Stamps are soon to be free. If you’re like me, you’re making a list and checking it twice. Seriously, my form 1s are about to explode. I’m doing a series in celebration of what I think will be great free tax stamps, and today’s is about AOWs. AOWs, or any other weapons, are a broad category of NFA items that exists as another category for firearms that don’t fall into the other base categories.
What’s an AOW?
An AOW, or Any Other Weapon, is a broad category of NFA items that exists for firearms that don’t fit into the other base categories. AOW transfer stamps cost a mere $5, but Form 1 AOW stamps still cost $200. Luckily, that cost will be eliminated on January 1, 2026. I think AOWs in particular will be an exciting genre in the home brewing landscape. With that in mind, we have categories more than specific NFA items.
A Super Short Shotgun
Technically, AOWs aren’t legally shotguns, but they are functionally shotguns. These are often guns that have smooth bores, fire shot, lack stocks, and are less than 26 inches long. The Serbu Super Shorty is one of the most famous of these guns. Additionally, Mossberg produced a short run they called Compact Cruisers. Currently, the only option I know that’s in production is PTR’s The Jack.
These ultra-short shotguns would be fairly cheap to make. You could make a Lupara-style AOW from a double or single-barreled shotgun. If you’re willing to spend a little money, you can have a gunsmith professionally cut the barrel and magazine tube of your favorite shotgun and turn it into an AOW.
These AOWs are a ton of fun. Imagine having a 12-gauge you can drop under a coat and carry it? I honestly want to take a Mossberg 500 HS model in .410 and make it into an uber-short AOW. As the owner of the Compact Cruiser, let me tell you these things are tons of fun.
A Pen Gun
Pen guns are AOWs because they don’t technically look like guns. Yep, that’s why. These silly things have been around forever. These days, they aren’t common but are still in production. The Aklys Defense Pugio Pen-15 is a factory option that comes in either .22LR or .32 ACP. As a .32 ACP fan, I approve.
Making pen guns isn’t as easy as sawing a barrel off, but without tax stamps and with fast NFA turnaround times, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more enter production. Who doesn’t want a James Bond-approved pen?
They say the pen is mightier than the sword, and in this case, that is indubitable. Add a suppressor and you get a long, quiet rod that is all kinds of cool.
A Knife Gun
Knife guns are one of the silliest genres of firearms. If you have a gun, why do you need a knife? Who am I to judge? China and Russia have both supposedly produced these guns for their military forces. Knife guns are AOWs because, like pen guns, they are disguised guns. The most common you’ll find in the United States is the Arsenal RS-1.
The Arsenal RS-1 is a six-shot .22 Short revolver that’s hidden in the grip of the knife. It’s an extremely expensive knife gun, but not the only one. The Powell Knife Pistol is another example, and these things chamber much larger cartridges.
A Cane Gun
Another AOW that is only an AOW because it’s a disguised gun. There was an era when cane guns were somewhat common. Remington famously produced a number of cane guns until 1910. Some of those antiques are available, but aren’t real shooters. In fact, the only one I’ve seen that’s even close to modern is the SWD Cane Gun.
SWD is part of that Cobray group that was producing all sorts of crazy guns. They made a handful of AOWs, including a .22LR cane gun. They pop up at auctions every now and then and aren’t fancy, but functional. Cane guns are another category of firearms that don’t seem tough to get into.
In my mind, I’d take an Altor single-shot pistol and produce either a barrel or barrel sleeve and easily turn it into a cane gun. It would require some custom machining, but it’s certainly possible, and the Altor is a bargain gun to be sure.
A Combination Gun
Did you know if you have a gun that has a shotgun and rifle barrel, and you trim those barrels, it’s an AOW and not an SBR or SBS? If you were to trim the barrels on a Savage Model 42, it would be an AOW. The same could be said for an M4-type rifle with a Masterkey-style shotgun attachment, a Marble Game Getter, or a clone-correct M6 Survival rifle.
A twin-barreled combination gun, or even a three-barreled, three-caliber shorty, would be a fun AOW. I’ve found custom shops willing to make clone-correct M6s, and I don’t have to sell anyone on a Master Key, do I? A combination gun would be a fairly effective brush gun for hunting, but I won’t sell these AOWs as anything other than fun, because that’s exactly what they are.
The AOWs: A Different Kind of Fun
My favorite non-machine gun NFA item is an AOW. I think they are uniquely weird and fun and different. I don’t care about a Mk 18 clone, give me a pen pistol in .32 ACP and I’d be much happier. I’m going to go a little AOW crazy in the coming years with Form 1s flying off the handle. Stay tuned, we are doing SBRs next.
