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Sidearms & Scatterguns Building a SBS...

AK4900PA

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
May 25, 2013
505
361
I've been throwing around the idea of building a 12ga shorty for a while. This is probably a dumbass question, but is there any advantage to buying a standard shotgun and swapping the barrel vs buying a shockwave and swapping the stock? Does one way vs the other change anything with the form 1 process?
 
I have a few stamps so I'm not new to the process. Just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything I was missing. The shockwaves are selling for <$300 and I want to get some decent wood furniture anyway so that's definitely the cheaper route.
 
I have a few stamps so I'm not new to the process. Just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything I was missing. The shockwaves are selling for <$300 and I want to get some decent wood furniture anyway so that's definitely the cheaper route.

if you're up for a Mossberg, their new 'Nightstick' comes with wood furniture, so you'd only need to find a matching wood stock once the Form 1 came back.
 
Yeah shouldnt make a difference. Shortys are fun, I picked up a 870 Express for under $300 from Walmart. Replaced all the springs with Police magnum parts, replaced the extractor, and a few other parts. When my stamp came back, I had the long vent rib cut to 12.5 inches, had it all cerakoted, and magpul furniture. Its a little hammer.
 
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I'm actually going through a similar thought process, but I'm going the other direction - I already have a 20" Mossberg 590, and I am thinking about doing the F1 and putting one of the 14" front end kits on it.
 
I have a number of SBS I put together on Form 1. I am planning on adding a buttstock to a .410 Mossberg Shockwave which I believe will change its ATF classification from a "firearm" to a NFA short-barrel classification with a $200 tax stamp Form 1.
I previously stated that adding a buttstock to the shockwave would convert it to an NFA AOW with a $5 tax stamp and that would be incorrect as adding the buttstock would be "re-designing" the firearm to a shotgun intended to be fired from the shoulder.
 
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I have a number of SBS I put together on Form 1. If you start with a shockwave or tac-14 you will converting a "firearm" to a AOW (any other weapon) the paper work is same, the tax stamp is $5 plus cost of buttstock to bolt to receiver. IF you already have a favorite shotgun, buy the short barrel you like, Form 1, SBS registry tax stamp $200. So the difference is $200-5, $195 plus the difference in cost of barrel v. buttstock for either choice. I am putting together a .410 Mossberg shockwave 14" that will have a Hogue buttstock added so it will be AOW with a $5 tax stamp on a form 1. I couldn't use a standard 18" .410 as the barrel ring was to far forward for a 14" barrel result.

An AOW stamp for making one is $200, not $5 (only transfers on AOWs are $5), and I'm almost positive you can't put a stock on an AOW.
 
Is a Shockwave barrel choked-down at all? If it's not choked, does it have enough meat at the muzzle to ream out for choke tubes?
I used a 14" Rem. police barrel for an SBS and it was thick enough to where I had it bored for Rem-chokes (that barrel had rifle sights and was choked down to modified when new). Lets you play around with it some different ways. It's hilarious with extra-full turkey chokes and #8 shot.

KL191025.JPG


Keep an eye on ebay for walnut stocks. This latest set I got is a set of take-off police stocks sold on ebay by Vang Comps.

And for those who are going to say that a tight choke and birdshot is useless for defense, you're right, that's why this hateful little thing exists:

7090553


Anyways, Shockwave would be an easier build unless you have a line on a short barrel (or are cutting one down, in which case you may want to have it back-bored for a (somewhat) tighter pattern).
 
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They are pretty ugly, but money can be saved by using a "brace" and adapters sold for that purpose. Considered that for one of those Tac13, as a folding "brace" semi auto would be a cool toy.