Home Index Search Handguns Visual Selection British North American Italian German Belguim French Spanish Austrian Russian Czechoslovacian Turkish South African Hungarian Brazilian Israeli Competition Firearms Shotguns References Links Gunsite SAGA PAAA SAAACA Contact E-mail me!

The Striker shotgun was created in Rhodesia 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. 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 latest version has a pump-action style lever used to clear the chamber as other pump-action shotguns do. The Striker is somewhat unique for a shotgun because of its twelve round capacity and short overall length. 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 Walkers first design and noted 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 Stiker 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. The Striker, a self loading shotgun from this Company was very popular for private defense in South Africa but is impractical for shooters and hunters. It is designed with a fixed rotary magazine which uses a unique clock-work style mechanism, driven by a wound spring and activated by the trigger. Cartridges or empty casings can be pushed out by a sliding lever thanks to a mechanism that deactivates the hammer, but loading and unloading is slow. Some models were factory fitted with very unusual sights. (Ref. Firearms developed and manufactured in Southern Africa from 1949 – 2000. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uoy14h6K5TY , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiMQ981lph0 , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armsel_Striker , https://modernfirearms.net/en/shotguns/south-africa-shotguns/striker-protecta-eng/ , https://www.militaryfactory.com/smallarms/detail.asp?smallarms_id=105 )

99340