Franchi SPAS-12 at the Range

[@BunkerFox]

I hear it's great for home defence, along with the Uzi 9mm and the phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range

[@displacedyankee7819]

No .45 long slide with laser sight??

[@B3RyL]

For home defence shotgun I prefer the Parncor Jackhammer. SPAS-12 has the modifier of +9 to Cool, but Jackhammer has +10 to Cool and Legendary rarity.

[@ArnoSchmidt70]

...and the Desert Eagle.

[@Ren505nm]

"YOU CAN'T DO THAT" "WRONG" 💥

[@schiz0phren1c]

"Just what you see pal!"

[@kellanaldous7092]

Man the sound of the shells going into the magazine is so iconic.

[@just_zone]

The sound of the action is so iconic!

[@billy56081]

Tim Walz was trying to make that sound!

[@henrya3530]

Having owned a SPAS-12 I discovered that the *size* of the shot was immaterial; what mattered was the *weight* of the shot in a shell. 1 1/8oz loads and above would work reliably and consistently. 1oz loads worked some of the time but were unreliable. Less than 1oz loads would not cycle the action. It may be more accurate to describe the SPAS-12 in automatic mode as a "recoil assisted gas operated" OR "gas assisted recoil operated" weapon which I guess makes it even more unusual.

[@ayegame2424]

I second these findings as well

[@scherry9198]

Thirded.

[@benjaminstudlar1630]

From a serious introduction, ammunition testing to bad-ass-single-handed-blasting, that would make even the terminator proud! Ian McCollum is a very versatile specialist.

[@howiefuzz6894]

The "Clever Girl" intro made my day.

[@Tr4wnet]

I dont get it

[@martist911wasits-not-real4]

​@@Tr4wnetJurassic Park movie scene

[@chrismeandyou]

thought he we being quiet because hunting wabbits

[@Tr4wnet]

@@martist911wasits-not-real4 oh

[@Uncle_Roadkill]

Wrong hat

[@asdf456ghj]

This is why Gordon freeman use his pump all day. Actually today is 20th anniversary for half life 2, which also starring in 'gun expert react' by ian. How coincidence!

[@Menaceblue3]

I heard half life 3 is coming out soon

[@sntslilhlpr6601]

Great docu on HL2 on the Valve channel rn. Great bunch of guys, still dunno why they couldn't quite squeeze out a 3.

[@bobhill3941]

​@@Menaceblue3I think Arnold Schwarzenegger used one in Terminator to kill the gun store owner.

[@number23br]

Now you have to do The Terminator...SPAS in one hand and an Armalite AR-18 in the other!

[@natedetailscars]

I always loved how this gun sounded in video games, didn't realize that heavy action actually sounded that way irl.

[@JPR3D]

Yeah same, the sound of the action is really distinct

[@Zayphar]

This is right at the borderlne between cool and stupid.

[@snape1464]

I think there is actually some overlap :p

[@BlackCat-tc2tv]

Cupid? Stool?

[@GARDENER42]

On the cool side are cupid stunts, whereas on the other side... 😁

[@604116]

Any sufficiently advanced stupid is indistinguishable from cool.

[@PerfidiousAlbion1815]

You hit all the problems I had with Ammo when I owned one of these 35 years ago. High power hunting rounds worked fine in auto especially Winchester. Buckshot was limited in availability in the UK and we used Ely Alphamax, but the cases when fired were too long to eject when fired, and were designed for a hunting double or pump gun. Federal power shock and Ely short magnum BB worked like a dream…but expensive…

[@bibblebob]

There’s still a few 2+1 restricted guns that can be bought on SGC rather than FAC. I often wondered whether this could be used in semi with standard birdshot loads for clays (with the knowledge it’s only for the hilarity/handicap factor of using something totally impractical). This video answers that question!

[@Laundry_Hamper]

That sound is so incredibly good. Actually, both sounds are, automatic sounds badass, and manual mode sounds maybe even more badass.

