Mossberg Shockwave, is it totaly useless?

[Willie Lowman]

So I have wanted one of these for a long time to go with my other short barreled shotguns. The Shockwave however doesn't require a $200 tax stamp.

I picked it up for $500.


The first trip to the range with it was a little underwhelming. Actually aiming the thing seems sketchy. I was worried I was going to get punched in the face by the recoil. That didn't happen but it was hard to manage the recoil holding it like that. I found it easier to shoot from the hip but with that, accuracy is iffy as I am just pointing and shooting.


Anyway, here's a pic as these threads are useless without them




So what do you think, did I waste my money? Is there any practical use for one of these?

[Recycled bullet]

I would be afraid my hand might pass in front of the muzzle during rapid firing if the strap on the pump were to break...

[Doc Intrepid]

Truck gun, perhaps?


At bad-breath distance nothing else says "Go Away" as persuasively....

[Sharkbite]

Ive had one since they first came out. I use it an under the counter back up to my EDC at the Pawn shop. Distance is not going to be very long. About 8-9 yards from the counter to the front door.

It is loaded with one of the 8 pellet low recoil OO buckshot loads. With this ammo the recoil is not bad at all. Very controllable. Patterns well. Just what the Doctor ordered for a short range fight stopper.

I took the cheesy strap off by replacing the fore-end with a Magpul one and installed a hand-stop on the bottom. I actually put the hand-stop on backwards, so the large protrusion is in the front. This keeps you from running your support hand in front of the muzzle. That strap is total crap. Nylon webbing attached with screws into a plastic fore-end. It will come off and fail. Dont trust it.

[Lurch37]

Crimson Trace sells what they call the Lasersaddle that gives a person some idea of where your aiming. That way those hip shots are more precise.

[bamaranger]

Not totally useless, but I would think a very narrow scope of application. Truck gun....yeah, like from inside the truck to the passenger door. Over the counter, as noted by another poster, would seem about right too.

Noted firearms trainer Clint Smith has a segment on these stubby guns and the technique used at his facility to milk the most from them. What little I've seen involves thrusting the gun forward and at arms length and sighting over the top as if with a giant handgun.

Forget about "hip shooting". Back in the day, my agency had a 4 rd segment of its shotgun qualification, shot at 7 yds (I think) with buckshot, from the "assault position". This was interpreted by many as from the hip, and some folks had trouble with the drill. The tendency was to anchor the shotgun just above the gun belt, near the duty holster if not adjacent . and blaze away. It was not unusual for the entire target to be missed, or merely fringed with a round or two till shooters got on target. The trick was to anchor the gun under the upper arm in the arm pit. That put the barrel close enough to the shooters line of sight and centerline centerline that participants had a better feel for where the basically unaimed shot was headed. Thankfully, when the firearms program finally got overhauled, the 4 round assault stage was deleted.

I'm inclined to say that I could do about anything with a conventional stock better than what I could do with the Shockwave. The Shockwave and its ilk certainly stores well, one could likely even carry the things, but that is about the only advantage I see. Best of both worlds may be/was the old Remington top folding pistol grip stock. It stored well enough, could be instinctively shot folded at VERY close range and the stock could be deployed and shot conventionally in an instant.

[BarryLee]

Totally useless? Probably not, but do owners train with it like they should?

[L-2]

FYI, if short-barreled-shotguns (SBS) are legal in a person's locale, it should only take less-than-$350 to get the Shockwave approved and made into an SBS.

$200 fee to ATF, made online;
Photo is basically free as one's own cell phone picture electronically attached to the online form suffices.
~$100 for a Magpul SGA stock, or less for another brand, or a used stock from somewhere.
Fees for fingerprinting.
Postage to send fingerprints to ATF.
Postage to send notification/form to local chief LE officer.

For anyone wondering or who has bought a Shockwave or similar and just doesn't like it. Some folks will just put it in the back of a safe. Others will sell it off and no longer deal with it.

[amd6547]

I read a book by a well known vietnam era SEAL who preferred his Model 37 Ithaca loaded with 12ga #4 Buck to any other weapon when he went on ambushes and snatch and grabs. His shotgun had the buttstock sawn off, giving a grip similar to the Shockwave.
My own 18” Mossberg 500 wore a Speedfeed grip like the Shockwave’s for several years before the Shockwave came out. I found it easy to hit with at ranges out to 25yds with full power Buck and slugs. I imagine mini shells or low recoil Buck would make it even better.

[darkgael]

I did something similar to an old Mossberg pump. I had an 18” barrel. I bought a raptor grip and a matching forend. So…it is four inches longer than a Shockwave and way less expensive.

[BourbonCowboy]

I keep mine beside the bed at night - loaded with #4Buck minishells and tricked it out with a TacStar slimline sidesaddle, a Crimson Trace Laser Saddle, Streamlight TL-Racker, and a multi-shell adapter from Defender Tactical. I don't consider it useless...I trust it with my life.

I've been making my own minishells and have probably shot a few hundred with surprising accuracy and little recoil. By doing this, I've learned the best way to handle it with safety and accuracy.

I think you'll really like it after you learn how to use it comfortably.

[BKS1]

I have one, shot it for a while. Then decided to Form 1 it and turn it into a SBS. The problem I had was with a buttstock attached the gun shot a foot high at 7 yards for me. Several other people who did the same report the same problem. I finally solved mine just recently with a ghost ring sight barrel and a ghost ring rear.

There is a guy on YouTube that has used his to kill deer.

[stuckinthe60s]

I like multiple applications on my shotguns. the way that stock is designed, I cant use a normal stock as a baseball bat on a perp, or knock a window out, when empty.

my opinion?
worthless.

[Willie Lowman]

Then decided to Form 1 it and turn it into a SBS

I already have a factory 590A1 SBS. It has a ghost ring sight. It's very nice.

The shockwave, I bought because it has that "sawed off" look to it. The cool factor overruled the practicality factor when I saw it. Now that I have the thing, I need to figure out if it is going to be of any use or will it sit and eventually be sold off.

[stinkeypete]

These Shockwave type things are not shotguns, they are classified as "firearms"

If you bought a long Mossberg barrel for it and a shotgun stock for it, you'd have a basic shotgun you could shoot birds with... so it's not utterly useless.

But technically, you might have a very hard time shipping the thing because it's not a long gun and it's not a pistol.

If I was thinking about selling one off, I would sell it off soon.
Who knows what regulations may be in the future and it sure does have that "Sawed off" look to it... since functionally that's exactly what it is. I expect that someday it could get regulated in such a way that it might be cheaper to just dispose of the thing and buy a nicer shotgun.