Franchi Model PA (Series)

History of Franchi Model PA (series)

The Franchi PA is a modern pump-action shotgun developed by the Italian Franchi Group for law enforcement. The series was derived from the SPAS-12, but was developed with improved compactness, reduced weight and controlled production costs in mind, which remain valuable attributes of any firearm to this day.

Research on the shotgun began in the 1980s and resulted in a completely traditional weapon that relied on the proven hand pump action mechanism found in many other shotguns before it. The final product proved to be a reliable multipurpose weapon capable of firing both lethal and non-lethal munitions.

However, the weapon has since had few global buyers in Italy and Spain.

The PA series was born from the original "PA-7" model. This features a clean rectangular metal receiver with an ejection port on the right side and a full stock grip. The smoothbore barrel is mounted above a tubular magazine that manages 12-gauge ammunition in 5- or 7-round counts. The pump slider is ribbed in the usual way for better grip and placed on the magazine tube for easy access. Putting back the slide (operated by mechanical ejection) clears the spent case from the firing chamber while inserting a new one from the available spring-loaded tubular magazine.

The PA-7 was equipped with a large wooden shoulder rest and a sighting hole was placed behind the muzzle. Available barrel lengths are 18.5" and 24".

The PA-8 is a special tactical police version without a wooden stock. Instead, this assembly is replaced by a separate plastic pistol grip. The stock is a foldable metal unit that can be placed on the receiver (like the SPAS-12 series).

All other features remain the same as the PA-7, and 18.5" and 24" barrel lengths are again introduced. The PA-8 was built on the basis of the PA-8E and PA-8L models, with slight differences between them.

Specification

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Changes