Is the Mossberg “590® Shockwave” Legal in New Jersey?

Date posted: December 14, 2021

Is the Mossberg “590® Shockwave” Legal in New Jersey?

By Evan F. Nappen, Attorney at Law

The 12 Gauge Mossberg “590® Shockwave” is described by the factory as being 26.37” in overall length and having 14” barrels.

The company further states the following on its website:

“590® Shockwave -This 12GA offers legendary Mossberg pump-action reliability in a compact 14” barreled package. The Shockwave Raptor bird’s head pistol grip is uniquely shaped to minimize felt recoil…The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives has confirmed the 590 Shockwave as a “firearm” per the Gun Control Act (GCA), but not a Class 3/NFA firearm… ”

How is the 12 Gauge Mossberg “590® Shockwave” defined as under New Jersey Gun Law, and is it legal to possess?

To properly determine the answer to this question one must examine a number of definitions in NJ Gun Law.

LOOPHOLES & PITFALLS:

Leave it to New Jersey to ban something that was already banned. Bump stocks were already prohibited.
Under prior law, they were already banned as “assault firearms” as explained above. Our legislators’ predictable knee-jerk reaction is always to “Ban it!”, even if it was already banned. It just feels so good to “do something”, no matter how meaningless.

Under the bump stock’s vague and overbroad definition, apparently a rubber band could be construed to be a bump stock. Merely hooking a rubber band to the trigger of a semi-automatic firearm and wrapping it around the magazine well and hooking it back to the trigger can dramatically increase “…the rate of fire achievable with the firearm by using energy from the recoil of the firearm to generate a reciprocating action that facilitates repeated activation of the trigger.” Demonstrations of this technique may easily be found on the internet.

Here are some examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbNO7ich0ns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5XzQ1BS7gU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx4cqBFmjtA

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1 Comment

  1. As a retired California police officer reading some of these ridiculous restrictions make you wonder if we really live in the home of the free.

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