View source for Daewoo Precision Industries USAS-12

{{Original research|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name               = USAS-12
| image              = USAS12shotgun4104.jpg
| image_size         = 300
| caption            = The Daewoo Precision Industries USAS-12 automatic shotgun.
| origin             = South Korea<br/>United States
| type               = [[Automatic shotgun]]<br />[[Semi-automatic shotgun|Semi-automatic]] (Civilian)
<!-- Type selection -->| is_ranged          = yes
<!-- Service history -->| service            = 
| used_by            = See ''[[#Users|Users]]''
| wars               = <!-- Production history -->
| designer           = John Trevor Jr.
| design_date        = 1989
| manufacturer       = [[S&T Daewoo|Daewoo Precision Industries]], Interord Corp. (Nashville, Tennessee), RAMO Defense Co., Ameetec Arms LLC
| production_date    = 1989–present
| number             = >30,000<ref>{{cite web |last1=McCollum |first1=Ian |title=Video: USAS-12 Combat Shotgun |url=https://www.forgottenweapons.com/video-usas-12-combat-shotgun/ |website=Forgotten Weapons}}</ref>
| variants           = Semi-automatic only for civilian commercial sales; select-fire for military and police
<!-- General specifications -->| weight             = 5.45 kg without magazine <br> 6.2 kg with 10-round magazine
| length             = 960 mm
| part_length        = 460 mm
| width              = 
| height             = <!-- Ranged weapon specifications -->
| cartridge          = 
| caliber            = 12-gauge
| action             = 
| rate               = 400-450 rounds per minute
| velocity           = {{convert|400|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on}}
| range              = 30–40 m
| max_range          = 50 m
| feed               = 10-round detachable box magazine or 20-round drum magazine
| sights             = [[Iron sights]]
}}
The '''USAS-12''' (Universal Sporting Automatic Shotgun 12 gauge) is an [[automatic shotgun]] manufactured in South Korea by [[S&T Daewoo|Daewoo Precision Industries]] since the 1980s.<ref name="Lee2013">{{cite book|last=Lee|first=Jerry|title=The Official Gun Digest Book of Guns & Prices 2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zyYXCAyeBZwC&pg=PA1162|date=23 April 2013|publisher=Krause Publications|location=Iola, Wisconsin|isbn=978-1-4402-3543-6|page=1162}}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

== Design ==
The USAS-12 is a [[Gas-operated reloading|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 magazine]]s.<ref name="Lee2013"/> Both types of magazine are made of polymer, and drum magazines have their rear side made from [[Transparency and translucency|translucent]] [[polymer]] for quick determination of the number of shot shells left. It has an effective range of 40 m. In the early 1990s, a new CQ model of the USAS-12 was created. It looks similar to the original model, but unlike the original, it lacks the [[iron sights|front sight]] and has a re-modeled carry handle. The bolt locks on 1 cylindrical locking piece that moves up into round hole in barrel extension.

== History ==
The history of the USAS-12 dates from the 1980s vintage designs of Maxwell Atchisson. In about 1989, Gilbert Equipment Co. (USA) decided to bring up the selective fired weapon, broadly based on principles employed in [[Atchisson Assault Shotgun|Atchisson shotguns]]. The design of the new weapon was produced by John Trevor, Jr. Since Gilbert Equipment Co. had no manufacturing capabilities, it started to look for possible manufacturers. It turned out that the only maker that agreed to produce this weapon was the South Korean company Daewoo Precision Industries, a part of the [[Daewoo]] conglomerate. Daewoo engineers adapted the new weapon to their manufacturing techniques, and mass production commenced in the early 1990s. The USAS-12 sold well to military and security forces of several (unspecified) countries in Asia, and more than 30,000 USAS-12 shotguns were made by the mid-1990s.<ref name="world.guns">[http://world.guns.ru/shotgun/skor/usas-12-e.html Modern Firearms – USAS-12.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017054517/http://world.guns.ru/shotgun/skor/usas-12-e.html |date=2012-10-17 }} Retrieved July 13, 2011.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=Leroy |date=2024-02-27 |title=The Powerful USAS-12 Full-Auto Shotgun |url=https://www.firearmsnews.com/editorial/usas-12-full-auto-shotgun/492320 |access-date=2025-02-16 |website=Firearms News |language=en}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Walker2013">{{cite book|last=Walker|first=Robert E.|title=Cartridges and Firearm Identification|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=THQ1iG8fSG8C&pg=PT369|year=2013|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4665-8881-3|page=369}}</ref> 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.<ref name="world.guns" /> The shotgun is still being manufactured by S&T Daewoo (now [[SNT Motiv]]) in Korea for military and law enforcement sales only.{{Citation needed|date=February 2016}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-10-27 |title=USAS-12 |url=https://modernfirearms.net/en/shotguns/south-korea-shotguns/usas-12-eng/ |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=Modern Firearms |language=en}}</ref><!-- "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.<ref>[http://www.ameetecarms.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=62&zenid=9707e028c5708f02f8f7253d802255db Ameetec Arms WM-12.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305085232/http://www.ameetecarms.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=62&zenid=9707e028c5708f02f8f7253d802255db |date=2009-03-05 }} Retrieved on December 28, 2007.</ref> 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{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}.

