Sawed-off shotgun
A sawed-off shotgun (also called a scattergun, sawn-off shotgun, short-barrelled shotgun, shorty, or boom stick) is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel—typically under 18 inches (46 cm)—and often a pistol grip instead of a longer shoulder stock. Despite the colloquial term, barrels do not, strictly speaking, have to be shortened with a saw. Barrels can be manufactured at shorter lengths as an alternative to traditional, longer barrels. This makes them easier to transport and conceal due to their smaller profile and lighter weight. 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. As a result of the shorter barrel length, any shotgun with a tubular magazine will have a reduction in its magazine capacity.
"Boomstick" redirects here. For the scuba diving weapon, see Bang stick. Not to be confused with Broomstick.In the 1930s, the United States, United Kingdom and Canada mandated that a permit be required to own these firearms.[1] They are subject to legal restrictions depending upon jurisdiction. They are used by military forces and police agencies worldwide.
Description[edit]
Compared to a standard shotgun, the sawn-off shotgun has a shorter effective range, due to a lower muzzle velocity; however, its reduced length makes it easier to maneuver and conceal. Powerful and compact, the weapon is especially suitable for use in small spaces, such as close-quarters combat in a military context. Military vehicle crews use short-barrelled combat shotguns as ancillary weapons. In urban combat zones, military entry teams often use entry shotguns when breaching and entering doorways.
Many jurisdictions have a minimum legal length for shotgun barrels[2] to make these more concealable shotguns unavailable for criminal purposes. Many gun makers in the U.S. have not offered sawn-off shotguns to the public since 1934, when shotguns with barrel lengths of under 18 inches were restricted, although they had previously been sold. To abide by NFA regulations, anyone may complete a Form 1 "making" form, and purchase and have approved the US$200 tax stamp for the shotgun in question, in order to legally reduce its barrel length to less than 18 inches by cutting the barrel or replacing it with a shorter one.[2][3]
A sawn-off shotgun is often an unofficial modification of a standard shotgun. In countries where handguns are more costly or difficult to obtain, criminals can convert legally purchased or stolen shotguns into concealable weapons.
The term is often applied to illegal weapons that are created by cutting off the barrel of a standard shotgun. The barrel of a shotgun without a tube magazine can be cut to any length; pump-action or semi-automatic shotguns usually have a tube magazine attached to the underside of the barrel which limits the practical minimum barrel length to about the length of the magazine tube, unless it also is modified, technically much more challenging than shortening the barrel. Repeating-fire shotguns with box magazines do not lose shell capacity when sawn off, but they are far less common than those with tubular magazines. Shotguns manufactured with barrels under the legal minimum length frequently fall into special categories.
Barrel length and shot spread[edit]
It is a common misconception that shortening the length of a shotgun barrel itself significantly affects the pattern or spread of the pellets; this only becomes true when the barrel is reduced to less than 50% of a typical length.[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.
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. This results in a cylinder bore, which causes the widest spread generally found in shotgun barrels (see choke for more information on the impact of chokes, shotgun shell for information on spreader loads, and details on shot patterning for other relevant information). However, many qualified gunsmiths can re-tap and reinstall the choke in the shortened barrel.
Civilian use[edit]
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". It is especially common in Bihar, Purvanchal, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.
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.[16]
Criminal use[edit]
In the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, where handguns are not easily obtainable, the sawn-off shotgun was a common weapon in armed robberies during and shortly after the 1960s, and it is this use that most people associate with the weapon that is used in such a way to rob a bank.
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. A small, 10–12-inch (250–300 mm) strap was attached to both ends of the butt of the gun, and was looped around his shoulder, concealing the gun between his arm and chest under his jacket in the manner of a shoulder holster. The gun was drawn up quickly and fired from the shoulder under which it was carried. Barrow dubbed it the "Whippit", as he was able to "whip it" out easily.
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.[17]
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre, had sawn off their Savage Arms 67H pump action shotgun and Stevens 311D double barrel shotgun in the months prior to conceal it under their duster coats on the day of the massacre.
Derived uses[edit]
Familiarity with descriptions and images of sawed-off shotguns via crime reports in the public media has led to "sawed-off" or "sawn-off" being used sometimes colloquially as "small or stripped version of"; such as the Sawn-Off Daimler (SOD).