Armser Striker shotgun

The Armsel Striker (also known as Sentinel Arms Co Striker-12, Protecta, Protecta Bulldog, and Cobray/SWD Street Sweeper) is a revolver 12-gauge shotgun designed for riot control and combat.

 CREATION

It was created in Zimbabwe by Hilton Walker in the early 1980s. Walker moved to South Africa, bringing with him the design for the Striker shotgun. His shotgun became a success, and found its way to all parts of the world. Even though it was successful, the shotgun still had its flaws. The rotary cylinder-type magazine was bulky, had a slow reload time, and the basic action was not without certain flaws.

Walker redesigned his weapon in the late 1980s, removing the cylinder rotation mechanism, and adding an auto cartridge ejection system. The new shotgun was named the Protecta.

Design and Features

          The weapon's action is similar to that of a revolver, using a rotating magazine. Since the Striker uses a more or less conventional double action only trigger, and a very large and heavy cylinder (compared to handguns), Walker added a pre-wound clock-work spring to revolve the magazine. This proved to be a slow and ineffective way to load the weapon. The design was changed so that there is now a cocking lever on the right side of the barrel.

The first designs were criticized as having a slow and cumbersome firing mechanism. The shells having to be individually loaded and then the drum wound by a clockwork mechanism. Shell ejection was by an ejector rod along the right hand side of the barrel. The latest version has the clockwork winding mechanism removed, the ejector rod has been replaced by an automatic ejection system and in the rod's place is a cocking lever that winds the drum automatically. The Striker is somewhat unique for a shotgun because of its twelve round capacity and short overall length.