The Mossberg Shockwave is technically neither a shotgun, pistol, nor a rifle. It is simply considered a “firearm”. This is the reason that firearms such as the Shockwave can be purchased legally – in most areas.
What is it? It’s the answer to owning a short-barreled shotgun without a tax stamp.
- Bead sight
- Cylinder bore choke
- Pump action with a 6-round capacity
- 14.375-inch heavy-walled barrel with a matte-blued finish
- Handedness:Ambidextrous
- Type: Pump action
- Metal finish:Matte blued
- Action:Pump
- Gauge/bore:12
- Product weight:5.25 pounds
- Cylinder capacity:6
- Product length (in.):26.37
- Barrel length (in.):14.37
The Mossberg Shockwave is extremely compact, handy, and powerful. Although extremely short it holds 5 full-size 2 3/4″ 12 gauge shells.
Very shortly after I bought the Shockwave a couple years ago I installed the SB Tactical pistol brace on it. I shot it with the OEM pistol grip it comes with and was not impressed. Hey – it’s a super-short “scattergun” with little method for aiming other than using the Force. The addition of the brace makes a HUGE difference.
Shooting the Shockwave with the brace with birdshot is not bad. Full-sized 00-Buck 2 3/4″ shells do pack a wallop and deliberate effort to have a forward stance to control the recoil and muzzle rise is needed. I’ve not shot any slugs through it.
KEY MODIFICATION
I’ve already covered the major accessory added in the SB Tactical Brace. One drawback to the design is the limited capacity and no method for adding an extended tubular magazine.
The answer:
The OPSol® Mini-Clip 2.0 Flex mini-shell adapter. This simple, inexpensive, and rugged device allows the Shockwave to reliably feed 1.75″ 12-gauge mini-shells. The capacity increase is substantial at 9+1. At less than $20 I cannot say enough good things about this great little adapter.
I really like the mini-shell concept, especially in this platform. I see frequent comments that the mini-shells are “low recoil” and “underpowered”. Certainly the mini-shells – made famous by Aguila – do not contain the same payload as full-sized shells. They absolutely pack a wallop. Frequently when comparing different loads between the 1.75″ and 2 3/4″ shells the difference is simply the number of pellets or weight of slug. An example is the Federal 1.75″ No. 4 Buckshot. It sends 16 balls down range compared to the 24 to 27 in a 2 3/4″ shell. Not sure about you but I’ll pass on getting hit with even one.
When it comes to shotgun shells – size sorta matters….. 😉
SUMMARY
The Shockwave – as I have equipped – provides a compact and powerful defensive tool. Period. I am famous for saying “options are a wonderful thing” and it’s absolutely true. The Mossberg Shockwave is an option for home and personal defense that fills a niche where other firearms may not. Use the mini-shells or full-size loads. Regardless – have fun!!!!
Rourke