[@WormsMaster100]

Rise and shine Mr. Ian, rise and...shine

[@classicbandgeek]

Wake up and.... smell the ashes

[@r3dmanMIC]

Today is the 20th anniversary of Half-Life 2. Good day to have this video.

[@rsmstudio4634]

I search this comment

[@rsmstudio4634]

​@@r3dmanMIC Ian knows how to post on time

[@MrCyphermonkey]

The hook may also be handy if you also have a ballistic shield on your other arm.

[@604116]

That was actually part of the sales pitch for the High Standard Model 10. It's shown in the brochure, along with a dozen other ways you use a free hand while holding your special one-handed shotgun. I wonder what was behind this being a trend in the '70s.

[@MythicMagus]

An "infestation of Velociraptors"? That sounds like a crisis of dinosaurs to me.

[@chemistryofquestionablequa6252]

You might even call it a Dino Crisis...

[@illegalclown]

I kinda regret not getting one of these when I would see these used in stores 15-20 years ago. They were cool and I loved them in movies and games, but everyone online was saying how terrible they were. I had the money, but at the time I felt I could get something better for the price. I was more into surplus, but I could get a better top of the line shotgun for less.

[@GunnyO326]

Everyone was having problems with them likely because everyone were likely trying to run the cheapest Wal-Mart bulk birdshot through it. I could never understand why anyone would pay a premium for a top tier gun and then try to run the cheapest ammo money can buy through it. This is what happened with the FN FNP-45. People paid 1200+ for the gun then tried to run the cheap WWB through it. WWB .45 is slightly out of NATO specs and won't properly fit in the FNP, which was designed around NATO spec ammo and is why we now have the FNX series.

[@tomwinterfishing9065]

Buying silly guns is a credible investment strategy 😂

[@illegalclown]

@@tomwinterfishing9065 Yeah, I have plenty of silly gimmicky guns that I bought for fun or because they were cool. They were cheap though, or at least of good quality if they were expensive. At the time the SPAS wasn't super collectable. I probably spent the money on an SVT or early SP1 AR.

[@DreadNought0255]

That last shot triggered a memory of a Jurassic Park game I played a decade ago called Trespasser. You played as a female journalist after a plane crash if I remember right and the game's gimmick was that you had full control over every part of your arm that you used to interract with the world. The other arm was broken so unusable. To aim any gun you picked up you had to manually bend your wrist and elbow to see down the sights.

[@Stealthgato]

Man, I instantly thought of that as well. How wobbly it looked when Ian one-handed it was just like I remember the game. Internet high-five!

[@eddavis1832]

My two most memorable days of owning a SPAS-12: 1) The day I bought it, 2) The day I sold it!

[@longshot7601]

When the choice was a SPAS-12 or a Benelli M1 Super 90 I made the wrong choice by going with the SPAS. After a year I realized my mistake and sold the SPAS and bought the Benelli which had gone up in price. Guns are like girlfriends, don't get them just on looks alone.

[@metalgeardull8279]

Here so early, the thumbnail is missing.

[@randroid1019]

same lol

[@DavidCowie2022]

I saw it in the first 15 minutes. No thumbnail, but I still had adverts. EDIT: "23 minutes ago" and now there's a thumbnail. Boring!

[@azrifmatsaman9845]

same here, thought the vid got 404' lol

[@TheRogueWolf]

The thumbnail is hiding in the tall grass.

[@tomwinterfishing9065]

It’s a new tax☹️

[@davidpyle7333]

7:30 ATF just reclassified the SPAS as a braced-pistol ...

[@ImBlackjackYo]

😂I was looking for this comment. Yeah they are working hard to straight up ban all hooks at this point.

[@martist911wasits-not-real4]

They'd ban booger hooks if they could ​@@ImBlackjackYo

[@Blackpapalink]

Hopefully we get Brandon Herrera as ATF director... It will be glorious if that came to pass.

[@philips.5563]

The only reason Ian has this on his channel is that there was a typo and he thought he was getting a Frenchi SPAS 12.

