The Ruthless SPAS 12 Special Purpose Automatic Shotgun

Cyborg Weapon and the Coolest Shotgun of the 1980s

February 07, 2025 By Will Dabbs, MD

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Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator wielded a SPAS-12 one-handed in his effort to kill Sarah Connor, the mother of the unborn military leader John Connor who saves the world from SkyNet and the sentient machines. It was the only shotgun on the market hard core enough to arm a 600-pound cyborg assassin powered by dual redundant nuclear reactors.

Left and right side view of SPAS-12 — The SPAS-12 had a 21-year production run wherein roughly 37,000 guns were produced. This sinister-looking combat scattergun fell prey to sundry gun bans but not before it landed starring roles in a variety of movies. (Photo Provided by Author)

The SPAS-12 made it into dozens of productions, and certain components of the gun made it yet farther afield. In the 1986 sci-fi epic Aliens, the U.S. Colonial Marines were armed with M41 Pulse Rifles. According to the backstory the M41 consisted of a 10mm caseless Infantry rifle coupled with a 30mm pump action grenade launcher. The rifle components were built from M1A1 Thompson submachine guns. The grenade launchers were severely pruned Remington 870 slide action shotguns. The heat shields and forearms were taken from the SPAS-12.

The SPAS-12 was widely deployed in the real world as well. The military and law enforcement agencies of twenty-two different nations adopted the SPAS-12 on scales both large and small. Military-grade construction, sinister lines, and combat efficiency made the gun a brisk seller during its heyday despite a hefty price tag.

Brochure of accessories for Spas-12 in 1989 — Franchi military-styled shotguns, offered in the late 1980s, are shown in this brochure obtained by Firearms News editor Vincent DeNiro at the 1989 SHOT Show. Note the amount of accessories for the SPAS-12. (Photo Provided by Vincent DeNiro)

Special Purpose Automatic Shotgun

Man in Leather Jacket pointing SPAS-12 shotgun — (Photo Provided by Author)

The winds of fate were ultimately cruel to the Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun. Introduced in the late seventies as the Special Purpose Automatic Shotgun, the SPAS surfed on its baleful lines and sexy chassis to land starring roles in dozens of movies and TV shows. However, when liberals took congress and scary black guns became targets the gun’s Italian custodians exchanged a fixed stock for the previous steel folder and changed the name to Sporting Purpose Automatic Shotgun. Alas, sporting purposes are in the eyes of the beholder, and the SPAS-12 eventually died on the vine.

Right side view of SPAS-12 with stock folded up — One of the most unusual features of the SPAS-12 shotgun was the large hook affixed to the buttstock. This appendage served as a carrying handle when the stock was stowed and then as a stabilizing brace when extended. (Photo Provided by Author)

The gun first drew breath in 1979, the same year the gun world met the Desert Eagle pistol. In early 1989, the SPAS-12 fell prey to the same executive order (EO) signed by Bush “The First” that nailed foreign-made Steyr AUGs, Israeli Galils, and HK 90-series guns, shortly thereafter this EO would later be made into law which still stands today.

Franchi produced about 37,000 of the guns between 1979 and 2000. The SPAS 12 fed 2.75-inch shells only and was unique in its ability to swap between pump and semiautomatic modes with the press of a button. The gun was designed to run full power loads, and this feature ensured that low-recoil crowd control rounds and gas shells would still cycle reliably.

Left side view of SPAS-12 with stock folded up — The SPAS-12 is a big complicated beast of a gun. When run properly it is reliable and mean. (Photo Provided by Author)

The front sight was a rugged blade, while the rear was a fixed peep. Various magazine tubes held 5, 6, 7, or 8 rounds. Barrels were available in 18, 197⁄8, 211⁄2, and 24-inch versions.

Morphology

The SPAS-12 weighs just short of nine pounds unloaded. The gun is bulky and cumbersome but has an undeniable visceral appeal. The receiver is veritably festooned with switches, and the fit and finish are superb.

