SCHWEEEETTTTTT :D :D :D

Yeah, they're some pretty well made shotguns. Thanks!

I'll take the middle one, please.

I'll let you borrow the one on the right, howabout?

Fair enough! When can I pick 'er up?

Whenever you're ready to drive me out to the range.

-I- have to drive?! Touche, salesman...

LET'S BLOW UP SOME ZOMBIES HEADS!!! LOL
It's incredible how your replics are so realistic

What replicas?

This would certainly do a number to a number of zombie heads, that's for sure!

Wow... hoe did you get all of those real weapons? The police is not with the eye on you?

All of these were obtained absolutely legally, in full compliance with a whole bunch of laws regulating firearm sales. Or at least really, really close. The police don't seem to care much, since I'm not doing anything illegal or stupid, don't make too much noise, and follow as many laws as I can.

Ok then, thanks for explaining

Police don't generally care provided you're being good. The only real exceptions are places like large metropolitan areas where hoplophobia runs wild, and politicians' minds. Or countries besides the U.S. for the most part.

dame i whants the one to the left!

Smart move. The fixed stock handles recoil a little better, and I think it's a little easier to aim and shoot quickly.

i agree but it locks better with the folding stock

Yeah, it does make it a tough choice.

Got enough shot guns? :P

I'll take the one on the right, with the butt stock from the one on the left.

Actually, there was a fourth one for sale up here that I missed, and another SPAS-12 Mariner someone was selling online, though I can't get a hold of him.

I have quite a few other shotguns that aren't SPAS-12s, too, as well as quite a few rifles.

I'd like to have one of the Saiga 12's the Russian Spetsnaz's use. Those things are cool. A buddy has a 410 version.

I have a 12 I'm in the finishing processes of converting. I had what I think was a Romanian thumbhole stock on it, but switched it out for a far better Choate thumbhole stock. I just need to dig up the trigger guard and safety stop and finish those, and then it'll be done. I do have a picture of it with the wood stock, though I do like the new Choate better. With the 10 round AGP magazines and Krebs ghost ring sights, it's really a pretty good shooter.

That's pretty cool. Though I do see you have quite the collection of guns behind it. The buddy who has the 410 version of the Saiga also has a Romanian built AK-47 dated for 69. He was lucky to get his a while ago before Bush banned them and doubled the price. So he got his for $450 and they now go for $900 from what I'm told.

I've got one too, but I just put a regular AK stock on mine. It's fun as hell.

His has the usual wooden stock on it.

The first time I've seen that middle one was in Left 4 Dead 2's gameplay videos. What IS that? Now that I know it has a real-life counterpart, I'm interested.

All three of them are Franchi SPAS-12s. The middle one just has the stock folded, it's the same as the one on the right, and the one on the left has the less popular fixed stock. They can operate as both a pump and a semi-auto, and their distinctive forends have lent to them being featured in a number of games and movies.

Ohh, I see. I should have recognized they were all similar or the same. I'm silly. :P

That is pretty cool, though. I like the stock on the middle and right ones a lot better than the AR-15 looking stock. (If there's a proper name for that I'm not aware of it)

It's just their fixed pistol grip stock, no specific name for it. While the folding stocks do look pretty awesome, I do kinda prefer shooting the fixed stock better, it's a bit more controllable, and faster to get on target. Bit lighter, too. But with the heavy steel barrel shrouds and the pump/auto mechanism in the forend, it makes them feel a bit front heavy.

When I visit, we need to go shooting again. I wanna shoot 'em! =3

We'd better. They seemed to love the last batch of ball rounds I cast, so I'll load a couple dozen more of those, too.

If I can get some flechette shells, can we shoot those? =3

I can just load some so you don't have to worry about it. Still trying to get them to be effective, though. I'd rather do those out of the 835, though.

fap fap fap

That's the noise the safety lever makes.

I have only ever held a SPAS-12 at a convention. You have the most awesome collection

Thanks! If you ever want to shoot one, and you're in my part of the U.S., feel free to stop by. I try and keep plenty of ammo on hand. Unfortunately, I'm probably banned from Australia.

