Sawed-off shotgun
The design also makes the weapon more portable when maneuvering in confined spaces and for that reason law enforcement and military personnel find it useful in close-quarters combat scenarios.
In countries where handguns are more costly or difficult to obtain, criminals can convert legally purchased or stolen shotguns into concealable weapons.
[citation needed] The term is often applied to illegal weapons that are created by cutting off the barrel of a standard shotgun.
[4] Short-barrelled, manually operated shotguns (non-semi-automatics) only require a non-restricted class licence as long as the barrel remains unmodified from the original factory length.
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.
A smoothbore muzzleloader held on a shotgun certificate would be subject to the standard 24-inch minimum barrel length specification.
[11] Under the National Firearms Act (NFA), it is illegal for a private citizen to possess a sawn-off modern smokeless powder shotgun (a shotgun with a barrel length shorter than 18 inches (46 cm) or a minimum overall length of the weapon, total, including the 18-inch minimum barrel, of under 26 inches (66 cm)) (under U.S.C.
[2] Historical military use of sawn-off shotguns includes use as a primary weapon for Confederate cavalry during the American Civil War.
The availability of the source weapons and the ability to use a single ball, shot, or a mix of both as the situation required were reasons why they were initially desired by those establishing Confederate cavalry units.
Breaching guns used by police and the military may have barrels as short as 10 inches (25 cm), and they often have only a pistol grip rather than a full butt stock.
[14] A standard-length barrel (e.g. 30 inches [76 cm]) is this long to move the center of gravity of the firearm away from the body and give it an ergonomic heft, and in order for the barrel to extend out into the shooter's field of vision right up to the target, as well as to make the weapon safer, as it is difficult to inadvertently point a long gun at one's own body.
The pattern is primarily affected by the type of cartridge fired and the choke, or constriction normally found at the muzzle of a shotgun barrel.
[citation needed] The primary reason that the pattern is altered is because cutting off the end of the barrel removes the choke, which generally only extends about two inches (5.1 cm) inward from the muzzle.
[citation needed] A sawn-off shotgun with exposed, manually cocked hammers and dual triggers is known as a lupara ("wolf-shot") in Italy and, while associated with organized crime, was originally used by Sicilian farmers and shepherds to protect their vineyards and flocks of animals.
[15] In rural areas of North India, where it is seen as a weapon of authority and prestige, it is known as a dunali, literally meaning "two pipes".
[citation needed] The light weight of short-barrelled shotguns, particularly in configurations that lack substantial stocks, leads some users to use short "minishells" with lower shot and powder loading for comfortable casual use.
[citation needed] The American bank robber Clyde Barrow modified his Browning A-5 shotgun by cutting the barrel down to the same length as the magazine tube, and shortening the stock by 5 to 6 inches (125 to 150 mm) to make it more concealable.
[citation needed] Randy Weaver, a central actor in the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff, agreed to sell two sawed-off shotguns to an undercover ATF agent in 1989.
[citation needed] Outside area weapons such as shotguns, sawed-off barrels have been used on other firearms such as rifles and in some cases even pistols usually for concealment in particular by criminals and insurgents.