SPAS-12 receiver and trigger guard — The receiver of the SPAS-12 sprouts switches everywhere. The pivoting lever was a travel safety later replaced with a simple pushbutton during a subsequent recall. (Photo Provided by Author)

Early safeties consisted of a pivoting lever located just ahead of the trigger guard. However, this component was found to be unreliable after some mileage, so it was replaced in a recall with a simple pushbutton. [EDITOR’S NOTE: The lever safety was recalled by the original importer, F.I.E., and Franchi as it proved to be unsafe. If the lever safety is engaged and the trigger is pulled, it can fire when the safety is rotated back into the “FIRE” position. At the time, F.I.E. replaced these lever safeties free of charge with a standard cross-bolt safety.] There is a magazine cutoff switch on the right forward aspect of the receiver. This feature allows the rounds in the magazine to be frozen so that special purpose loads might be manually fed into the chamber as the tactical situation dictates. A pushbutton on the left aspect of the receiver releases the loading gate for loading and drops the bolt when desired.

Stock folded up on Spas-12 with shotgun shells under the weapon — The unconventional lines of the Franchi SPAS-12 evidence the gun’s versatility. Able to run as both a pump and autoloader, the SPAS-12 tried to be everything for everybody and fell a bit short as a result. (Photo Provided by Author)

A large button underneath the forearm disables the gun’s gas system to switch it between pump and auto modes. In practice the pump action demands that the action be cycled against spring tension, so it is not the effortless chore that one might experience with a Mossberg 590 or Remington 870. The muzzle is threaded for interchangeable chokes, and early versions would mash the shot cloud and then orient it either vertically or horizontally.

There is a bizarre hook affixed to the folding buttplate. With the stock collapsed the hook is at the rough center of gravity of the gun and makes a convenient carrying handle. With the stock extended the hook can pivot around the operator’s upper arm to facilitate one-handed operation. In this application the appendage is neither comfortable nor particularly effective. Many original guns have had their hooks removed and subsequently lost. Original guns with an intact hook command a bit of a premium on the used gun market as a result.

Trigger Time on the Cyborg Shotgun

My SPAS-12 is not reliable with low-brass birdshot. However, the slide action operates just as advertised. Heavy loads like high-brass buckshot and slugs run just fine as fast as you can squeeze the trigger.

The folding stock should be brutally painful. There is no buttpad, and the shoulder interface is raw unadorned steel. However, the gun’s mass and gas-operated action serve to ameliorate recoil substantially. The sights are in no way adjustable, but the gun shot to approximate point of aim out to thirty meters.

Forend of SPAS-12 shotgun — The bulky forend of the SPAS-12 allowed the gun to be cycled between pump and autoloading modes via a large button underneath. (Photo Provided by Author)

The SPAS-12 is ludicrously complicated. Cycle the action with the travel safety in the wrong position and the gun locks up. The Quick Employment Safety, a simple steel tab easily accessed by the trigger finger, has to be in the right spot or you can’t load the gun. Disassemble the thing with the action in the wrong mode and it will take you a quarter hour of fiddling to get the gas sleeve out of the forearm (ask me how I know that). I wouldn’t want to try to keep all the switchology straight with people shooting at me.

Ruminations

While they have always been expensive. The latest versions retailed for around $1,500 back two decades ago. A semiauto Remington 1100 or Benelli is lighter, more efficient, simpler, and more maneuverable. Additionally, there is a rubber bumper in both the back of the receiver and the stock that will inevitable crumble over time. SPAS12.com offers new-made replacements.

Target with SPAS-12 and shotgun ammunition — (Photo Provided by Author)

The SPAS-12 seems like it was designed by artists rather than warriors. However, the gun exudes an undeniable manly vibe. Whether it was wielded one-handed by the Terminator, the Italian military, or the retro semi-auto military gun aficionado, the SPAS-12 was indeed a uniquely sinister scattergun.