Well they're trying to kick me out anyway ^ ^ but next time i wonder the land of the U.S i will be very tempted to
check out you're gun collection

There was also a major recall of the SPAS-12. The US-importable version ( I had one, myself), had the annoying habit of firing as soon as you took the safety off, without the need of touching the trigger at all. I'll stick to my Remington 1100.

Yep, the lever style safety did have a habit of doing that in some instances, though two of these have been updated with the later push-button safety. As far as safety goes, I don't keep them loaded, they're pretty much range toys. Though now that you mention it, I do have an interesting 11-87 project in the works, and a nice little 11-48, from when Remington though they were Browning.

I can has SPAS12?

Maybe you can borrow sometime.

awwwwww yeah :3

Not as badass? THEY LOOK FUCKING KICKASS COMPARED TO THE UK RIFLES.
:3

Heh, that's true. I almost wonder how many laws they would violate over there? Yet it's ironic, they're really not any more powerful than any other shotgun, and since they have a 2.75"/70mm long chamber, they can't fire large shells. The switch to pump action is simply so they can cycle lower power shells easier.

lol government!

There's still some for sale, though they're a bit more than the original $800 price tag now. And it's somewhat unfortunate, after the U.S. banned them, they went out of production, some people probably lost their jobs. So gun bans will only make more people around the world lose their job, and depress the world economy even more than it already has been. Can't let that happen.

Oh man, i love this so much. If there was an 'super-fave' button, id smash the fuck out of it :D

How are they do shoot? alot of swing?

Haha, good to hear.

They shoot pretty well, and the extra weight in the front keeps recoil from pushing the muzzle around too much. Actually, I ran some Fiocchi low recoil nickel plated buckshot through one a few weeks ago, and on semi-auto there's hardly any recoil at all.

Thats brilliant man!
Those all yours then?

Of course. Everything here that I have pictures of is mine.

Thats epic man, why did you want three?
And theyre really expensive =0

Well, someone at the last gun show was selling one, so I figured I'd better grab it, figured I'd never have another chance at it. That's the one on the right. Then as I finished filling out the paperwork, Soron1911 and LupisLupine found another one at another table for a little more, though it was in really great shape. That's the one in the middle. Then, as I was carrying those two out, another guy stopped me and took me to his car, where he had the one on the left in his trunk, and at a bit less than the one on the right, it was hard to resist.

I went back the next day, as I heard someone was selling a fourth, but didn't find it. Instead I ended up buying a nice Remington 750 in .35 Whelen, which is sort of a favorite caliber of mine.

Awww thats mint man!
My all time favourite manual shotgun is the fraunchi spas12.
Thats why i drooled alover this.

Well, it does have a slide, and can be operated as a pump-action, but there's a little button on the bottom of the forend, press that, push the forend forwards until it clicks, and then it becomes a semi-auto. That's why it has an operating handle and bolt release button, too.

Oh i love that semi-auto option, i was wondering what you did to change it though :D

Well, it's just a little metal button, and pressing that will lift a pin up, and the pin can either latch into the gas piston, or it can latch onto the fixed gas block, the gas system only works when the slide is in the forward position. Pressing the button forward, and sliding it about an inch forward, the gas system is free to cycle on it's own.

If you'd like, I can take some more detailed pictures.

I think that would be brilliant man!
I can never find detailed images of the spas 12 anywhere in the internet.

Well here you go, then. Enjoy!

Lookin' good. I wouldn't mind owning any of them.

I'm liking them myself, though maybe if I'm ever in your neighborhood, or you come to mine for some ungodly reason, I'd give you plenty of trigger time on one.

i can has?

You can borrow, maybe.

yay SPAS! :D

SPAS-12 <3

Oh, and do you mind telling me how your hook-stock works?
Its for firing around corners, but how do you manipulate it on the said angle?

Well, there's a spring in the stock, and you press the hook into the stock, there's a detent on the part of the hook that goes into the stock facing towards the loop. That will let you lock in in the forward, left, or right position. It can be removed by rotating it to the rearward direction.

