Armsel Striker

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.

History
The Armsel Striker was created in Rhodesia by Hilton Walker in 1983. Walker moved to South Africa, bringing with him the design for the Striker shotgun. His shotgun became a success, and was exported to various 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 The latest version has the clockwork winding mechanism removed, the ejector rod has been replaced by an automatic ejection system and in the rod's place is a cocking lever that winds the drum automatically.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 design is somewhat unique for a shotgun because of its twelve round capacity and short overall length. There are a few consumer variants. Compact variants have 7 rounds.

Availability in the USA
The Striker is difficult to procure in the United States of America as it has been labeled as a destructive device under the National Firearms Act with no sporting purpose by the U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Variants

 * Armsel Striker—this is Hilton Walker's first design and note that one had to wind the drum before firing the shotgun.
 * Armsel Protecta—An improved version of the Armsel Striker. The need to wind the drum before firing was removed and the weapon's reliability was improved.
 * Armsel Protecta Bulldog—An extremely shortened, stockless version of the Armsel Protecta. It is intended for building entry and vehicular duties.
 * Sentinel Arms Striker-12—A fully licensed and improved copy of the Armsel Striker for the American market made by Sentinel Arms Co.. It was available with an 18 inch barrel and a 7 inch stockless version.
 * Cobray/SWD Streetsweeper—A lower-end clone of the Armsel Striker, notable as having a limited parts commonality to the original weapons system.
 * Cobray/SWD Ladies Home Companion—A reduced caliber version of the Streetsweeper. The triggergroup is attached to a .410 bore drum and barrel.

Users

 * 🇮🇱 Israel: Used by the Israel Defense Forces for riot control
 * Kosovo: Used by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army during the Kosovo War.
 * 🇿🇦 South Africa: Used by the South African Army