bullpup shotgun transfer loophole?

240 towles said:

I have a question, I'm thinking about buying a mossberg 500 bullpup from another member on the forum. According to MD law, a bullpup shotgun has a 7 day waiting period. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but i live on the eastern shore, and he lives on the western shore. I would prefer to not have to take two trips or stay in a hotel for seven days. I know quite a bit about the mossberg 500 bullpup series and I know that the shotgun inside the bullpup stock is a basic 500. would it be possible to take the stock off, buy it, and then transfer the shotgun itself as a standard 500 with no wait limit?
Is this legal to do in MD? Novus?

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novus collectus said:

Only the Mossberg 500 bullpup shotgun is on the list and is regulated. A Mossberg 500 with a regular stock is not regulated.
Some people here disagree with me that you cannot make a regulated firearm into an unregulated, but they have never shown me why and since I know that federally you can make a rifle out of a handgun and it becomes a rifle, I do not see why you cannot do the same in MD. There is even a clause in the law stating you can make a regulated firearm into a non-regulated by modifying it to be permanently inoperable, so it is possible IMO to make a regulated into a non-regulated.
Also, if the shotgun was never bought in MD as a regulated firearm, then how would the state ever know it was converted to a non-regulated configuration for transfer in the first place?

(I am not a lawyer)

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Numidian said:

**Glass is half empty approach**
If they give you one way to make a regulated firearm, non-regulated then if there was another way they'd have mentioned that at that time.

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In construing an ambiguous criminal statute, the court should resolve the ambiguity in favor of the defendant. See McNally v. United States, 483 U.S. 350 (1987);

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any ambiguity in the meaning of the criminal statute should be resolved in favor of lenity. The doctrine of lenity is, of course, sound, for the citizen is entitled to fair notice of what sort of conduct may give rise to punishment

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240 towles said:

essentially the mossberg 500 bullpup is exactly that, take away the bullpup stock, and you only have a standard 500, which is not a regulated firearm. An SBS isn't an SBS without the short barrel, A mossberg bullpup isn't a bullpup without the stock

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240 towles said:

now I just have to convince the seller that this is legal and not some kind of shady business, I dont have a spare "stock" but I do have a spare pistol grip, is it still a non-regulated shotgun with a PG?

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