Not the last place in the work of weapons designers in the United States is the direction that provides for the creation of effective shooting models. American machine guns, past baptism of fire in Vietnam, have proven their high efficiency. One of the leaders in the ranking of small arms is the automatic shotgun system. They are characterized by increased firepower, which is very important when conducting short-term close combat. One of the most sought after US Army and police units was the Auto Assault 12 model.
Introducing the AA 12 Shotgun
So, more details. Shotgun AA 12 is an automatic small arms. It entered the market in 2003. The model sold by Mid Amerika Recreation Inc is designed exclusively for the needs of the army and police.
About the history of the creation of an automatic shotgun
In 1972, the American weapons designer Maxwell Atchison developed the AAS automatic rifle. During the design, the experience of close combat in the jungle was taken into account. Wanting to increase the firepower of the weapon, the American designer decided to automate the reloading process in it. Improvement of AAS began immediately after the end of the Vietnam War. As a result of design work in 1980, the AA 12 shotgun was designed. For the next 20 years, the American gunsmith was engaged in the improvement of his gun. However, an improved model in the series did not make it. In 2000, the rights to produce the AA 12 shotgun were purchased by the American company Military Police Sestem.
Description
The AA 12 shotgun, as well as machine guns, automatic rifles and light machine guns, is equipped with gas automatic control, thanks to which it became possible to use powerful ammunition in them. As in the AAS shotgun model, the design of the shotgun provides for rolling back the bolt into the butt, which, together with the fore-end, is integral. The shutter is actuated by a gas piston located above the barrel. Locking in the vertical plane is carried out by a moving wedge. The place of its placement was the front of the shutter. The shank is equipped with a special groove in which the wedge enters during locking. Lifting up, the wedge falls into the groove and unloads the receiver, which consists of the left and right halves, fastened to each other with the help of pins. The receiver itself is a solid plastic case, inside of which the mechanisms of the weapon are contained. In this case they are reliably protected from sand and dirt.
Purpose, design features
The automatic shotgun is designed for both single firing and continuous firing. The trigger mechanism allows for fully automatic fire. Single shooting is possible only by briefly pressing the trigger.
The firing mode is regulated using a special translator, which is located near the trigger trigger. The peculiarity of AA 12 lies in its ability to accumulate and soften the recoil momentum. This was made possible thanks to two return springs, with the help of which the recoil momentum stretches over time.
About weapon ammunition
For firing from the AA 12 shotgun, hunting cartridges of the 12th caliber are used. The weapon is equipped with removable stores of two types: direct, designed for 8 rounds, and round, which can hold from 20 to 32 ammunition.
About the performance characteristics
AA 12 has the following parameters:
- Type of weapon: automatic shotgun with gas automatic.
- Type of ammunition: hunting cartridges of the 12th caliber.
- The entire shotgun length is 965 mm.
- Barrel length 457 mm.
- Weighs weapons without ammunition 4.75 kg.
- The mass of a shotgun equipped with eight rounds takes 5.08 kg.
- The weight of a weapon using a drum magazine is 5.88 kg.
- Within one minute, no more than 360 shots can be fired from a shotgun.
About application
The AA 12 shotgun demonstration took place in 2004 in the United States Marine Corps. During the show, some American manufacturers of military equipment became interested in shotguns. The company Neural Robotics with several samples of AA 12 equipped its unmanned aerial vehicles Auto Copter. More Industries uses double shotguns on the H2X-40 turrets for Hammer defense systems.
Automatic shotgun has found its application in the cinema. In the movie The Expendables, Hale Caesar AA 12 is used as a machine gun. Although the maximum combat stock of this shotgun does not exceed 32 rounds, the hero of Terry Crews “managed” to fire at least 70 shots in one of the scenes. "Predators" was another film in which the protagonist, performed by Adrian Brody, uses a camouflaged shotgun AA 12.
Finally
Automatic AA 12 has the best features that are only possible for shotguns. Due to the high rate of fire from this model within one second, six shots can be fired with a very powerful 12-caliber hunting ammunition. Despite the fact that the AA 12 has a huge lethal power, during its operation there is absolutely no feeling of recoil. Thanks to this, you can shoot with an automatic shotgun with one hand.