The Annoyed Man wrote:Carry an 18” barreled shotgun with buttstock, and the problem goes away.cmgee67 wrote:I was thinking about this today. If you get pulled over and you happen to have your shockwave in the car what do you do? Do you treat it like a long gun and you don’t have to inform the officer you have it? It’s considered a firearm. I’d think you wouldn’t have to say anything but say they searched your vehicle and found it. If the officer wasn’t versed in what makes something a firearm and he considered it an SBS you might be having a conversation. Do you keep the paperwork mossberg sends with it saying what it is? What are the rules on this issue? I haven’t seen this discussed anywhere so I thought I’d bring it up.
Honestly, I’m not saying you shouldn’t carry a shockwave if that’s what floats your boat, but you raise a very good issue, which can be summarized thusly: how much do you trust the firearms law knowledge of any random cop who is likely to pull you over? It should be common knowledge among LEOs that the Shockwave is legal in Texas.....but I don’t trust that it is commonly known. OTH, if you’re transporting a long gun such as a full-sized tactical shotgun, or an AR15 or something, there is FAR less likely to be any confusion on the cop’s part about the firearm’s legality in this state.
Someday I’ll buy a Shockwave just for the giggles, but for vehicle carry of a long gun, I’ll keep it to something the cop is most likely to recognize as a legal firearm. In my case, that would be a full sized shotgun, or a lever action rifle, or a AR15, or even an AK47. I worry that if you place a cop in the position of having to exercise judgement about the legal status of a weapon with which he is not familiar, he is going to err on the side of caution and take you for a ride until it gets all sorted out.
I don’t think that is how it should be at all, but I do think that this is probably how it is in some jurisdictions.
That’s why I don’t even carry an AR pistol on the truck because it could be considered an SBR if someone doesn’t know the law. Most cops I know don’t know very much about guns other than what they are issued. That’s sad but it’s true. In fact I know some who never even shot a gun until the academy. So with all that being said I don’t trust that what should be common knowledge among cops is. I carry a long gun for the reasons you stated. An AR AK shotgun or lever gun is not going to be misconstrued as something illegal if it’s full size. I don’t want to ride in the hard plastic back seat with my hands behind my back if I can help it.