Serbu Super Shorty Handgun

[BSA1]

I am not sure what Forum this fits in.

I was surfing youtube last night and came across Hickok45 video on the Serbu Super Shorty 12 ga. shotshell handgun.

Yep you read it right. It is manufactured as a handgun and only requires a $5.00 AOW Tax Stamp.

Briefly it is a short barrel pistol grip handgun built on either a Mossberg 500 or Remington 700 reciever.

Dude this is just way too cool for words. Maybe AWESOME! While it only holds 2 rounds in the magazine what two rounds they are!!!

Does anyone have information on this company? I would love to buy one of these but don’t want my money to go down the tubes like what happen with the Bren 10 and other small companies.

http://www.serbu.com/supershorty.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_pXTItRtkc

 

[FAS1]

They are pretty cool, but most people just think of them as a range toy. Serbu has a good reputation as far as I know, so I wouldn't be worried about that.

I have had several customers interested in having theirs as a t least a backup HD weapon so we made a holster that works well with our largest safe.

This one is mounted inside a bedroom closet to the side wall next to the clothes.

 

[Sam1911]

I'm actually surprised you haven't heard of Serbu and the super shorty shotguns before. They've been a pretty hot topic among the tactical crowd since back in the late '90s, making a bunch of too cool stuff like a .50 BMG rifle, .22 pen gun, silencers, and their real hot number, the "Super Shorty".




Just for laughs: a quick search shows they've been mentioned in 500 individual threads here since March of '07!

 

[sgt127]

I've had an Ithaca Stakeout for years. Shorty shotguns do have a certain appeal.

 

[BSA1]

I know about their 50BMG just didn't know about the S.S. Normally I don't read or pay much attention to topics about "tactical" guns and equipment. I guess I have better start doing so.

My impression is wondering where it fits in in the real world civilian market. I tend to view it as a very big bore derringer. With that said I will admit to making some not so practical gun purchases from time to time. It's use may be what Hickok45 was doing...shooting it on the range with a big grin on my face.

(It would really get the Cowboy Action Shooting attention shooting it at a match on the steel knock-down targets. I know not SASS legal but still would be a hoot).

Any ideas on the real world price?

 

[444]

I own a Serbu Super Shorty 870, WITH the holster


The quality is great. I mean, it's an 870. They put a different slide on it and a pistol grip. Serbu isn't really doing a whole lot of manufacturing here. The basis of it is just an 870 shotgun which has been around for 50 years or more and is a well proven design. You can, or could get one based on a Mossberg 500 also which would be lighter weight and more recoil.

Let me tell you one thing about this: the recoil is ferocious. I have shot a lot of big handguns. For years my main interest in shooting was shooting my Blackhawks and Super Blackhawks with max loads and heavy bullets. That is nothing compared to this thing. This is more like the .454 with heavy loads. The first time I shot mine, I fired a 3" 00 buckshot out of it and the gun literally flew out of my hands and landed behind me. This is not a tall tale to be dramatic. That is what happened. Just firing 6 shot, low brass birdshot is dramatic. I think after the first time I shot it, I only fired it with those little, mini shotshells.

It is cool. If I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't buy it. I personally don't find it fun to shoot at all. I have probably owned this thing for 10 to 15 years. I think I took it out to shoot it like three times and I haven't touched it (other than to move it in the safe to get something else) for 10 years. It does have a big WOW factor when you show it to someone, but two minutes later you stick it back in the safe.

I should point out that I put a sort of rounded pistol grip on mine and not the one that sits at a right angle to the receiver. This may be part of my problem. Maybe the gun flips more with the grip I have. But, I never cared enough to change it out or experiment around with it. It was one of those things I bought when I was working a bunch of overtime and had money burning a hole in my pocket. The novelty quickly wore off. You can see the more rounded pistol grips among these pics: https://www.google.com/search?q=ser...UKEwiTit7ZypPMAhWD4CYKHTTcAuUQsAQILg&dpr=0.75 Mine is shown there but I can't link to the specific picture. It has sort of a knob on the end of it. On my screen it is in row 8, last pic on the right.

