Are the 14 in shotguns worth going through the NFA trouble and acquiring a trust with all the extra costs involved. I have always regretted getting rid of my old shotgun, and have been wanting to get another. The SBS route is appealing to me for having it shorter and handier but is all that much gained by shortening the barrel? or is the difference negligible? the intended use would be home defense and if I do get it I may end up going back to using a shotgun on patrol for my long gun.
Not sure if the paperwork hassle is worth it for home defense, but for my use the 14 inch shotgun is extremely attractive. My use is bear defense, and that means I am hiking with the shotgun, in the tent at night, in and out of boats and aircraft.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
I just went the 14" route from 18". I didn't think it'd make that much of a difference but after swinging the shotgun around the house, the 4" decrease is noticeable...and welcome. Is the juice worth the squeeze? Maybe. Maybe not. But from a cost/benefit analysis for me, it's worth it as it hefts and swings better for me. Also, holding it one armed is a lot better as well. If you have the funds and don't mind the wait? Go for it.
I don't think it's worth it for around the house, it's still fairly long and if space is that tight a pistol might be a better option. Getting in and out of squad car, it's absolutely worth it.
This thread won't be complete without pictures.
** note you can push on that enlarged bolt release as much as you like without causing a jam
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
Now you need to SMS your magazine...Originally Posted by GJM
This thread won't be complete without pictures.
** note you can push on that enlarged bolt release as much as you like without causing a jam
I prefer SBSs for the same reasons I like SBRs; compactness. The nice thing about SBSs is you don't lose velocity but gain a little more spread in the pattern.
The real question is what do you want and prefer. When we delve into the realm of NFA weapons it's not about need or worth, it's about want and personal preference. I want what I want and can justify whatever that is. You will get arguments on both sides of this decision. A few years ago I got a 590A1 14" SBS and then tricked it out with a Magpul stock, Mesa Tactical side saddle, Vang Comp forcing cone and magna porting and it's about the perfect shotgun in my opinion. My dad just wanted to get into a shotgun, we're together on an NFA trust, but he felt it was too much work for the 4" reduction so he did a standard 18" Remington 870 Police and then did all the same mods. He feels his setup is perfect.
With the barrel work I'm crushing knock down steel at 20 yards at our local tactical style Outlaw 3-Gun match. It impresses the onlookers because they are expecting the shorty to fall short and not be able to get the steel at longer ranges. Now because of the limited capacity, I don't use it for USPSA Multi-Gun, that would be a little silly with a stage that has 25-30 rounds in it. But it's a fun gun and was worth the investment.
Due to inflation, my 2 cents is worth about nothing, but there you have it...
FYI, Silencer Co is offering online NFA trusts for WAY CHEAP. We did ours with a NFA specific lawyer here in Colorado. The nice thing with that is he's available for all our stupid questions when we have them and if there's any law enforcement trouble we have someone to call if needed. But it was about $640 or something like that to have him set it up. There's a lot of information out now on the internet and it's become pretty mainstream to have NFA stuff so going on the cheap would likely be okay.
https://silencerco.com/nfa-trust/
I would echo this. For the length, a 10.5" AR is still shorter and you have 30 rounds (or 28 in my case) vs 4-5. If you have any land, the versatility of animals or assailants makes the AR adaptable to more situations, IMO. You can still use it in the house, but you could still shoot a coyote at 200 yds that's attacking another animal or being a nuisance or something.
I have a 14" 12ga AOW "toy", and had previously used an AR SBR for home defense, but now, based on one of Tom Given's recent articles that reshaped my thinking, I have swapped that setup out with an 18.5" Rem 1100 for home defense. 2-3 rounds worth of buckshot in a bad guy from a commonly available shotgun looks way better than 15 rounds from a tricked out, rare, military looking, regulated/restricted weapon.
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