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What could have been: The RAS-12 semi-auto shotgun
There haven't been many semi-auto or select-fire shotguns that feed from detachable box magazines, partly because those magazines are often bulky and don't hold many rounds. Furthermore, models like the SPAS-15 and the Saiga-12 have been banned for importation into the USA.
One company that tried to go further than usual with this firearm type was Intrepid Tactical Systems, which made a shotgun system called "RAS-12" that could be built off a standard AR-10 lower attached to a dedicated upper, took Magpul PMAGs for AR-10s, and also used unique 12-gauge ammunition that was rimless and had a round polymer tip to make feeding much more reliable than on something like the Saiga-12, and possibly even allowing for reliably-feeding double-stack magazines (something that is difficult for most rimmed ammunition that isn't 7.62x54mmR, or .303 British, etc.). These features should have made for a very attractive semi-auto 12-gauge platform, at least on paper, but Intrepid Tactical Solutions folded and the RAS-12 never made its debut. Since the RAS-12 was also American-made, it would not have been subject to the importation bans that kept out the SPAS-15 (probably the only dual-mode box-feeding shotgun around) and the Saiga-12. You can read a more thorough breakdown of the RAS-12 here. Is this failed gun something that the users here on imfdb would have been interested in buying had it been produced, or was it going too far, too fast? |
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