I don't remember what I paid for mine but I bought it used from someone on an internet gun forum. This required a long transfer process. His dealer had to transfer it to my dealer then I had to get the stamp......................... I am going to say that back when I bought mine, used, I might have paid around $400-$500 for it.

This is an oldie, but goodie. The girl in this video is wearing the Super Shorty in the holster I have. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXfbnKWhz34

 

[Swing]

I have one of them (Mossberg type) in 12-gauge. They are pretty fun to shoot, though do so with leather gloves due to the recoil. Oh and the fireball and sound is ... unique.

As to a "real world price", I forget what I paid off the top of my head, but it was less than a grand. The tax stamp was only $5.

It is a fun gun, so if you are inclined to jump through the hoops, I think you'll like it. Cheers.

 

[Theohazard]

Serbu Super Shorty Handgun
[...]
Yep you read it right. It is manufactured as a handgun and only requires a $5.00 AOW Tax Stamp.

Just to clarify this for anyone who might be confused: Legally, the Serbu is not a handgun. Nor is it a shotgun. It's an NFA-classified Any Other Weapon (AOW) that is transferred just like a silencer, short barrel rifle, machine gun, etc. However, unlike those other firearms, the tax stamp to transfer an AOW is just $5.

I've shot the Mossberg 500 version of the Serbu. It's a lot of fun -- for a little while. But the recoil is a little tiring. My 14" Mossberg 590A1 AOW is a lot easier to shoot and almost as fun. Plus it holds a lot more rounds and was much cheaper since it's a factory Mossberg with no modifications required to the fore-end.

 

[FL-NC]

Why would someone want a Remington 700 with a short barrel converted to a pistol that holds 2 rounds? What caliber is it offered in?

 

[BSA1]

The question is not why but rather is it better to be young and foolish or a old fool.

 

[Quiet]

First time I ever saw one was on the "Miami Vice" tv series (season 2) in 1986.


Real world price for one in CA (yes these are CA legal) was $1200.04 ($1088 + tax + CA transfer fees) + $5 tax stamp.

 

[ugaarguy]

Since the Super Shorty IS an AOW, and IS NOT a handgun, I've moved this to our NFA section.

 

[Sam1911]

Technically, it is both an AOW, and a handgun. "Any Other Weapon" includes several sorts of firearms including, "A pistol or revolver having a barrel with a smooth bore designed or redesigned to fire a fixed shotgun shell." And that's what a Super Shorty is, by law: a concealable pistol designed to fire a fixed shotgun shell.

And it absolutely should be here in NFA.

 

[Capybara]

I've fired the Serbu SS. I own a Remington 870 based 12.1" barrel AOW. They are fun range toys but not very practical. If you are allowed to own a short barrel shotgun in your state (SBS), they are much more practical and I highly recommend one over an AOW.

 

[agtman]

Why would someone want a Remington 700 with a short barrel converted to a pistol that holds 2 rounds? What caliber is it offered in?

The gauge/caliber of a SBS, and how it is set up, will drive how pleasant or unpleasant it is to play with ...

I've shot a "Mad Max/Road Warrior"-style SXS SBS in 20ga. Owner dude had Form 1-ed it.

The barrels were professionally chopped to 8.5", with a large brass bead mounted for sighting. What had been the pistol grip was modified extensively into a rounded, "Bisley" shape, as on the old magnum SA wheelguns, along with a nice shiny grip cap attached.

I ran over a dozen loads thru it , mostly #4 or #6 birdshot, some buckshot - again, all 20ga. I gotta tell you, it wasn't that bad ...

Mad Max aside, I can understand how the old Auto-Burglar 20ga pistols of the 1920s held an attraction. Despite their two-shot "handicap", they carry a unique bad-ass intimidation factor that really can't be equalled.

 

[Ryanxia]

A couple other neat items they have (that actually aren't NFA but similar roles):

http://shockwavetechnologies.com/site/?page_id=88/

http://www.blackacestactical.com/