As a kid, I remember watching a ton of the 80s- and 90s-era action movies on cable television.
One common theme in several of them that shows up over and over is the guns.
In fact, some of thebest movie gunswere in this era of filmmaking.
The shotgun Im referring to is the SPAS-12.
The SPAS-12 is a very famous shotgun, mostly because it is unique in its look and nature.
The aggressive cheesegrater look of the metal on the SPAS-12 makes it one of the meanest-looking guns in existence.
Hollywoods Scattergun: The Details
Now when it comes to its operation again, its truly unique.
The SPAS-12 can function in both semi-automatic and manual pump action modes.
Less-lethal rounds, like bean bag rounds, dont have enough oomph to cycle the action in semi-auto.
But, if an officer used the same gun in pump-action mode, it would.
Movie Shotguns in Practice
In theory, the SPAS-12 was an ideal police shotgun.
But from what I can tell, it was depicted in films more than it was ever truly used.
By all accounts and in my own testing, the SPAS-12 was a reliable shotgun and it served well.
Lets look at some of the movie appearances that left many firearms enthusiasts and collectors star-struck with the SPAS-12.
One of them is The Terminator (1984).
Austrian bodybuilder, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Schwarzenegger goes into a gun store pretty early on and asks for a 12-gauge auto-loader.
Enter the famous Terminator movie shotgun: the SPAS-12.
In the 1994 film Jurassic Park, directed by Steven Spielberg, we see the iconic clever girl scene.
You probably of course know what Im talking about, so I wont set up the plot for you.
A second Velociraptor had flanked him.
Then again, the point was to show his absolute strength so, I get that.
A poorer representation of the SPAS-12 happens in the movie 3000 Miles To Graceland.
Conclusion
The SPAS-12 is easily Hollywoods favorite shotgun, having earned tons of appearances.
