[nathan]

Never heard much after these years?

http://military.wikia.com/wiki/Franchi_SPAS-12

[Sam1911]

Heavy, bulky, and too complicated for how shotguns are used. Interesting thought experiment, though.

Makes a great movie gun.

[nathan]

Me growing up in the 80s the SPAS was something to behold. Schwarzenegger made it even more fearsome looking. I did handle one back in gunshows in the 90s and was surprised it s so heavy . Maybe overbuilt, huh

[Sam1911]

I think it tried to be so much that it missed the (or almost any) target market. Sort of like the concepts folks come up with for swap-caliber kits for rifles -- there's very little practical need for that that could possibly justify the complexity, weight, cost, bulk, and other draw-backs.

When 99% of "tactical" (er...this was the 70s-80s, right? So call it "PRE-tactical" :D) users got the job done JUST fine with a pump shotgun, a complicated, expensive and very large pump shotgun that could ALSO fire as an auto just was pointless.

If an auto was ever needed for police/military shotgun tasks (and that would be arguable) they could buy an autoloader AND a pump gun for less, and either would be easier to carry and use -- and would be more reliable.

[Odd Job]

What about the SPAS-15, is that in the same boat?

[armoredman]

Very few SPAS-15 imported, got to see one for sale at Jensen's in Tucson waaaaay back in the day. I think magazines go for more than the gun does now. It was the first detachable mag shotgun here, I think, not 100% sure. Political import restrictions killed it.

[Carl N. Brown]

An acquaintance had one several years ago; I got the impression from his comments about his "SPAStic" that it convinced him that, more often than not, simpler is simply better.

[Fred Fuller]

Just another one of those things that "seemed like a good idea at the time." The marketplace can be brutal towards better ideas that aren't.

[Zundfolge]

I still think if they put a 3" chamber in it, it would have done better.

[Bovice]

It made it on Miami Vice!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=137081406828493148

[tarosean]

If I recall correctly they were 1200 back when they came out... that was a good chunk of change back then

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

Still is now too

[rcmodel]

Was the SPAS 12 a flop Not so much a flop as it was the U.S. stopped the importing of them under the "no sporting purpose" deal.

Had it not been for that, I think there would have been a heck of a lot more of them here now.

rc

[Fred Fuller]

there would have been a heck of a lot more of them here now.

And a lot more of them for sale, lightly used... :D

Only one on GunBroker right now:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=279279978
"Buy Now" price is $1290 for a fixed stock, crossbolt safety version

[Kizmo]

The SPAS 12 was banned in 1989 as the first act of "conservative" William Bennett when he was appointed to the newly created post of "Drug Czar" by "conservative" President George H.W. Bush. The gun was actually made for 21 years, despite being locked out of the lucrative American gun market, so it's hard to call it a flop. The odds were just stacked against it by "conservatives". I bought one before the ban for around $800 and wouldn't part with it.

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

The Benelli M3 is a much better pump/auto shotgun and it's lighter, more reliable and I believe it's more reliable.

[Quiet]

During the 1980s, the Franchi SPAS-12 was adopted/in use with several European counter-terror units.
They were replaced during the 1990s by other types of shotguns.

Franchi discontinued the SPAS-12 in the early-1990s.
So, it was only in production for a couple of decades (late-1970s to early-1990s).



The Beretta Holding Group owns Franchi and Benelli.
So when Benelli released the M-3 Super 90, Franchi discontinued the SPAS-12.

[bergmen]

It made it on Miami Vice!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=137081406828493148

This is O.T. but...

That is one snappy quick draw at 1:21.

Dan

[dprice3844444]

manual
http://pdf.textfiles.com/manuals/FIREARMS/spas12.pdf

[huntsman]

I’ll bet if there were more velociraptors there’d be more SPAS

[Owen Sparks]

I don't know if it was a flop, but it made a great boat anchor.

[SimplyChad]

I honestly didnt think it was a real gun. I thought it was just for movies and games. But then agian I was born in 89 so

[arizona98tj]

My range buddy has one. In all the years we've shot together, he took it to the range one time and that was to show me and his son-in-law. It is complicated to operate, IMO. If folks can mis-operate a pump gun under stress, I would have to see what they would do with a SPAS 12. It is also fricken heavy. I put a couple of rounds through it and gave it back to my buddy. "Been there, done that, skipped the whole t-shirt thing!"

[Red Cent]

Jim Zubiena

Zubenia actually did a triple tap but the sound sounds like a controlled pair.
I guess you knew he used a Spas on the bad guys?

[Messenger Guard]

I bought one back in the day. Like most who bought one we saw Terminator and had squared off haircuts like Arnold. I have to say even to this day it is impressive to look at. The weight never really bothered me since I wasn't having to hump it in the field. I just broke it out to impress people when they came over to shoot. Comments like, "those aren't legal are they?" were priceless. Trying to figure out how to operate it was also priceless. The manual of arms for this thing was crazy but the application for a grenade launcher and various shot diverters kind of made up for that. Seems like it cost me somewhere between 450-650 back in the day but it's been half my life ago. From a tactical standpoint the LAW 12 or SAS 12 were more sound.

[Stevie-Ray]

Seems like it cost me somewhere between 450-650 back in the day but it's been half my life ago.That's about right. I was buying one of my handguns when the counter guy said, "Here's the guy to pick up that SPAS." I asked him about it and what a SPAS was, and he and the buyer that had just walked in showed it to me. It was 600 bucks, which I thought staggering at the time, of course not so much now.