== Users ==
* {{flag|Brazil}}: Used by the [[GRUMEC]] and army Special Forces battalions<ref>{{cite web |title=Armas que o exercito brasileiro usa - armas e bombas.projeteis |url=http://www.ebah.com.br/content/ABAAAfPiQAJ/armas-que-exercito-brasileiro-usa |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170725043147/http://www.ebah.com.br/content/ABAAAfPiQAJ/armas-que-exercito-brasileiro-usa |archive-date=2017-07-25 |website= |publisher=}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=September 2022|reason=Source does not mention the USAS-12, possibly it appeared on one of the images but they are broken}}
* {{flag|Colombia}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-03-12 |title=World Infantry Weapons: Colombia |url=https://sites.google.com/site/worldinventory/wiw_sa_colombia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312062339/https://sites.google.com/site/worldinventory/wiw_sa_colombia |archive-date=2016-03-12  |access-date=2022-10-08 }}</ref>:Used by GAULA,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-03-15 |title=Con fusiles atacan al Gaula en el occidente de Medellín - 360 Radio |url=https://360radio.com.co/con-fusiles-atacan-al-gaula-en-el-occidente-de-medellin/ |access-date=2022-10-09 |language=es}}</ref> and [[Colombian National Police Special Operations Command|COPES]]<ref>{{Citation |last=Dueñas |first=Ronald |title=COPES - Policía Nacional de Colombia |date=2010-07-20 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/ronald-duenas/4816035663/ |access-date=2022-10-09}}</ref>
* {{flag|Philippines}}:Used by private security forces.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=www.wazile.com |first1=Wazile Technology Solutions- |last2=Wazile |date=2019-02-20 |title=The Pros and Cons of Being a Security Guard in the Philippines |url=https://www.corinthiansgroup.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-being-a-security-guard-in-the-philippines/ |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=Corinthians Group of Companies |language=en-US}}</ref>
* {{flag|Peru}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-05-29 |title=World Infantry Weapons: Peru |url=https://sites.google.com/site/worldinventory/wiw_sa_peru |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529045615/https://sites.google.com/site/worldinventory/wiw_sa_peru |archive-date=2016-05-29  |access-date=2022-10-08 }}</ref>
* {{flag|South Korea}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-03-12 |title=World Infantry Weapons: South Korea |url=https://sites.google.com/site/worldinventory/wiw_as_koreasouth |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312080849/https://sites.google.com/site/worldinventory/wiw_as_koreasouth |archive-date=2016-03-12  |access-date=2022-10-06 }}</ref>:Used by the [[707th Special Mission Group]]
* {{flag|Thailand}}<ref name="SIPRI19">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211191444/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/S-Trade-Update/SAS-Trade-Update-2019.pdf |archive-date=11 December 2019 |url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/S-Trade-Update/SAS-Trade-Update-2019.pdf |title=Trade Update 2019: Transfers, Transparency and Southeast Asia Spotlight |publisher=Small Arms Survey |last1=Picard |first1=Michael |last2=Holtom |first2=Paul |last3=Mangan |first3=Fiona |date=December 2019}}</ref>

=== Non-state Users ===

* [[Grupos de autodefensa comunitaria]]<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Ya van 83 detenidos en Michoacán - Al Minuto |url=https://www.alminuto.mx/2014/06/ya-van-83-detenidos-en-michoacan.html?m=0 |access-date=2022-10-02 |website=www.alminuto.mx}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hernández |first=César |date=2016-06-08 |title=Mexico's lost guns: 13,000 over 10 years |url=https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/mexicos-lost-guns-13000-over-10-years/ |access-date=2022-10-02 |website=Mexico News Daily |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Karen National Liberation Army]]<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Julius Schrank - Karen state |url=http://www.juliusschrank.com/stories/new-burma-s-shadows/karen-state |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=www.juliusschrank.com |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Los Zetas]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=ALTHAUS |first=DUDLEY |date=2011-06-10 |title=Zetas' guns, uniforms captured in raid near Eagle Pass |url=https://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/Zetas-guns-uniforms-captured-in-raid-near-Eagle-1692024.php |access-date=2022-10-02 |website=Chron |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[New People's Army]]<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=NPA squad leader captured, firearms seized in DavOr |website=Philippine News Agency |url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1174438}}</ref>

== Conflicts ==
* [[Mexican Drug War]]<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
* [[Karen conflict|Karen Conflict]]<ref name=":2" />
* [[New People's Army rebellion]]<ref name=":3" />

== See also ==
*[[Combat shotgun]]
*[[List of shotguns]]
*[[List of semi-automatic shotguns]]
*[[Saiga-12]]
*[[Riot shotgun]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100901210647/http://world.guns.ru/shotgun/sh16-e.htm Modern Firearms]
* [https://patents.google.com/patent/US4930399 Patent]
* {{YouTube|SKbC7ldO3fY|title=USAS-12 Combat Shotgun}}&nbsp;— disassembly video

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daewoo Usas-12}}
[[Category:Automatic shotguns]]
[[Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1980s]]
[[Category:Post–Cold War weapons of South Korea]]
[[Category:Shotguns of South Korea]]
[[Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1989]]