What’s a 12 Gauge Firearm? Shockwave and Tac 14

Courtesy of Kommando Blog

So I like shotguns and own close to a dozen of them, ranging from your mass produced Turkish shotgat to the pride of my: collection a Winchester 1897 produced in 1902. This intro is going to sound kind of odd when I say we aren’t talking about shotguns today. We are talking about 12 gauge “firearms” like the Tac 14 and Mossberg Shockwave. What’s the difference? American laws.

The Not a Shotgun Difference

Guns like the Mossberg 590 Shockwave and Remington Tac 14 fall under the rather ambiguous title of firearm. Yes, they are based off traditional shotgun platforms, but by law do not fall under the category of shotgun. Because they aren’t technically shotguns they can have those nice and short 14 inch barrels without being considered an NFA weapon.

The thing is the ATF defines a shotgun as a weapon designed to be fired from the shoulder or redesigned to be fired from the shoulder. This means if it’s never had a stock it’s not a shotgun.

Now there are similar weapons like the Serbu Super Shorties aren’t considered shotguns, but they are considered AOWs making them NFA items and subject to a $200 theft. The reason these 12 gauge firearms aren’t AOWs is due to their overall length. These guns have to have an overall length of 26 inches. Anything less than 26 inches makes the gun an AOW.

The Shockwave Raptor grip is the key to making these weapons a success. It’s a pistol grip that’s more horizontal than vertical and gives the weapons those precious few inches necessary to allow the use of a 14-inch barrel while remaining over 26 inches.

The Two Big 12 Gauge ‘Firearms’

I see one of three reactions whenever someone sees the Remington Tac 14 or Mossberg Shockwave. The first is oh that’s cool. The second, that’s dumb and pointless, what a waste of money. The third is, that’s the ultimate ‘insert truck/ home defense/ whatever gun’ ever. The truth is something in the middle.

Both the Tac 14 and Mossberg Shockwave are well-made firearms. Surprisingly the Tac 14 isn’t a rust bucket like more than a few of Remington’s latest guns. I first saw and fired the Shockwave at Shot Show, and instantly knew I wanted one.

Why? I have no idea. What are they really useful for? I can think of a few things.

First, just having the ability to flick off the ATF is always nice without risking my precious doggo. These aren’t loopholed guns necessarily, but it certainly defies what most of us believed about 12 gauge pump action firearms.

Second, they are fun. They are an actual challenge to shoot and certainly to shoot well. There is certainly a level of thrill you get from shooting one of these guns that you don’t get from shooting your Mom’s Glock 19.

Third? I don’t really have a third reason to own one of these guns. Sure they are great for dispatching snakes and other very specific niche tasks. At the end of the day outside of flicking off the ATF and being fun, they don’t do anything a stocked shotgun can’t do. In fact, a stocked shotgun is going to do it better than a 12 gauge firearm.

If you want a home defense gun or some ninja tactical shotgun just go with a standard tactical shotgun with a stock.