The USAS-12 (Universal Sporting Automatic Shotgun 12 gauge) is an automatic shotgun manufactured in South Korea by Daewoo Precision Industries since the 1980s.

Design

The USAS-12 is a gas-operated, selective fire weapon, designed to provide sustained firepower in close-combat scenarios. It accepts detachable 10-round box magazines or 20-round drum magazines.

During the same timeframe, Gilbert Equipment Co. tried to bring a semi-automatic version of the USAS-12 to the U.S. market, but Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen classified this firearm as "having no sporting purpose", so it became a "destructive device" under the U.S. National Firearms Act of 1934. This greatly restricted its civilian use. During the late 1990s, RAMO Defence Co. began to assemble USAS-12 shotguns from Korean and U.S.-made parts for sale on the domestic market, but sales of this weapon were limited to government agencies only.<!-- "Today" is a meaningless concept in an encyclopedia. This firearm doesn't appear in the 2016 catalog of S&T Motiv, the successor company to Daewoo Precision Industries. They may still make it to order, but it does not appear to be a regular offering anymore. -->

A U.S. firearms manufacturer, Ameetec Arms LLC of Scottsdale, Arizona, started the manufacture of a USAS-12 semi-automatic clone in 2007, called the WM-12; it mainly differs from the USAS-12 by the lack of fixed sights and carrying handle, replaced by a Picatinny rail. The manufacturer stated that the WM-12 is not a "destructive device", and would thus be readily available to civilians. As of January 2008, however, the WM-12 was no longer to be found on Ameetec Arms online catalogs, because it was discontinued after its pre-production run. Only a few WM-12s were built using USAS-12 demilitarized shotguns.

Users

  • : Used by the GRUMEC and army Special Forces battalions
  • :Used by GAULA, and COPES
  • :Used by Dominican Army
  • :Used by private security forces.
  • :Used by the 707th Special Mission Group

Non-state Users

  • Grupos de autodefensa comunitaria
  • Karen National Liberation Army
  • Los Zetas
  • New People's Army

Conflicts

  • Mexican drug war