{"id":73928,"date":"2017-05-18T13:15:25","date_gmt":"2017-05-18T17:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/?p=73928"},"modified":"2017-05-18T13:15:25","modified_gmt":"2023-08-20T23:26:48","slug":"ahead-of-its-time-the-retro-classic-franchi-law-12-scattergun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/ahead-of-its-time-the-retro-classic-franchi-law-12-scattergun\/","title":{"rendered":"Ahead Of Its Time: The Retro Classic Franchi LAW 12 Scattergun"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ahead<\/a>

The author recently picked up a classic Franchi LAW 12 shotgun and was extremely impressed by how far ahead of its time it was.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Terminator, a Cyberdyne Systems Model 101, hefted the Franchi SPAS 12 to his shoulder, mapping the details of the weapon\u2019s weight and balance within his neural net CPU for later use. Among the unnaturally broad selection available at the Southern California gun shop that day, the deadly machine had selected an Armalite AR-18, an Israeli Uzi, a stainless steel longslide 1911, and this Italian 12-gauge shotgun. The shopkeeper asked which of the weapons the cyborg might like and he flatly responded, \u201cAll.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thrilled at the breadth of the pending sale, the gun shop proprietor began his recitation concerning gun laws and waiting periods. Before the man could react, the Terminator slipped a 12-gauge round into the shotgun and blew him away. Walking out with all four weapons, the Terminator continued his mission to hunt down and kill Sarah Connor, the mother of the man who would someday save the world.<\/p>\n

If you have never seen the classic James Cameron epic The Terminator<\/em> then carefully step away\u00a0from your computer, make yourself some popcorn, and fire it up. You can likely stream the film on Amazon. I also wouldn\u2019t admit to your guy friends that you haven\u2019t seen it yet. Such an admission will cost you your Man Card in the sorts of places I frequent.<\/p>\n

\"Ahead<\/a>

The Franchi LAW 12 was an underappreciated gem of a shotgun back in the 1980s when it was originally imported. Regularly upstaged by its uglier cousin the SPAS 12, the LAW 12 was the markedly better weapon.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Ahead<\/a>

The SPAS 12 made famous in The Terminator could not hold a candle to its sibling the LAW 12, according to the author. Image courtesy of MGM.<\/p><\/div>\n

The guys behind The Terminator<\/em> chose the Franchi SPAS 12 for the same reasons dozens of other moviemakers have chosen the gun. SPAS is short for Special Purpose Automatic Shotgun, and this novel Italian scattergun was produced from 1979 until 2000. The SPAS 12 offered a user-selectable action between pump and semi-automatic and looked like, well, something the Terminator would carry.<\/p>\n

The lamentable reality, however, is that the SPAS 12 was heavy, bulky, and awkward. The folding stock looked cool, but its raw steel buttplate was pitiless with full power rounds. Additionally, the dual-mode action was a neat gimmick but really just offered extra weight and more stuff to break. While the cumbersome SPAS 12 died a natural death around the turn of the millennium, its cousin the LAW 12 was a prescient piece of iron indeed. I traded out of my old LAW 12 a couple decades ago but recently found another one and righted that past wrong.<\/p>\n

\"Ahead<\/a>

The Quick Employment Safety was located on the left front aspect of the trigger guard and consisted of a simple sheet metal tab. The trigger finger easily pressed this appendage clear when entering the trigger space.<\/p><\/div>\n

SPECS<\/strong><\/h2>\n