[@ash.7470]

the sound of the bolt cycling is so satisfying when it works

[@BuffaloDoctor]

Vinny: "This is a shotgun, Sol" Sol: "It's a fucking anti-aircraft gun, Vincent!" - Snatch, 2000

[@ToddHavel]

This is where a pump gun shines, no frills just reliable. A benelli sbe2 will work with anything, very reliable after broken in, even 7/8 ounce loads. Amazing, very expensive nowadays. Having both pump and auto together, complicates your manual of arms. Non-lethal loads belong in a dedicated pump perhaps painted in a very identifiable color.

[@ibannymous]

The hook also allowed a LEO to hang the shotgun from the cruiser's bench seatback and hang at the ready for instant use.

[@ackwedamm_5623]

The mechanical cycling of the semi automatic spas is probably on the top ten most satisfying sounds

[@paleoph6168]

3:17 To further build on that theory, despite stovepipes being usually easy to clear, Dr. Grant likely did not have the knowledge on such, so once the shotgun stopped working, it was no longer fight for him, but flight. Source: IMFDB (there is even a screenshot showing said stovepipe in the page) And to add my own explanation, there's the fact that the raptors were already breaking through the windows. He was better off escaping with the rest than attempting solve the issue.

[@AJadedLizard]

I just take issue with Muldoon stocking the Park with loads that wouldn't reliably cycle the shotguns, especially since in the novel he has them outfitted with what appear to be Carl Gustav Reccoilles Rifles instead.

[@CornishMoose]

That assumes the SPAS-12 was his choice, like in the book it could have been a case of Hammond forcing him to downgrade the arsenal. The other thing to consider is that Muldoon may not have worried about the rounds not cycling, as he could just use (and train others to use) the shotgun in pump mode.

[@AJadedLizard]

@@CornishMoose At that point you'd be better off with a pump action to begin with, though. What's really odd is that the Wranglers are also seen outfitted with M16A2s in the opening sequence. If it were me, I'd probably prefer that to _any_ shotgun, even one loaded with slugs, as the ones at Jurassic Park seem to have been (if you look at the bullet holes in the glass, it looks to me like single projectiles).

[@shawnc5188]

4:56 I read this box as “@uck and Peasant”.

[@PosranaRegistrace]

You are not the only one😁

[@bobhill3941]

The SPAS 12 was so cool in Jurassic Park, but even moreso, it's been a staple of videogame arsenals for over 25 years (mostly as a loadout) A friend of mine had a copy of Goldeneye with all the cheats and we were playing it summer of '97 and the SPAS was "the semiautomatic shotgun" I used it again in '99 in The world is not enough and GTA III in 2004. It was always configured in game with the stock folded over the top of the receiver with buckshot in manual mode. (Interestingly, the forearm was light green and perforated) As demonstrated by Ian, manual mode was used by police to cycle light "less lethal" loads. I saw one for real at a gun show in 2008.

[@DSS-jj2cw]

I never understood how the zookeeper in Jurassic Park thought a 12 gauge was enough stopping power to stop a Velociraptor. (Actually a Deinonychus)

[@davemcdaniel4856]

In the book it's because Hammond refused to allow Muldoon to have anything better. The thought was each dinosaur cost tens of millions and he didn't want them hurt. Most everyone got air powered tranq guns. Near the end they found Muldoon secret stash with high-powered auto rifles, grenades, and used then on the raptor nests. The movie tried to nod to the book as much as possible.

[@DSS-jj2cw]

@davemcdaniel4856 Thanks! Interesting.

[@thatfordguy2268]

I've also notice on the game "Dead Island" when you use any pump action shotgun, it mimics the sound of the SPAS. Right down to the cash register ching when charging rounds😎

[@chadmckinney8465]

I have a SPAS-12. Mine has the pistol grip stock. I learned very quickly it likes hot ammo.

[@ithinkihadeight]

I'm behind enemy lines in the Peoples Republik of Massachusetts where the SPAS 12 is specifically banned by name, so I won't be entering the drawing to win that one, but still a great video. I've heard about why these were designed with the manual mode but I've never seen any one actually shoot one light to heavy on film to actually see what it would run.

