Sometimes you just want something to work, and work well. I like weird shotguns, especially when they’re cheap. So when I saw a Civet 12 for sale at $150, I snatched it up. Why not? It’s a Chinese 870 clone that takes Saiga magazines. You didn’t have to do much to sell me on that idea.
The Chinese tend to make a pretty ok shotgun. I’d rather have Chinese than Turkish in most cases. The addition of taking Saiga mags seemed like it would be a fun gun. I don’t use box mag-fed shotguns for serious roles because of shell deformation. I do have fun with them, though.
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Typically, the weak point is the magazines. You need a good magazine, and well, Saiga mags are plenty common, and you can get good Saiga mags, so that was taken care of. Sadly, the Civet 12 didn’t fulfill my dreams of a fun gun.
The Civet 12 – Breaking Down
Being 870-based makes it easy to add accessories and to customize the gun. Like most factory shotguns, the stock has a length of pull over 14 inches. It’s too long, so swapping the stock is going to be the most important upgrade one can make. You can attach any 870 stock, and the Magpul SGA is my favorite candidate.
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The pump is fine, a bit small, and it lacks texture, but it’s fine. Luckily, it’s easy to replace. Maybe with a Nightstick SFL? This is a forend with an integrated light and laser. It’s a fun gun, so lights aren’t always necessary, but hey, I like to tinker and have a spare.
The gun comes drilled and tapped for optics, making it easy to equip the gun with a rail and a ghost ring rear sight and forward rifle sight. Pretty nice setup for a fairly cheap gun. The gun comes with a five-round Saiga magazine, and capacities from 5 to 25 exist in box magazines and drums.
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Extra capacity is a benefit to mag-fed shotguns. You aren’t dependent on magazine tube length to hold shells, so the magazines can hold a ton without making the gun any longer. Plus, it’s much faster to reload. All good strengths to have.
The Problems Start
The first thing I learned about the Civet 12 is that you cannot insert a magazine with the bolt closed. Even downloading the magazine didn’t work. You have to pull the pump rearward and insert the magazine; then you’re good to go. Doesn’t sound so bad, a little annoying for sure, but there turned out to be some issues.
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First, when inserting the magazine, especially 10-rounders, it’s easy to accidentally press the pump just a hair forward. The longer mags will usually hit it, but your hand can do it, especially if you’re going fast. If it’s moved forward, even slightly, it won’t chamber a round when you close the action. You’ll have an empty chamber and click when you expect a boom.
Additionally, reloading is a hassle. It’s not intuitive, and the depth the magazine has to enter the magwell doesn’t help. The front lug for the magazine is small, and it’s easy to miss due to the depth requirement. Changing magazines was never fast because of missing the lug.
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The magazine does rock and lock smoothly, often rubbing on the receiver. All in all, it’s a mess.
Shooting the Civet 12
Besides the magazine issues, the gun was not reliable. There were numerous failures to extract, requiring a punch rod to beat it out. Not optimum. We got a handful of double feeds, which weren’t easy to fix. It would get through a couple of magazines without issue, then I’d get two or three in the next few.
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I tried a variety of different loading and shell lengths, but nothing fed reliably. Ultimately, the Civet 12 isn’t a reliable option for any serious use. It’s not even that fun to shoot with the malfunctions. I wanted a fun gun, but the meter pinged heavily in the not-so-fun direction.
Beyond the malfunctions, the gun handles fine. The sights are easy to use, fast, and align for a good point of aim, point of impact with buckshot. The red dot mount allows you to accessorize and clean up with slugs.
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The action is surprisingly smooth most of the time, with occasional friction when a round doesn’t want to depart from the magazine. If it didn’t have reliability issues, it might have become one of my favorite fun guns, but alas, it’s nothing more than a beater at this point.
The Civet 12 and The Future
Since the gun was so cheap, I looked into it a bit more. I found some videos of folks who have trimmed some of the internals to create a more reliable shotgun. I might take a stab at doing so myself. What do I have to lose? I get to play gun plumber with power tools. If I can make it work, you’ll be the first to know.
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