What's the overall impression of these shotguns as far as reliability and user friendliness? Do any police or military use them? I owned one for a time back inthe 1980's but sold it because I needed the money for other things. As I recall, recoil was amazingly light (due to the heavy weight) but ergonomics weren't all that great. Don't recall having any reliability issues, but some have said that the SPAS 12 isn't all that reliable.
Franchi SPAS 12 and SPAS 15
- Thread starter Slater
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I owned one for 3 years. It was stolen in 1989.
I bought it because it looked neat...esp with the stock folded and the handle up! The pump or semi-auto at the push of a button option was neat.
I don't recall ever failing to cycle a round in semiauto but I know you couldn't use light loads unless pumping. It was fairly easy to strip and clean too.
Not very practical tho..They are very heavy and bulky.
Still, it's SCARY looking....and emptying the magazine in semiauto is pretty impressive.
I would own one again for the "Cool" factor but I know I can't buy one in CA anymore, they are "evil".
I bought it because it looked neat...esp with the stock folded and the handle up! The pump or semi-auto at the push of a button option was neat.
I don't recall ever failing to cycle a round in semiauto but I know you couldn't use light loads unless pumping. It was fairly easy to strip and clean too.
Not very practical tho..They are very heavy and bulky.
Still, it's SCARY looking....and emptying the magazine in semiauto is pretty impressive.
I would own one again for the "Cool" factor but I know I can't buy one in CA anymore, they are "evil".
The SPAS 12 was the first shotgun purpose built for combat, supposedly. It's heavy, bulky and has been known to be a bit funky on reliability according to people I know who've owned them.
The SPAS 15 is lighter, handier, and more reliable.
Personally, I'd take a Benelli or a Saiga AK shotgun, or a Remington 1100/1187 first.
The SPAS 15 is lighter, handier, and more reliable.
Personally, I'd take a Benelli or a Saiga AK shotgun, or a Remington 1100/1187 first.
spas 12 & 15 are great guns.
I'm partial of course because I actually own two spas 12s that work all the time.
The reliability complaint that people talk of is nonsense. The people who actually accuse this gun of not being reliable, I doubt they have much time with them. Show me one that doesn't work, and I'm certain you can find what is wrong with it very quickly. You put the mag follower in backwards, it wont feed.
You lose the O ring, it won't work in semi auto.
You use real light loads, it's not going to work in semi auto either.
Gun still won't feed? Maybe it's your reloads and they're all bulged up crummy old shells that arent even close to being circular at the front. So they'll have feeding problems.
They can get very dirty firing them in pump mode and not cleaning around the gas ports after about 500 rounds if you're using a dirty powder such as PROMO or Green Dot. That will lead to problems being able to move the selector from pump to auto. Get a tooth brush and some wd40, spend 5 minutes, and you're good as new.
Breakage? Well considering the one I shoot all the time was my very first gun 13 years ago, and still my favorite to shoot, parts replacement has been minimal, far less than i've seen replaced on remington 1100s which were heavily used alongside my spas 12 in skeet competition with much lighter loads than I liked shooting.
A shock buff, a firing pin, a rear sight screw and one other minor part that surrounds the pump/auto selection button is the only thing I've had to replace after well over 100,000 rounds.
Heavy and bulky? It's only 10 pounds, which is basically the same weight as an over under skeet gun with a tube set or a barrel weight. Most of the weight is up front though, which leads some to think it's heavier than it is.
are the ergonomics difficult? Not at all, everything is close to where you place your hands and quickly and easily operable. But it is not a gun you pick up and know how to use in 5 minutes.
The metal folder- not fun to shoot as it's just painful to put your face against that metal stock and fire off some heavy 12ga.
Still if you're a fan, you need one of these too.
Spas 15- even better, but expensive, (3-5 thousand range) and mags are ridiculous in price.
Wish I had the money to buy my friends when he decided he wasn't going to shoot 3 gun anymore.
I'm partial of course because I actually own two spas 12s that work all the time.
The reliability complaint that people talk of is nonsense. The people who actually accuse this gun of not being reliable, I doubt they have much time with them. Show me one that doesn't work, and I'm certain you can find what is wrong with it very quickly. You put the mag follower in backwards, it wont feed.
You lose the O ring, it won't work in semi auto.
You use real light loads, it's not going to work in semi auto either.
Gun still won't feed? Maybe it's your reloads and they're all bulged up crummy old shells that arent even close to being circular at the front. So they'll have feeding problems.
They can get very dirty firing them in pump mode and not cleaning around the gas ports after about 500 rounds if you're using a dirty powder such as PROMO or Green Dot. That will lead to problems being able to move the selector from pump to auto. Get a tooth brush and some wd40, spend 5 minutes, and you're good as new.
Breakage? Well considering the one I shoot all the time was my very first gun 13 years ago, and still my favorite to shoot, parts replacement has been minimal, far less than i've seen replaced on remington 1100s which were heavily used alongside my spas 12 in skeet competition with much lighter loads than I liked shooting.
A shock buff, a firing pin, a rear sight screw and one other minor part that surrounds the pump/auto selection button is the only thing I've had to replace after well over 100,000 rounds.
Heavy and bulky? It's only 10 pounds, which is basically the same weight as an over under skeet gun with a tube set or a barrel weight. Most of the weight is up front though, which leads some to think it's heavier than it is.
are the ergonomics difficult? Not at all, everything is close to where you place your hands and quickly and easily operable. But it is not a gun you pick up and know how to use in 5 minutes.
The metal folder- not fun to shoot as it's just painful to put your face against that metal stock and fire off some heavy 12ga.
Still if you're a fan, you need one of these too.
Spas 15- even better, but expensive, (3-5 thousand range) and mags are ridiculous in price.
Wish I had the money to buy my friends when he decided he wasn't going to shoot 3 gun anymore.
Saw this private security guy in January outside a big jewelry mart in Thailand. He was happy to let me take his picture. Only later did I find out what he was carrying.
Thai mall ninjas get cool weapons.
Thai mall ninjas get cool weapons.
Notice he has single-shot reloads instead of another magazine? 
Kind of defeats the point of a magazine fed shotgun....
Kind of defeats the point of a magazine fed shotgun....I can pretty much say the same things at matt above. I have had MANY of the SPAS12 shotguns, as well as the LAW/SAS brothers to the SPAS, though never could justify $3K for the 15, give me 8 or 9 rounds mags and I will buy it. 6 just don't cut it.
For me the SPAS has been great. Very reliable and rugged. Parts are easy to find, despite what most would say. Very easy to shoot provided you use the full or detach stock, not the folder. I prefur the detach becasue you can go pistol grip only for that "crusier" look. I keep an 18" shorty SPAS next to my bed every night. Have had 870s, Benellis, Mossburgs, etc... Nothing can compare, espically when you factor in looks and collector value.
That is one sweet 15 that guy has. Never seen a stainless one. Even has the shot divertor attached. Those "single" reloads are probably tactical loads that can be manually fed without taking the mag of regular shot out if needed.
For me the SPAS has been great. Very reliable and rugged. Parts are easy to find, despite what most would say. Very easy to shoot provided you use the full or detach stock, not the folder. I prefur the detach becasue you can go pistol grip only for that "crusier" look. I keep an 18" shorty SPAS next to my bed every night. Have had 870s, Benellis, Mossburgs, etc... Nothing can compare, espically when you factor in looks and collector value.
That is one sweet 15 that guy has. Never seen a stainless one. Even has the shot divertor attached. Those "single" reloads are probably tactical loads that can be manually fed without taking the mag of regular shot out if needed.
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