I paid a little less for my shotgun, a Mossberg 930SPX, a little over a year ago and thought I got a decent deal.

[RCArms.com]

The SPAS-12 is the only firearm that I've had sellers regret over.

Wish I still had it. HEVAY, but very unique.

Don

[Centurion75]

A buddy of mine owns one and I think it may be the worse deisgned shotgun I have ever fired. The controls are not user friendly at all. If you are into 80's action movies it's cool but thats about it IMO

[taozen79]

[/B]
The Spas 12 is one of the most visual but most misunderstood shotguns of all times.[/B]..

I have owned one since the early 80s... It is very misunderstood... but if you study it, each part is designed for the military world not Civilian use. It is a tank... I have shot hundreds of rounds through this...low power, high power, whatever...It eats them all. 4+ rounds per second...fast...as one owner puts it...'hang it on a sling and walk through walls. " I must say, after all these years, I drag the thing out...run a box of buck through it...and still say..."Awesome!!"

Most of the negativity you hear about the Franchi Spas if from those who only causally picked one up and found out they could not figure out how to jack the slide back or those who have never shot one at all.

The complex parts of the weapon have special purposes...(see note from Chris's site)


This was taken from Chris's Site Spas12.com.. a world of knowledge about the shotgun.

"""Military shotguns are designed or adapted for use in the battlefield. They have the same basic needs as the Police, plus they are carried for miles, dragged around everywhere, hid with their user in ditches. If a battle takes place they may fire several dozen rounds, may be shot till their barrels start to glow. A good functional barrel heatshield is needed, not some simple after-thought clamped on deal that gets hot after 16 rounds. Military finishes like Parkerizing or phosphating are used vs. the high-tech black finishes on Police guns, bluing on Hunting guns.

The SPAS12 is an example of a Military shotgun. It has a heavy heat guard over areas of the gun likely to get hot during prolonged operation. It has a latch on the magazine loading door that keeps out rocks and such when crawling along in a trench with it. It has a "hook" on the end of the folding-stock that acts as a carry handle and a shooting support. It has a number of other special features that adapt it specifically for police and military use, such as a magazine cut-off button that stops feeding of shells from the magazine so that the slide may be opened without a new round coming out of the magazine. This could allow a special round to be manually inserted. """


Chris supplies the replacement buffers, gas rings, etc that will be needed if you own one...

[Sam1911]

It is very misunderstood... but if you study it, each part is designed for the military world not Civilian use. ...
Which I think is the long way to say what I said in post 4! :)

Tried to be so much, and in the end wasn't what the folks who were expected to want such a thing wanted after all.

When you've discovered that the needs of a solider on a battlefield are better served by carrying 8+ 30-rd mags of 5.56mm rifle ammo (with which he can effectively engage targets from 3-600 meters) instead of 4-5 20 rd mags of 7.62mm rifle ammo (which might stretch his range a bit further)...handing a soldier a >50 yd. weapon that only holds 8 rounds, is slow to reload and for which the ammo is very bulky and heavy is really a non-starter.

There are uses for a military shotgun, but they're few, and are MORE THAN handled by the simpler, lighter 590s and 870s.

[sidibear]

I own one and love it despite its drawbacks. Yes it can be complicated, but only if you don't know how to use it. Its like all guns, use it, practise with it and get familiar with it.
Apparently only 130 imported into the USA so if you get a chance to own one buy it as it may be your last opportunity.
I read somewhere, may have been on Chris's site, that it was designed for the Italian police riot squad and they wanted something that looked intimidating and so hired a psycologist to assist in the design.

Like it or loathe it, buy one and you will keep it, sell it and you will regret it.
Buy one for your kid, and when his mates come over you will be the coolest dad ever.

And I guarentee you that anyone over the age of 15 will recognise it and know what it is. How many guns can you say that about?

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

And I guarentee you that anyone over the age of 15 will recognise it and know what it is. How many guns can you say that about?

AK 47, M16, MP5, Desert Eagle, etc, etc :)

[Sam1911]

I read somewhere ... that it was designed for the Italian police riot squad and they wanted something that looked intimidating and so hired a psycologist to assist in the design.


That's awesome! That's one of those phrases that, even if it isn't true at all, it SHOULD BE! :)

[taozen79]

Apparently only 130 imported into the USA so if you get a chance to own one buy it as it may be your last opportunity.


WOW ...only 130 or so in the USA??? havent be able to come up with a number but that would explain why you dont see one often..

It is a keeper....and hey still fun to run a box of mags through it..

[50 Shooter]

I wouldn't say it was a flop, more like ahead of it's time. Benelli copied it (Super 90 M3) but made it better and lighter. The folding stock was also a carrying handle, when straight you could turn the handle part and it would wrap around your forearm. This allowed for one handed shooting, yeah yeah more Hollywood but it was cool to do. As was already stated it was built like a tank, controls weren't that hard to learn (I owned mine before I was 18!). As long as you remembered that it took heavy loads to operate it in semi you were fine. It was that or switch over to pump and shoot whatever you wanted to.

My only regret was selling it but I did get a better shotgun, the Benelli Super 90 M3. I would buy another one on just the fact that they're a piece of pop culture. When I saw it in the first Terminator I told my dad about it and we went to the gun store to check it out. I had to work my A** off all summer long to pay my dad back for buying it, I think it was right around $600 bucks. Friends of mine couldn't believe it when they saw it and the fact that I was under 18 and owned one.