New for 2018: Fabarm STF-12 Shotgun

Fabarm, an Italian shotgun manufacturer known for its high-quality sporting arms, announced the arrival of the company's popular STF-12 shotgun to the American market. This design, well-known in Europe for its flexibility and modularity, provides a new tactical option for professionals and civilians looking for a solid personal-defense firearm.

The core of the Fabarm STF-12 shotgun is the monolithic receiver machined from 7075 aluminum and given a durable hard-anodized finish. The receiver design features a loading gate at the bottom, allowing for single-round feed of individual shells into the 5-round tube magazine located beneath the barrel. The shotgun operates on a familiar pump-action system, but that's where the similarities end when compared to other pump-action shotguns on the market.

Modularity and flexibility are the stand-out design principles embodied in the STF-12, though many of the added extras available to the European models will be rolled into the U.S. market as U.S. import regulations and product development allow. To start, two basic shotgun models are being made available to American consumers, one in black and one with a flat dark earth Cerakote finish. The U.S.-import guns ship with a fixed composite stock, but the STF-12 is compatible with a side-folding stock that allows the gun to be fired when folded.

Other modularity features of the Fabarms STF-12 shotgun include the ability to add interchangeable barrel lengths and magazine-tube extensions. The company produces quick-change barrels in 11-, 14-, 18-, 20- and 22-inch lengths, though these added extras are subject to firearm-importation laws and NFA regulation.

What is available to the American market is a base-model shotgun with a number of high-quality features that provide consumers with a durable, rugged shotgun ready to tackle any tactical task. The barrel is deep-drilled from solid nickel-chrome molybdenum bar-stock steel and features a hard-chromed 3-inch chamber pressure-tested to 1,630 BAR, the only Italian shotgun to exceed national C.I.P. proof-house standards.

Other stand-out features on the gun include all-steel sling-swivel plates, interchangeable recoil pads, an enlarged trigger guard for gloved-hand use, and compatibility with Fabarm HP shotgun chokes.

The Fabarm STF-12 shotgun ships with an Inner HP Accuracy choke and muzzle brake and features an overall length of 36.54 inches with a length-of-pull measuring 12.6 inches. The shotgun uses a free-float Picatinny rail running along the top of the receiver and includes removable ghost-ring iron sights. A fore-end-mounted Picatinny rail located at the 6 o'clock position allows for the attachment of light and laser accessories.

The suggested retail price on the Fabarms STF-12 shotgun starts at $1,195.