🦖 Jurassic Park – The Franchi SPAS-12: The Shotgun Made for a T-Rex
Few guns look like they were designed to fight dinosaurs. But if any firearm earns that title, it’s the Franchi SPAS-12.
With its aggressive lines, dual-mode action, and intimidating folding stock, this Italian shotgun became one of cinema’s most recognizable weapons — even if Jurassic Park never actually lets it off the leash.
Today, we’re breaking down the real story of the SPAS-12: its history, movie legacy, and how it earned the nickname “T-Rex Rated.”
🔧 From Italian Engineering to International Icon
The SPAS-12 (Special Purpose Automatic Shotgun) was developed by Franchi in 1979 and was intended for military and police use. Its most unique feature? It could switch between semi-automatic and pump-action — perfect for launching low-pressure rounds like bean bags or tear gas without jamming the cycling system.
Design highlights:
- Short-stroke gas piston with dual operating rods
- Folding metal stock with rotating hook for one-handed use
- Magazine cutoff switch for specialty rounds
- 8+1 capacity with 2¾” shells
It was adopted by SWAT teams, security forces, and elite units like France’s GIGN, though surprisingly, it was not issued widely in Franchi’s native Italy.
Despite its tactical appeal, its heavy weight, complex mechanism, and changing U.S. firearms laws eventually led to its discontinuation.
🎬 Why the SPAS-12 Was Chosen for Jurassic Park
When Steven Spielberg was assembling the world of Jurassic Park, he knew that every detail — including the guns — had to feel cutting-edge. Enter the SPAS-12.
It wasn’t just a shotgun. It looked designed for the world of InGen:
- Futuristic profile
- Military aesthetic
- Credibility from earlier action movies
Paired with Robert Muldoon, the park’s seasoned game warden, the SPAS-12 perfectly reflected his role: serious, capable, and ready for chaos.
The gun’s sleek silhouette and reputation helped establish it as the definitive anti-dino weapon… even if it was mostly for show.
🧐 Movie Prop vs. Reality
Still frames from the film show that Jurassic Park used an early-import lever-safety model with a full-length mag tube and the iconic folding stock — but the butt hook was removed for filming.
Why? Likely aesthetics and practicality. That rotating hook was originally designed for rappelling or one-handed firing — a cool idea, but not exactly necessary when facing velociraptors.
(Unless you’re a cyborg sent from the future. We’ll get to that…)
🧪 Does It Actually Get Used?
Here’s the twist: for all its cinematic presence, the SPAS-12 is never fired on screen in a conventional way.
You’ll hear four shots — all off-camera — and see the weapon abandoned with a stovepipe jam at Grant’s feet. That malfunction? A surprisingly accurate detail that explains why the gun was dropped.
But the SPAS-12’s biggest crime? It never gets to shine. Muldoon, the character best suited to use it, never even pulls the trigger.
🎞 Where the SPAS-12 Truly Shined
Fortunately, Jurassic Park wasn’t the only film to feature this shotgun. The SPAS-12 has appeared in nearly 100 movies and TV shows, and some of its most legendary moments happened elsewhere:
- The Terminator (1984): Its on-screen debut — from the gun shop scene to the police station takedown, this is where the SPAS-12 became immortal.
- Miami Vice: Featured in multiple episodes, including one with real IPSC champion Jim Zubiena.
- Beverly Hills Cop II: Carried by Sergeant Taggart.
- The Hitcher (1986): Rutger Hauer turns it into a horror weapon.
- Snatch (2000): Vincent uses it during a botched robbery in one of Guy Ritchie’s most memorable sequences.
- The Long Kiss Goodnight: Geena Davis dual-wields boss energy with this beast in her comeback shootout.
These scenes gave the SPAS-12 the action legacy it deserved — and then some.
🎯 Want to Know How Accurate the Gun’s Portrayal Really Was?
We break down the firing scenes (or lack thereof), the stovepipe malfunction, and even the realism behind the glass penetration during the raptor attack.
🎥 Watch the full breakdown now on our channel:
