The AOW comes into play when your OAL is less than 26” and your bbl is less than 16” but you want to use a vertical fore grip in its truest sense (not an AFG). Then correct it would be classified as an AOW. Just because the bbl is less than 16” doesn’t necessarily marry it into the “pistol” category hence the “firearm” category.I thought it was a pistol even if the OAL exceeds 26" until a VFG is added. After further reading I believe the AOW firearm designation applies only IF I add a VFG. Is that not correct? In that configuration it would be a legally designated pistol with a 29" OAL.