Right, so how does it help the user with corners?

Well, when it's to the side, it hooks under your arm so you can support it with one hand. Then you can hold it around a corner without having to lean. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any pictures of this on the internets.

Fack!

Well thanks for explaining, i understand now :D

I may use your spas 12 pics for something arty in the future!

Awesome. I'd like to see if you do. If you want me to take some pictures of other firearms for artistic works, or just for the hell of it, I'd be glad to help!

Thats perfect,
thanks for the help man!

The spas 12 is a sweet gun. I need to get a folding stock for my 870.

are you looking to sell one of those or trade

I'm not looking to, but if the right thing came up, I might consider it.

thank you for that

Interestingly, it was a little chewed up, but I bought it at a show in upstate New York. Coulda been yours, though.

for sale?

Probably not just yet, though I'm sure I'd sell anything for the right price.

well keep me posted..

Nice, and only one has the unsafe safety :)

*.* Do want!

Yeah SPAS-12s!!

how does the hook help you shoot around corners?

Well, when the stock is deployed, the hook can be rotated from the down position to either left or right (rotating it up will allow you to remove it from the stock). When it's left or right, it can be hooked around your elbow to help balance the shotgun, since they are pretty front-heavy.

I can't find a picture of this in action, so if you'd like one, I can see what I can put together when I'm a little less busy.

that would be really cool if you could do that, i am a little worried about what shotty i want

They look like plastic!

The forends, grips, and the fixed stock are plastic. Receivers are hard anodized aluminum. Heat shield on the front, and the folding stocks are both parkerized sheet metal. Though if they were plastic, they'd be quite a bit lighter!

*nods and nods some more*
Just looking at the pic again they just look like training guns x.x

Probably my cameras fault. It adds a blue tinge in some settings.

Could be but either way i wanna have a go at that Spas-12 :3

Hey, if you're in the neighborhood on a day off, I'm sure we could work something out. Maybe a few rounds from the .50, too.

I'd take you up on your offer..... But i don't live in America xD

Like I said, if you get a visitors pass and happen to be in the neighborhood.
Please keep your spiders, though.

Bugger..... I want to get rid of these bloody spiders x.x

Well if that's the case, bring some. I've got dozens of solutions for that.

Im betting along the lines of bird or buckshot?

I guess that'd do the trick for most of 'em. Maybe some explosions, too. At the very least, for dramatic effect.

x3

I know this has been up some time now, but I just pi○ked one of these bad boys up and I love it! Shoots great, and handles quite well despite all the complaints I have heard on them. I just wish parts were easier to get, and only thing I am missing is the damn hook, which I guess is pretty common.

Parts can be tricky, especially since they're out of production, but I think there's someone making replacement recoil buffers and hooks for these somewhere.

Chris's Franchi SPAS12 Shotgun Pages

There is that guy. But I ordered parts from him May 7th and never heard a word from him. Never got any order conformation or anything. His website has not been updated since July of 2011, and even Pay Pal is unable to get a hold of him. I will be getting a refund through pay pal, so it was not a total loss or anything.

I think I will just produce the replacement parts that I need myself. (Shock buffer, folding stock buffer, and If I can find out specs for the hook that as well) I have the knowledge, and the resources (internet) to do so. My shock buffer broke on my last range day, for a temporary fix I have a rubber bumper grommet in there that is actually just about the right fit. Don't know if I will shoot it with that in there, but at least I can use Chris's page as an excellent informational source.

I got two of these my self. Dont have any with the folding stock though. It looks cooler but the synthetic stock one feels better to shoot. I see you have the death Safety on one. Hope you dont use it.

Two of them, actually. And a LAW-12. But I don't really proactively use the safety on them, or much else, at the range, instead opting to keep actions open and magazines unloaded.

Yeah I have one lever safety and one push button. I only use the slide lock as a safety. But on one of them I had a piece of metal break off the tip of the slide lock. Now when you rack a round the bolt doesnt lock all the way forward, but can slide back roughly a 1/8 inch. Probably gonna have to have the part smithed cause I cant find any to replace it with