Is the USAS 12 semi auto shotgun legal? If I could get a lower for it, could I pin the mag like a regular assault rifle?

I'm pretty sure this was actually declared a "destructive device" by the ATF.  Absolutely ridiculous, I know.

Its a DD now and we cant have it.Before the ban I remember B&B sales had one on the shelf listed for a whopping $1200 back then.I kick myself in the ass for not buying one back then.

Rumor has it the things beat themselves to death with heavy use.

Can't confirm it because I haven't met an owner of one that actively shoots the hell out of the thing.

Russel and Shawn of Cavalry Arms have talked about somebody they knew who used one in 3 gun, I figure one of those stupid things would clean up in certain stages.

That stinks, because they made a semi-auto version. How difficult is it to get the dd permit?

Quoted: That stinks, because they made a semi-auto version. How difficult is it to get the dd permit?

The permit is only half the battle. For the average joe nobody they can only get a DD permit as a collector, but that does not give them the ability to detonate their DDs. So you could spend the money to get one and have it sit on your shelf, but a shell will never touch it's chamber as long as you are in California.

This isn't quite right.  The USAS-12 was legal in California even after the '94 reclassification and until SB23 was passed in '99.  California law specifically exempts shotguns from the definition of a Destructive Device whereas Federal Law does not.  Federally it's a DD and must be transferred like any other DD (Form 4, $200 tax, etc), however the state of California does not recognize the USAS-12 as a DD.  It's a Title I shotgun to them and could be transferred in using a DD Dealer who simply DROSed it after the Form 4 was approved.  This has not changed, however SB23 turned this into an AW requiring registration, so a complete USAS-12 would not be legal to buy today, but it is still exempt from DD status in CA.  If you could find a stripped USAS-12 receiver and a DD Dealer who would to the NFA transfer for you, you could in fact legally bring it in as long as it didn't have a pistol grip.  If you created a non-detachable magazine in some manner, the rebuild would circumvent SB23 completely and would be perfectly legal.  The trouble would be getting the Form 4 LEO signature.

Wow, thats a lot of information, thanks homeinvader!That answers my question.