It’s bulky, it’s awkward, and it’s politically incorrect. Born in South Africa in the 1980s, the Street Sweeper shotgun is a 12 gauge repeating shotgun with a fixed drum magazine, which is one of the many NFA items available to rent at our range.
It made its way to the US during the 1980s and quickly became a target for legal action. Due to its striking appearance and high-capacity, the Street Sweeper ended up being classed by the ATF as a “destructive device.” Therefore, it is treated as a destructive device and requires a form 4 to purchase. It was certain features, such as its bore-diameter and failure to be recognized as a firearm made for “sporting purposes.” That dragged the Street Sweeper into the legal classification. Despite many modern shotguns being more capable and accepting larger magazines. Overall, it is a strange and unique shotgun with Hollywood appeal.
In terms of the actual functioning of the Street Sweeper, imagine a double-action revolver enlarged to accept 12 gauge shells. It also has a manual ejector like a single-action revolver and a winder to rotate the drum. The drum is fixed, and the stock can be folded. Pulling the trigger causes the drum to rotate the chambers while firing. Compared to almost any modern shotgun in the market today, the Street Sweeper can quickly be seen as impractical. When actually shooting the gun, the wide cylinder gap causes some backblast into the shooter’s face. Yet with eye protection, this isn’t much of an issue. Its bulky profile takes some getting used to, but the foregrip makes it easier to handle. The groove sight leaves a wide sight-picture, and the recoil is barely absorbed by the folding stock. The loading process can be painstaking since the drum isn’t detachable, and no shells are ejected during the firing process. Instead, they have to be manually ejected by a rod, like a single-action revolver.
There is a lot to be said for the Street Sweeper since it has plenty of history and legal discourse behind it. So, for more details, check out this video from Forgotten Weapons at the Rock Island Auction Company.
Overall, the Street Sweeper is a quirky shotgun to look at and is even more so to shoot. You, too, can experience shooting this interesting firearm by renting it out at the NFA rental counter at Emerald Coast Indoor Shooting and Sport!
