DesertFox5768
New member
So how is this gun? I've been looking for a really cool looking shotgun that holds more than 5 shells and this seems to be it. I can't see the exact difference between a lot of shotguns. Opinions?
Spas 12
- Thread starter DesertFox5768
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Shotgun364
New member
It is a good looking shotgun. Mean looking I should say. I dont think it is available to the general public though because it is an automatic weapon( cant get it in NYC anyway). Im not exactly sure. Look into it further.
I would go for a pump. Remington 870. Reliable and steady.
I would go for a pump. Remington 870. Reliable and steady.
Heavy, complicated, expensive and heavy. Poorly thought out controls.
364 - banned from importation in '94, but many are still commercially available....but NY seems to have odd gun laws.
Desert Fox - yes, it looks cool. However, that's what it's best at - looking cool. It will take a great deal of time to become proficient with it, far more than a Remington, Winchester, Mossberg, Benelli or Beretta.
364 - banned from importation in '94, but many are still commercially available....but NY seems to have odd gun laws.
Desert Fox - yes, it looks cool. However, that's what it's best at - looking cool. It will take a great deal of time to become proficient with it, far more than a Remington, Winchester, Mossberg, Benelli or Beretta.
DesertFox5768
New member
Complicated? Thats a disappointment. So they're not just good guns to go out and shoot for fun? For the record, the reason I want a shotgun that looks cool is because I can't really tell the difference between most 12 gauges, otherwards.
I like the way Novas look but the pump is far too loose for my taste.
I like the way Novas look but the pump is far too loose for my taste.
hksigwalther
New member
Other than the button in the bottom of the forward handguard to switch from semi to pump and back, it really is not much more complicated than any other gas op shotgun. They are fun guns to shoot with, just not great to use for more serious work.
Heavy it is. For a comparable shotgun with the same or close to the same number of rounds loaded, it is ~2 pounds heavier. I still see some at the shows going in the $750-$1000 range. Almost always used, of course. It also takes up a lot more space (bigger, bulkier) than other guns made by others for the same pupose.
A much better alternative is the Benelli M3Super90 if you are looking for a pump/auto. Still pricey but much easier to handle.
Heavy it is. For a comparable shotgun with the same or close to the same number of rounds loaded, it is ~2 pounds heavier. I still see some at the shows going in the $750-$1000 range. Almost always used, of course. It also takes up a lot more space (bigger, bulkier) than other guns made by others for the same pupose.
A much better alternative is the Benelli M3Super90 if you are looking for a pump/auto. Still pricey but much easier to handle.
The SPAS is a massive, complicated, and expensive beast. If you get your hands on one, try to figure out the controls. It takes a few minutes. It can switch from pump to auto, which some folks like, but the Benelli M3 does that as well, and it doesn't suck. And the folding stock is uncomfortable as hell to shoot. I haven't shot one enough to comment on the reliability.
I want one, only because it looks so complex and evil. Plus the anti-gun politicians don't want you to have one, which is another point in its favor.. 
The folding stock is actually comfortable for me..then again, I didn't actually SHOOT the thing when I last tried it. The controls don't seem prohibitively complex.
DesertFox5768: if you want a really cool looking shotgun, get a Remington 870 or Mossberg 590, and many accessories. Folding stock, sidesaddle, black forend with knuckle guard. Barrel clamp that doubles as a mount for flashlight or laser. Perforated heat shield to go over the barrel. It'll look just as complex and evil as a SPAS-12, and cost much less.
The folding stock is actually comfortable for me..then again, I didn't actually SHOOT the thing when I last tried it. The controls don't seem prohibitively complex. DesertFox5768: if you want a really cool looking shotgun, get a Remington 870 or Mossberg 590, and many accessories. Folding stock, sidesaddle, black forend with knuckle guard. Barrel clamp that doubles as a mount for flashlight or laser. Perforated heat shield to go over the barrel. It'll look just as complex and evil as a SPAS-12, and cost much less.
They're decent, and work well with full power 2.75" ammo, but I don't know that you'll find it any more fun to plink with than a pimped out 1100 or Benelli. Besides which, it's a good deal of money to drop on something just because it looks cool. (For the sake of full disclosure, that's why my father got his. But that was way back when they were about $350-400. He used it for pin shoots for several years, to good effect.)
It is a cool-looking gun, which is why I bought one new for $450 many years back. But it's painful to shoot (also, the metal "buttstock" tends to tear shirts). With practice, the safeties weren't a problem, but it's hard to know under real-life conditions whether that practice would indeed be ingrained.
Still, if I had all the $$$ I needed, I'd still like to have it sitting in my safe. Next to my Benelli.
Still, if I had all the $$$ I needed, I'd still like to have it sitting in my safe. Next to my Benelli.
If you really want an auto-pump, put your money down on a Benelli M3 Super 90. Benelli did a better job than Franchi did, and given the SPAS-12's "inflation," you're gonna spend about the same.
The only possible driving factor for getting the SPAS-12 is to turn a profit on it later on.
The only possible driving factor for getting the SPAS-12 is to turn a profit on it later on.
hksigwalther
New member
Actually, I think the SPAS 12 was more famous in Terminator.
That was one of the coolest scenes in the movie:
Arnold: "Twelve gauge autoloader"
Arnold: "Uzi nine millimeter"
Arnold: "Forty-five longslide with laser sighting"
[etc]
Back to the topic at hand:
If you do get a SPAS 12, make sure it has the button safety and not the lever safety. The lever safety models were recalled by Franchi.
I've fired a buddy's SPAS 12 -- heavy gun, looks cool. Wouldn't use one for "social" purposes unless it was the only scattergun I had.
Justin
Arnold: "Twelve gauge autoloader"
Arnold: "Uzi nine millimeter"
Arnold: "Forty-five longslide with laser sighting"
[etc]
Back to the topic at hand:
If you do get a SPAS 12, make sure it has the button safety and not the lever safety. The lever safety models were recalled by Franchi.
I've fired a buddy's SPAS 12 -- heavy gun, looks cool. Wouldn't use one for "social" purposes unless it was the only scattergun I had.
Justin