A sawed-off shotgun (also called a scattergun, sawn-off shotgun, short-barreled shotgun, shorty or a boom stick) is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel—typically under —and often a stock. Despite the colloquial term, barrels do not, strictly speaking, have to be shortened with a saw. Barrels can be manufactured at shorter lengths as an alternative to traditional, longer barrels. This makes them easier to transport and conceal due to their smaller profile and lighter weight. The design also makes the weapon easy to maneuver in cramped spaces, a feature sought by military close-quarters combat units and law enforcement SWAT team users. As a result of the shorter barrel length, any sawn-off shotgun with a magazine tube will have its capacity reduced.
In the 1930s, the United States of America, United Kingdom and Canada mandated that a permit be required to own these firearms. They are subject to legal restrictions depending upon jurisdiction. They are used by military forces and police agencies worldwide.
Description
Compared to a standard shotgun, the sawn-off shotgun has a shorter effective range, due to a lower muzzle velocity; however, its reduced length makes it easier to maneuver and conceal. Powerful and compact, the weapon is especially suitable for use in small spaces, such as close-quarters combat in a military context. Military vehicle crews use short-barreled combat shotguns as ancillary weapons. In urban combat zones, military entry teams often use entry shotguns when breaching and entering doorways.
Many jurisdictions have a minimum legal length for shotgun barrels to make these more concealable shotguns unavailable for criminal purposes. Many gun makers in the U.S.A. have not offered sawn-off shotguns to the public since 1934, when shotguns with barrel lengths of under 18 inches were restricted, although they had previously been sold. To abide by NFA regulations, anyone may complete a Form 1 "making" form, and purchase and have approved the US$200 tax stamp for the shotgun in question, in order to legally reduce its barrel length to less than 18 inches by cutting the barrel or replacing it with a shorter one.
A sawn-off shotgun is often an unofficial modification of a standard shotgun. In countries where handguns are more costly or difficult to obtain, criminals can convert legally purchased or stolen shotguns into concealable weapons.
The term is often applied to illegal weapons that are created by cutting off the barrel of a standard shotgun. The barrel of a shotgun without a tube magazine can be cut to any length; pump-action or semi-automatic shotguns usually have a tube magazine attached to the underside of the barrel which limits the practical minimum barrel length to about the length of the magazine tube, unless it also is modified, technically much more challenging than shortening the barrel. Repeating-fire shotguns with box magazines do not lose shell capacity when sawn off, but they are far less common than those with tubular magazines. Shotguns manufactured with barrels under the legal minimum length frequently fall into special categories.
Legal restrictions
Many nations have placed legal restrictions on sawn-off shotguns. The following are the restrictions for specific nations. Although not listed here, they are also subject to laws governing guns in general.
Australia
In the state of Victoria a shotgun may not have its barrel shortened so as to change the category under which that shotgun would be classified. In some states, any alteration to the length of the barrel requires permission from the Chief Commissioner of Police.
Canada
Short-barreled, manually operated shotguns (non-semi-automatics) are non-restricted as long as the barrel remains unmodified from the original factory length. There is no legal minimum for shotgun barrels as long as they are not handguns; shotguns with barrels as short as 8.5 inches are available in Canada.
The act of reducing the length of the barrel of a shotgun to less than 457 mm (18 inches) by sawing, cutting, or "otherwise", by anyone other than a recognized gun manufacturer, is prohibited.
Czech Republic
Short-barreled shotguns are universally category B weapons and therefore require a shall issue permit and Gun license (zbrojní průkaz), including the self defense category.