I'm a little confused. It's illegal to possess a shotgun with a barrel(s) less than 18". It's apparently O.K. to possess a shotgun with barrels less than 18" if the barrels are welded shut, smashed or in some way made inoperable? What about just the barrel(s) WITHOUT THE RECEIVER? I ask because I own a nice high grade double that is complete except for barrels. It's an oddball make and the only set of barrels I have found for it were 15". I thought about buying them to have sleeved, but passed because of the length being illegal. Was the guy who owned the barrels without the rest of the gun a criminal? If not,would I have become a criminal when purchasing the barrels, since I owned a receiver that would have possibly fit the barrels? Just curious.