[@ElmoUnk1953]

1:23 Velociraptors, if I had a nickel for every velociraptor I engage daily… I wouldn’t have any nickels. 🤷🏻‍♂️😁

[@archpriest6]

It's called a Shepherd's crook, Ian. Shot a SPAS-12 with a group of USG reps when the gun was first imported back in the day.

[@Stealth86651]

I hope that Jurassic Park reference always stays with the SPAS 12

[@tychothefriendlymonolith]

Or the "its a f___ing anti aircraft gun Vincent" from Snatch.

[@Marcelis]

@@tychothefriendlymonolithgreat film.😊

[@Bartholomeow141]

I used to have one in the 1980's.. I regret selling it.. and now I remember that metal whacking the cheek after you mentioned the stock

[@paleoph6168]

Yep, Ian attests to that @5:23

[@coreymerrill3257]

if you simply want a top folding stock for your 870 or Mossberg , Choate machine and tool makes them and a variety of other stocks for a variety of firearms that are surprisingly high quality.

[@grandadmiralzaarin4962]

Love the Robert Muldoon reference at the beginning

[@TW-SB]

This, hands-down, is one of the best channels ever. The quality and quantity of your content is amazing.

[@YouTube.Is.Run.By.Terrorists]

Ian is out here doing *all* the gun side-quests.

[@ImBlackjackYo]

I heard it's The number one show in all of Elbonia.

[@Oddball_E8]

It's too bad KZbin is doing everything they can to kill off channels like this. (And that's coming from a leftist pro gun-control guy)

[@Goc4ever]

The SPAS-12 is such an iconic gun it makes me really happy, thanks to so many badass characters it has become a staple on the internet😎.

[@randomfaca]

so thats how Gordon Freeman could shoot a spas12 while climbing up stairs

[@5metalacid1]

-Special- …….ah *_Sporting_* Purpose Automatic Shotgun 😉🇮🇹

[@danhill6333]

Not exactly straight forward but dram equivalent is a reasonably good way to move up the recoil scale. Neat conversation piece.

[@TheBaldParakeet]

(3 hours after release) YT has the video as a "No Thumbnail", the normal grey and 3 dots background. Good shooting vid tho

[@Se7enBeatleofDoom]

Officer Tenpenny's last stand against CJ and Grove Street families.

[@billhacks]

I always assumed that the hook was to allow a free hand for a shield if needed

[@oldesertguy9616]

One of the guns I never really wanted. I remember when I got to shoot a Benelli and I fell in love with it. The SPAS-12 just seemed clunky to me.

[@NxtReaper]

I think it would have been interesting loading a tube starting with the "heaviest to lightest" 1 shell of each and see where it stops.

[@jeffreyoldham55]

I never experienced any issues with the SPAS-12 cycling, but I do recall how uncomfortable that stock was. Best use for the hook is as a carry handle, as Ian demonstrated.

[@timroberts2919]

We're actually allowed these in the Uk as long as it is "fixed" stock not folding . Theyre approx £2000 on the used market

[@dunkelgelb7744]

8:55 - "Urraaaaagh. (*BLAM* *BLAM *BLAM*) Hooo." - Ian McCollum, 2024

[@briochepanda]

4:55 What Pheasant-?! Unfortunate finger placement there for a moment. 😅

[@ripvanwinkle2002]

had a LAW-12 that worked a treat but also didnt like cheap light ammo.. after watching this im glad i never went whole hog and got a SPAS this was just painful to watch.

[@GunnyO326]

The SPAS is actually quite reliable, if you're using the proper ammo for it. It was designed around combat loads, think high brass buckshot and slugs. Everything else is just hit or miss.

[@jasonz7788]

Thanks Ian

[@arjen7024]

I so dearly wanted to see how that hook was supposed to work and you delivered, thank you! Now that I know I'm confused as to why we didn't see Arnold or someone similarly beefy doing some totally badass hollywood akimbo thing with two of these

[@Kr0nicDragon]

Aahh good ole “recreational” ammunition, I keep it right next to my recreational sword and recreational flame thrower.

