or more, less than 18 inches in length, from which only a single discharge can be made from either barrel without manual reloading, and shall include any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire. Such term shall not include a pistol or a revolver having a rifled bore, or rifled bores, or weapons designed, made, or intended to be fired from the shoulder and not capable of firing fixed ammunition.

26 USC 5845

 

[h0ss]

Someone please correct me if i am wrong (most likely i might not have all the facts straight). Isn't it a $200 tax stamp for a SBS, and only $5 tax stamp for an AOW? And a pistol grip and no stock on a shotgun does not necessarily make it an AOW. I dont think you can just take the stock off of a shotgun and put a shorter bbl. on and make it an AOW. It has to come with a pistol grip from the factory to be an AOW if you shorten the bbl past legal length. Otherwise, its an SBS, right?

 

[SDC]

That's right, hoss; in order for a rifle or shotgun to be an AOW, it has to be DECLARED as such by the manufacturer before it ever has a buttstock put onto it, so even a manufacturer can't just take a stock off of a longarm and say "this is an AOW". When a manufacturer MAKES an AOW, they pay a $200 tax to do so, but the TRANSFER tax afterwards is $5.

 

[wdlsguy]

When a manufacturer MAKES an AOW, they pay a $200 tax to do so

Actually, a manufacturer with a class 2 SOT can register NFA firearms tax-free on a Form 2.

 

[Lovesbeer99]

Ok, so how do I get BATF approval and a stamp?

 

[PTK]

Find a dealer of NFA items in your state. Have a Serbu Super Shorty transferred to him on a form 3, then fill out a form 4 and submit it to the BATFE along with a check for $5, passport photos, and fingerprints. Once it comes back, you may take possession of the AOW. The whole process should take less than 6 months.

 

[chris in va]

More to the point, who would WANT to shoot a 6" 12ga?

 

[PTK]

Many people. I own a bunch of SBS just none that short. YET.

 

[iiibdsiil]

Chris, concealed carry.

And investment. That's what the form 4 paperwork says on mine. We didn't know if "Because I want it" was good enough for the ATF, so we didn't try.

 

[rcmodel]

First thing to do before the BATF thing is check your State & Local Laws and find out if it is legal where you live.


rcmodel

 

[sig226]

More to the point, who would WANT to shoot a 6" 12ga?

It isn't fun.

 

[sig226]

Ok, so how do I get BATF approval and a stamp?

The dealer should help you take care of that. They can't give it to you until you get the form back with the stamp, and they should have experience with it. If you're in a class III state, just start asking dealers if they'll get you a Serbu.

 

[mikec]

Ok, so how do I get BATF approval and a stamp?

As others mentioned you need to find out if your state allows it. My guess is that within 10 minutes of posting what state you live in you will have at least three responses telling you if it is OK or not in your state and maybe a dealers name or two.

 

[Matt304]

Be aware that shotguns require big volume and barrel length to burn efficiently, because of lower pressures than rifles. You see huge fireballs from a 24" barrel shooting a good load, let alone a 6" barrel.

I think what you will find is that from a 6" barrel, you are going to get no energy. It will probably be reduced to a defense weapon that a 22 auto pistol is as effective as. I know you didn't ask, but I wanted to make sure you knew.