Sentinel Arms Striker-12
Sentinel Arms Company · Shotgun · Discontinued · 1985
Also known as: Striker-12, SWD Striker-12, Street Sweeper
Overview
The Sentinel Arms Striker-12 is the United States-licensed production version of the South African Armsel Striker, a 12-gauge revolving shotgun designed by Hilton R. Walker. Built by the Sentinel Arms Company of Detroit, Michigan in the mid-1980s, it retains the Striker's defining feature: a 12-round non-detachable revolving cylinder that gives it an exceptionally high capacity for a shotgun. Like the original, it uses a pre-wound clockwork spring mechanism to rotate the cylinder, wound by the operator with a key before loading, with each double-action trigger pull releasing tension to advance the next chamber. To comply with US firearms law the Sentinel version was fitted with an elongated barrel of roughly 18 inches, and it feeds standard 2-3/4 inch 12 gauge shells from the rotary cylinder. A top-folding tubular stock, vertical foregrip and manual ejector rod carry over from the parent design. In 1994 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms reclassified the Striker-12 and the related Cobray/SWD Streetsweeper as destructive devices, effectively ending civilian sales without a special tax stamp.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4200 g (148.2 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 4900 g (172.8 oz) |
| Overall Length | 940 mm (37.01") |
| Folded Length | 660 mm (25.98") |
| Barrel Length | 457 mm (17.99") |
| Height | 230 mm (9.06") |
| Width | 80 mm (3.15") |
| Action Type | Double Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Double Action Only |
| Trigger Type | Double Action |
| Trigger Pull | 49 N (11.0 lbf) |
| Magazine Capacity | 12 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Rotary |
| Muzzle Velocity | 400 m/s (1312 fps) |
| Effective Range | 40 m (44 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 100 m (109 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | None |
| Frame Material | Aluminum |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Steel |
| Finish | Matte Black |
Calibers
- 12 Gauge · primary — also known as 12 ga, 12 bore
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic
- Feed systems: Revolving Cylinder
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety
- Features: Revolving Cylinder Drum, Clockwork Spring Mechanism, Top Folding Stock, Vertical Foregrip, Ejector Rod, Iron Sights, Pistol Grip, Extended Barrel For Us Compliance
Base model
Service history
Operators
- Civilian
Production
Production years: 1985-1994
US-licensed production by Sentinel Arms Company of Detroit, Michigan; sales curtailed after the ATF reclassified the design as a destructive device in 1994.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: Hilton R. Walker
Discontinued: 1994
Notes
The clockwork cylinder must be wound with a key before loading; if not fully wound the cylinder may fail to advance. Loading is slow, requiring each shell to be individually inserted, and spent casings must be manually ejected one at a time with the ejector rod. Chambers standard 2-3/4 inch (70mm) 12 gauge shells only; it does not accept 3-inch magnum loads. Reclassified as a destructive device by the ATF in 1994.
Background
Sold in the US during the 1980s as a high-capacity home-defense and law-enforcement shotgun, the Striker-12's menacing revolving drum made it a fixture of action cinema before the ATF reclassified it as a destructive device in 1994 -- one of only a handful of shotguns ever to earn that designation.