[@mpetersen6]

Along with the recreational mortar.

[@lardomcfarty9866]

Are you saying people can't shoot recreationally? Or what's your point?

[@JohnBeck-pb9xl]

The fact that it was originally intended to be a military shotgun doesn't surprise me that it only runs reliably on heavy loads over commercial game and caly/skeet loads

[@prdubi]

Very strange coincidence that my Benelli M1S90 just conveniently moved a tiny bit next to the door. It's loaded with heavy buck shot that does cycle fine. She's telling me and gently reminding me that going to the pawn shop to buy that awesome SPAS-12 and then seeing her poorly mistreated and highly mislabeled as a Mossberg M590A1 for $279.99 and buying her was a better deal after all. Yes miss Benneli, you were an awesome deal than that SPAS-12 on the wall for $899. You truly were the best steal of the century, Miss Benneli. Great video btw and sorry for all of the troubles with that SPAS-12.

[@fletchermunson6225]

Cowboy Action Shooters like Winchester Extra Light target loads. It's the least recoiling for competition. I've burned through that stuff. Good for low recoil and fast recovery but not in Semis.

[@Antonino-t3y]

hi, Ian ... ‼️ I had one of these and it didn't recoils, i fixs these issues improved the two rear slide bolt rails, i cut its rear sharp edge, and maked they round to improved the recoil and reduced the friction on the frame guide, and maked the same work on the two sharp rear edges up and down of rear recoil rods, i change the hammer and put another a bit more longer too, and put a shim inner the crown of gas cylinder on the polyethylene O ring, after these improvements it cycled with every shootcartridge ... bye bye

[@maxo.9928]

Lmao i thought we were getting Ian SPAS-12 ASMR for a sec Guess just the sound of it cycling when fired will suffice, and it does.

[@Fragoutmag]

It kicks You because there is no shock absorber in the stock. Shooting without it is uncomfortable and may damage the stock.

[@markelliot1248]

Great video. Issue I have with it though is that the size of the pellets going downrange is not really a measure of the amount of recoil firing it will create, it is the total weight of the load and to some extent the powder. 30 grams of birdshot will have more recoil that 24 grams of buckshot.

[@timvanschuilenburg1524]

Just learnt something new 🤔 had no idea the quality of the ammunition effected the recycling of a firearm👍

[@YT-Ozymandias]

Always makes me think of the Voyager episode where a militia only has SPAS12s and full auto M16s

[@Frankmiller05]

Task and purpose just made a "Clever Girl" reference today too😂

[@paulkube3901]

Do I mis-remember, or wasn't there a "hi/low" gas setting on early (?) models? I thought these were the bee's knees when first out, then a buddy bought one. We bought an hour's t8me at an indoor range and spent most of it trying to get the damm'd thing running. Only managed to get a couple of mag tubes worth out of it in that time...most on "manual"...once we got it switched over. SPAS was bulky, balky, heavy, difficult to manipulate, and (once running) a recoil monster/uncomfortable.....but it sure looked cool! 😉

[@rickrivera2470]

If that was a brand new shotgun, maybe I just needed a few rounds through it to work. Work it in and usually when I get a new firearm I take it and break it apart. Anyway, and all the moving pieces that run a cotton ball through it. And anything snags well, I Polish that area not saying that what the problem is. Just a thought.

[@AmyBushnell-kx9fo]

You can also use the fuck onto the side mirror of the car so that you can use that as leverage to shoot while driving

[@danielboudreau8404]

This reminds me of those goofy early semi auto rifles that could be switched to bolt action.

[@martinfisker7438]

I love that in some videos Ian is nerding out about history in periodically correct clothes... in others he's shooting a spas 12 one handed

[@elitedavidhorne8494]

Ian never misses a chance for cosplay.

[@ComicGladiator]

Except the hook is specifically designed for one-handed shooting if needed?

