MY KIND OF GUNS: CHIAPPA TRIPLE THREAT AND WHAT IT COULD BE

What do you call an 18 1/2" barreled shotgun with the stock cut to pistol grip for an overall length of 28"?

I call it a gun I can legally own here in Texas, without any permits or licenses.

Our state law defines the limits for such a gun here:

(A)  "Short-barrel firearm" means a rifle with a barrel length of less than 16 inches or a shotgun with a barrel length of less than 18 inches, or any weapon made from a shotgun or rifle if, as altered, it has an overall length of less than 26 inches.

As far as I know, our state law mirrors Federal law on the topic.

As one forum writer notes, Oh, of course I want this.

Truer words have never been spoken.

Here's a short video of the Triple Threat.

Unfortunately, I'm hearing it's overpriced. Yeah, I know there's a ton of R & D and machining and tooling costs and such, but I was thinking initially before I actually knew the rumored MSRP of $1,500 that it might go for $799, with that being pricey for what it is.

I WOULD PAY $1,500 dollars for a drilling, and it would require very little effort on Chiappa's part to create a drilling out of this lineup. Throw two rifle barrels down under and add a second trigger for the top barrel and you got a great drilling. Now, I'd start looking for trading and ebay fodder today if Chiappa were announcing a drilling instead of a triple barrel.

One of the posters on the forum linked above notes, as the thread sort of evolves into a drilling posting, that with barrel sleeves or relining suggested to turn this gun into a drilling of sorts. I'm not sure how that would work with barrel sleeves or relining, as rifle pressures are so much more than those of a shotgun.

Still, I'd like to see some other combinations of calibers as well. I'd enjoy a 5.56 or 7.62 x 39mm with a .20 gauge. There's a ton of other worthy calibers as well for the rifle portion, but I've always thought that with the cheap ammo prices that the 7.62 x 54r would be a great and powerful caliber to have. And there would always be those who would choose a 12 instead of a 20 as I'd have as my preference nowadays.

I'll note that on one of the blogs I saw some kind of AK gun with a CAR telescoping stock that was chambered for 7.62 x 54r and being introduced by ATI. That would definitely be worth a look and I'm curious as to what that gun will be going for. The Mosin-Nagant is fun to shoot and all, but a modern rifle shooting that caliber that wasn't a surplus sniper rifle would be cool. Especially if it didn't cost a lot. Ammo prices for the non-corrosive variety is still screaming cheap for this great round, often called the "Russian 30.06".

So here's to Chiappa for making the Triple Threat. I'd like to have the full size and the cut down model. Of course, more suggestions from me would include fiber optic sights and making it in 20 gauge.

Beggars can be choosy, though...