USAS12 shotgun (USA / South Korea)
USAS12 with 20 rounds drum magazine
USAS12 with accessories and magazines
Type: gas operated semiauto or selective fired
Gauge: 12 (2 3/4 in shells 70 mm chamber )
Length: 960 mm
Barrel length: 460 mm
Weight 5.5 kg empty, 6.2kg loaded with 10 rounds
Capacity: 10 rounds box or 20 rounds drum detachable magazines
History of USAS12 shotgun is rather interesting. Its design grew up from 1980's vintage
designs of Maxwell Atchisson (see Atchisson assault shotgun). In about 1989, Gilbert
Equipment Co (USA) decided to bring up the selective fired weapon, broadly based on
principles, employed in Atchisson shotguns. The design of new weapon was produced
by someone John Trevor Jr. Since Gilbert Equipment Co had no manufacturing
capabilities, it started to look for possible manufacturers. It turned out that the only maker
that agreed to produce this weapon was South Korean company Daewoo Precision
Industries, a part of hightech DAEWOO conglomerate. Daewoo engineers adopted the
new weapon to their manufacturing techniques, and mass production commenced during
early 1990s. This gun sold well to military and security forces of several (unspecified)
countries in Asia, and more than 30 000 of USAS12 shotguns were made by mid1990s.
During the same timeframe Gilbert equipment Co tried to bring semiautomatic version
of USAS12 to US market, but BATF promptly classified this weapon as "having no
sporting purpose", so it became "Class III destructive device" under US 1934 Gun
Control Act. This greatly restricted its civilian use. During late 1990s, RAMO Defence Co
began to assemble USAS12 shotguns from Korean and USmade parts for sale on
domestic market, but then again, sales of this weapon were limited to government
agencies only. Today, this gun is generally not available in USA, but it is probably still is
being manufactured by Daewoo in Korea.
USAS12 is a gas operated, selective fire weapon. It uses a gas system located above
the barrel, with more or less conventional rotating bolt locking. The interesting feature,
borrowed from Atchisson designs, is the long bolt overtravel, which results in relatively
low peak recoil and low rate of fire, which is essential for weapon firing powerful 12
gauge shells. USAS12 is an ambidextrous weapon, having two ejection ports on each
side of the receiver, and two slots on the forearm for cocking handle. The ejector on the
bolt and the cocking handle could be easily set to operate either side of the gun,
depending on the present shooter needs and preferences. USAS12 is feed from large
capacity box or drum magazines, holding 10 and 20 rounds respectively (there are some
sources that indicate that earlier versions of the USAS12 were imported into USA with
12 and 28 rounds magazines). The polymer buttstock is hollow and is used as a space
for bolt group to recoil, so the folding butt version is unavailable for this design. USAS12
has a post type, hooded front sight at the top of the gas chamber and an adjustable rear
sight built into the carrying handle, similar to one found on M16 assault rifles.
USAS12 is very bulky and heavy, but the large mass greatly improves the recoil control,
especially in full automatic (bursts) mode.
Franchi SPAS15 (Italy)
SPAS 15
Type: Selective semiauto (Gas operated, rotating bolt) or manual pump action
Gauge: 12
Chamber: 70mm (2 1/2").
Barrel length: 450 mm
Overall length: 1000 mm (750mm with butt folded)
Weight: 3.9 kg empty
Magazine: 6 rounds detachable box
The Franchi SPAS 15 shotgun is a further development of the earlier SPAS12 shotgun.
SPAS15 is intended as a law enforcement or a military weapon, that require reliability,
versatility and firepower. The firepower is achieved by using detachable, single stack box
magazines along with the gasoperated semiautomatic action, so multiple shots could
be fired in quick succession and magazine could be changed much faster than reloading
a conventional tubular shotgun magazine. The versatility is achieved by complementing
the semiautomatic action with manually selectable pump action, which allows to fire low
pressure ammunition, such as less lethal tear gas or rubber slug projectiles.
SPAS 15 utilizes short piston stroke, rotating bolt gas operated action. The gas chamber
and cylinder are located above the barrel, the bolt group is mounted on the dual guide
rods along with the recoil springs and could be removed as a single unit for ease of
maintenance. The type of action (semiautomatic, or manual pump) is selected by the
position of the forearm. To put the gun into the AUTO mode, one must push and hold the
button, located at the top of the forearm, and then pull the forearm all the way forward
until the red marking "auto" will appear on the barrel shroud. To switch gun back to the
PUMP mode one must push and hold the same button and then pull the forearm a little
back until it will lock and the red marking "PUMP" will appear on the barrel shroud ahead
of forearm. The cocking handle is completely ambidextrous and located at the top of the
receiver, under the carrying handle. SPAS15 features a manual safety lever, located
inside the triggerguard, that locks the trigger when engaged, and an additional automatic
grip safety at the pistol handle, under the triggerguard.
SPAS15 feature a set of open, rifle type adjustable sights, and could be equipped with
various additional sighting devices, such as red dot sights or laser pointers. The receiver
of SPAS15 is made from aluminum alloy, the furniture is made from polymer plastics.
Earlier models were equipped with fixed plastic buttstock or with sidefolding skeleton
type metallic buttstocks. Recent production models are equipped with sidefolding, solid
plastic buttstocks. Magazines are made from plastic and can hold up to 6 rounds of 12
gauge shotgun ammunition. Barrels had a cylindrical bore and can be equipped with
Variochoke system.
The SPAS15 is a high quality, reliable and versatile arm, and it is being used by various
law enforcement and military agencies, including some units of Italian army.
