What is the legal length in Texas for shortening the barrel of a shotgun?
January 4th, 2011 by eranio
I want to shorten the barrel of my shotgun but I heard that if you go to far its illegal in Texas. I’m trying to find out the right info. on this
Posted in used shotguns
January 4th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Same answer every time sombody asks this question . . . . 18".
January 4th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Don’t know anything about texas regs, but federal regs are 18" for the barrel and 26 overall length minimum.
Fed regs apply to all states. Texas can’t authorize less than the above
January 4th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Do it at 18.5 inches the federal legal limit for a sawed off shotgun is 18 inches just add a half inch to be on the safe side.If you get caught with a shot gun a hair under 18 in you will get a hefty federal weapons charge.So rember dont go under 18.5 inches just to be safe.
January 4th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Yeah 18" is the legal limit for a shotgun barrel, with an overall length of 26"
Like its been said air on the side of caution and go 18.5" and 26.5"
When measuring the barrel use a rod inserted into the barrel down to the closed bolt face. This will give you a "true" barrel length.
Measuring from the outside sometimes will not take into account the amount or barrel used to interface with the receiver or how deep the bolt locks into the barrel extension.
By the way in Texas like may other states you can legally have a barrel length under 18" but you have to legally register the reciever as a short barreled shotgun with the BATFE BEFORE! you perform the shortening, there is a bit of red tape and a $200 tax stamp but it is legal if you are willing to go through the process.
January 4th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
18 inches is the federal limit. Most states stick with that. Cutting it shorter than 18 inches is illegal in all states. Also, the overall length of the gun must be 26 inches or greater. So do not go cut the barrel to 18 inches than stick on a folding stock. If it comes out to less than 26 inches, they get you on a federal firearms charge.
Remember the part of the barrel that screws into the firing chamber/receiver is NOT part of the barrel and should not be counted in the measurement. (That is how they set up Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge.) Do not do as suggested above and measure down the barrel to the closed bolt face. That measurement would include the firing chamber which is NOT considered part of the barrel. If the firing chamber could handle 3 inch shells, you would end up with a barrel 3 inches too short.
Start your measurement from the part of the barrel that sticks out of the receiver and go forward 18.5 inches. Cutting it to 18.5 inches will prevent any problems down the road.
There is however, a way around it. Read up on the handgun called the Judge. They are going to come out with one that can handle 3 inch 410 shells with a six inch barrel and be made of light weight material. Since there is rifling in the barrel, it does NOT constitute a "sawed off shot gun" and is legal.
Or you can pay the $200 tax stamp to get a short barrel shot gun. Same idea as a machine gun, it is highly regulated and you have to pass a background check and have a federal license for it. Not really worth the effort.
LATE NOTE: For you guys who say you measure the barrel from the muzzle to the CLOSED BOLT FACE, you are giving information that could get someone in trouble. The person did NOT say what kind of shot gun they were wanting to cut. I gave them information that is valid REGARDLESS of what kind of shot gun they are shortening.
Here is the information right from the ATF website.
""The length of the vast majority of shotgun barrels is measured from the muzzle to the face of the breach on a line parallel to the axis of the bore. In the case of shotguns having a chamber(s) that is not an intregral part of the barrel, such as a revolving shotgun, the barrel length is measured from the muzzle to the front of the separate cylinder and does not include the chamber. ""
In other words, if the firing chamber is part of the barrel, permanently attached, it counts in the measurement and the comment about the closed breech is correct.
However, if the firing chamber is not part of the barrel, such as in revolver shotguns or guns where the barrel screws into a separate action and firing chamber, the firing chamber is NOT part of the barrel. In that case, counting the firing chamber as part of the barrel length is incorrect.
Do it my way and you will not have the chance of running into trouble with the law. Read up on Randy Weaver and the Remington pump he shortened. Thanks to his "friend" (an undercover BATF agent) deliberately giving him incorrect information, Randy ended up shortening the barrel 1/4 inch too much. Just about the length of the threads on the barrel.
So if the FIRING CHAMBER is a permanent part of the barrel and can not be removed and can not be considered a separate part of the barrel, you can include it and do like the other guys say, use a stick. But if the barrel can be removed from the firing chamber, such as with a take down system or unscrewed, then you had better listen to me.
January 4th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Contact your local PD and they can advise you on the legal length for your area. Federal law requires 18" on shotgun barrels and 16" on rifle barrels without a class 3 licensing.
check this link out. it contains your gun laws. http://dao-web.dao.hctx.net/ie/TEXAS%20WEAPONS%20LAWS.pdf
It looks like 18" in the answer. But if a question remains call your loacl police dept.
January 4th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
18". Cut it at 19" to be safe, though….trust me, you won’t get it straight the first time and you’ll end up shaving it down quite a bit to be satisfied.
Addendum to Dave above:
Sorry, Dave. That’s patently wrong. Shotgun barrels are measured from the closed breechface. You can stick a stick down the bore of any shotgun til it hits bottom and where the muzzle hits, that’s the barrel length. You can stick that stick down any Mossberg or Remington barrel and prove that one easily enough. From the breechface, an 18 1/2" Mossberg barrel is exactly 18 1/2" long. If it were 3" short as you stated, there would be approx 10 million illegal shotguns in the US right now.