[@ImBlackjackYo]

The "clever" intro made my day. Thats the mental image that hits anyone my age who saw jurassic park and played half life. Spas12 is great forthose Leaping Zombie Chickens.

[@Hosenfuhrer]

4:56 Y'all read he duck and pheasant load box as "Fuck pheasant", didn't you.

[@Harry_Ballzonya]

The sound of that action is iconic

[@spotthedogaye2921]

Thumbnail on phone is saying "nothing to see hear" lol

[@georgelstuart]

Knew exactly what was coming but I couldn't help laughing at "clever girl"

[@gusty9053]

I still remember playing some FPS where they give you a spas 12 with dragon's breath. Not only were you able to shoot them apart but you were setting them on fire :)).

[@ZombieZMB]

I know in CoD Black Ops they gave you the spas 12 with dragons breath. Which is funny considering the game takes place in the 60s.

[@troyyoung953]

The hook is in order to shoot it from behind a shield as you breach a door

[@chrismccauley3158]

Thanks!

[@ayegame2424]

I have found that my spaz cycles better with heavier loads. Shot size is kind of irrelevant. If its a heavy weight load or a load with high velocity it tends to cycle better. Especially when using the hook. Thats when mine is most picky. Have sometimes had issues feeding with European style crimp i believe its called. When theres a lip at the end and it the crimp is recessed.

[@M1911Guy]

The funny thing about mine was it ran everything in semi, and wouldn't cycle in pump unless you really put some force behind it.

[@Vin_San]

Ian finally kinda doing a TFB TV burndown

[@Azraith]

That "Ohhh" when the Spas failed to cycle when he was doing his big 'hanging out the door' impression is the most dejected I think I've ever heard Ian in any of these videos.

[@brivas3343]

Played with one of these back in the ''80s mainly using the hook. It was great fun. I wonder if your number 4 loads weren't working due to old gas rings. IIRC the rings were the downfall of the SPAS 12.

[@Cicero_Artifon]

1:18 listening out of one ear is uncomfortable

[@ZacharyH20]

I only had one earbud in and was treated to uncomfortable staticy silence 😂

[@brandonmcmanis5528]

I just realized that hook was a pistol brace before pistol braces were cool.

[@stevenbaker8184]

Interesting, the "The Wraith " wants his shotgun back. He has a race later.

[@rabidraccoon1201]

I bought one of these off a dealer in Shotgun News in high school. He sent it to a local bait and tackle shop for FFL. Best, worst firearm I ever owned! Actually duck hunted with it for a weekend on a bet. No ducks were harmed satisfying the bet...

[@archcunningham5579]

Bought one of these used in the 1990s for $600.00. Sold it three years ago for $2500.00.

[@danielsprouls9458]

Having to use two hands to load seems sub par for a tactical shotgun.

[@coughfee1416]

0:00 I imagined David Attenborough narrating the entire thing

[@Mag_Aoidh]

I wanted one of those so bad back in the day.

[@CooperHudgins]

The opening would’ve been better if someone appeared right next to you in one of those inflatable T. rex costumes😂

[@JordanFlayer]

it was discussed

[@javix473]

I loved the Jurassic Park intro reference, fantastic video as always!

[@TheRogueWolf]

A pity Dr. Grant never got to see this video. He'd have known how to clear that malfunction!

[@PassiveDestroyer]

Well, that's pretty cool. The hook serves a purpose, I'm just not sure the purpose was all that good of an idea anyways. It's still iconic. I'm more impressed that Ian one-handed it.

[@GunnyO326]

Well, that's the nature of LE and military "requirements." They dream up a bunch of hypotheticals and incorporate them into the specs delivered to contractors, then never actually utilize those features.

[@Koushakur]

Oh so _that's_ how the hook is meant to be used, not at all how I imagined

[@mariongmorrison3398]

I thought the hook was so you could pull your battle buddy to safety and still return to fire in the event they were hit.

[@mothmagic1]

3 shots and 3 stovepipes. I think that's conclusive evidence the load is to light for auto functioning.

[@gregkollaeg2365]

The Jurassic Park intro was 🤗