Shotgun to single-shot handgun with welded adapter

[OldSchoolPC]

Here's a hypothetical.

A person buys a really beat up pistol-grip shotgun for say, $50. The barrel is crap and/or can't handle modern loads. Person says, okay, I'll put in a 12 gauge to .22 adapter in it. Thus making it a single shot .22. Of course, it's still considered a shotgun because you can still shoot a shot shell through it by removing the adapter. But wait! There's more. He decides to cut the barrel almost all the way down. Remember, it's pistol-grip, so now he has a single shot 22 hand gun. The question is, would this be an NFA, AOW or the like? Would this be legal? Also, let's assume that the adapter is rifled and extends through what's left of the barrel, and that the adapter is welded to the barrel. Wouldn't this be perfectly legal, at least for personal use?

[Triggerh4ppy]

get a barrel thats in better condition.
lulz

[OldSchoolPC]

Surely someone can appreciate the value of making a legal, single-shot handgun out of a shotgun? I mean, an adapter costs just over $20, and the shotty as little as $50. So say, $75 for a single shot handgun. I mean, they make .45 ACP adapters too.

[Hawk]

Adapter...OK.
Link: http://www.mcace.com/shotguninserts.htm

Cutting barrel down under 18" without tax stamp...not OK.

[Chazman321]

No, because the serial number on the gun points to a shotgun, and not a pistol...


-Chaz

[OldSchoolPC]

So.... what difference does it make if the serial number points to the shotgun? Also, a cheap $50 shotgun could very well be prior to 1968 when serial numbers were required. Seems to me, it's not a shotgun if it can no longer accept shot shells (welding adapter into it).

[OldSchoolPC]

Adapter...OK.
Link: http://www.mcace.com/shotguninserts.htm

Cutting barrel down under 18" without tax stamp...not OK.

The thing is, you aren't making a shotgun with a barrel length less than 18 inches. Also, cutting the barrel could be the LAST step in the process. Therefore, not even during the alteration did you have a shotgun (smoothbore gun that accepts shotshells) with a barrel less than 18 inches. The key I feel is "welding the adapter in", and "pistol grip".

[Hawk]

The thing is, you aren't making a shotgun with a barrel length less than 18 inches. Also, cutting the barrel could be the LAST step in the process. Therefore, not even during the alteration did you have a shotgun (smoothbore gun that accepts shotshells) with a barrel less than 18 inches. The key I feel is "welding the adapter in", and "pistol grip".

As I understand it, if you take a shotgun and shorten the barrel below 18" (26" OAL) you need to obtain a $200 tax stamp, regardless what you do with modifying it to shoot something other than what it was designed to shoot.

[OldSchoolPC]

As I understand it, if you take a shotgun and shorten the barrel below 18" (26" OAL) you need to obtain a $200 tax stamp, regardless what you do with modifying it to shoot something other than what it was designed to shoot.

Hmmmm... Isn't it legal to manufacture a handgun for "personal use"? Sure, you couldn't sell it, but I still kinda think it'd be legal. Also, since the barrel shortening is AFTER welding in an adapter which is a permanent modification it cannot accept shotshells and therefore no longer meets the definition of shotgun. I hope I don't come off as being argumentative. I am not looking for a way to make a sawed of shotgun without a tax stamp, and then be like "it's not a shotgun, because I have a removable adapter!" Rather, this would be a permanent modification to single-shot handgun. This is a purely academic interest.

[USMC3531]

Not its not legal. Because it was "born" as a shotgun it is always a shotgun. It wouldnt matter if you purchased a .45 barrel and put it on. Once a reciever is a long gun thats It unless you get a tax stamp. Yes you can make a pistol but you must make the reciever.