Daewoo USAS-12
- Category
- Shotgun
- Barrel
- 460 mm
- Weight, empty
- 5.45 kg
- Introduced
- 1989
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Daewoo USAS-12 (Universal Sporting Automatic Shotgun) is a select-fire, gas-operated 12-gauge combat shotgun. Designed by John Trevor Jr. of the Gilbert Equipment Company in the late 1980s and manufactured by Daewoo Precision Industries in South Korea, it feeds from a 10-round detachable box magazine or a 20-round drum. The forged aluminum receiver, M16-style sights and a hollow polymer buttstock that houses the bolt's long over-travel give it manageable recoil even in full-automatic fire. It was marketed to military, police and anti-terror units, primarily in Asia.
The USAS-12 borrows its long-bolt-over-travel principle from Maxwell Atchisson's automatic-shotgun work, but the semi-auto civilian version became one of only a handful of shotguns ever classed by the ATF as a 'destructive device' rather than an ordinary firearm.
The semi-automatic civilian variant was reclassified by the US ATF as a 'destructive device' under the NFA (ATF Ruling 94-1, effective March 1, 1994), as it was judged unsuitable for sporting purposes. The registration window for pre-1994 examples later expired, making legally transferable civilian guns extremely rare.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- S&T Motiv (formerly Daewoo Precision Industries)
- Category
- Shotgun
- Country
- South Korea
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1989
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 460 mm
- Overall length
- 960 mm
- Weight, empty
- 5.45 kg
- Weight, loaded
- 6.20 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Gas operated rotating bolt
- Firing mechanism
- Closed bolt
- Trigger
- Select fire
- Capacity
- 20
- Magazine
- Drum
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Aluminum
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Polymer
- Finish
- Anodized
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 400 m/s
- Effective range
- 40 m
- Maximum range
- 50 m
- Rate of fire
- 425 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Select fire
Ambidextrous dual ejection
Carrying handle rear sight
M16 style front sight
Translucent drum magazine- Long bolt over travel
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 622 12 Gauge shotguns | 5.45 kg | 3.29 kg | Heavier than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 570 12 Gauge shotguns | 960 mm | 1150 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 650 12 Gauge shotguns | 460 mm | 711 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 647 12 Gauge shotguns | 20 | 3 | Among the largest capacities |
Its place in the rankings
Answers
Questions about the Daewoo USAS-12
How much does the Daewoo USAS-12 weigh?
The Daewoo USAS-12 weighs 5.45 kg (12.02 lb) empty and 6.20 kg (13.67 lb) loaded.
What caliber is the Daewoo USAS-12?
The Daewoo USAS-12 is chambered in 12 Gauge.
How many rounds does the Daewoo USAS-12 hold?
The Daewoo USAS-12 holds 20 rounds, fed from a drum magazine.
How long is the Daewoo USAS-12?
The Daewoo USAS-12 is 960 mm (37.8 in) long overall, with a 460 mm (18.1 in) barrel.
Who makes the Daewoo USAS-12?
The Daewoo USAS-12 is made by S&T Motiv (formerly Daewoo Precision Industries) (South Korea). It was designed by John Trevor Jr..
When was the Daewoo USAS-12 introduced?
The Daewoo USAS-12 was introduced in 1989.
How does the Daewoo USAS-12 operate?
The Daewoo USAS-12 uses a gas operated rotating bolt action, and its firing mechanism is closed bolt.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
Provenance
Confidence in this record
68%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/usas-12' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "usas-12", "name": "Daewoo USAS-12", "manufacturer": { "id": "snt-motiv", "name": "S&T Motiv (formerly Daewoo Precision Industries)", "countryCode": "KR", "foundedYear": 1981, "website": "https://www.sntmotiv.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:38", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:43:46", "version": "9db0b6bd86b8c9a1e686c470d1c6a21f813dddaec277f9be6ca224566aa0099d" }, "category": { "id": "shotgun", "name": "Shotgun", "description": "Smoothbore firearms designed to fire shot or slugs" }, "country_of_origin": "KR", "year_introduced": 1989, "barrel_length_mm": 460, "weight_empty_g": 5450, "action_type": "gas_operated_rotating_bolt"}