Shotgun IZH-5: characteristics. Hunting rifle shotgun

In Russia, the production of hunting weapons was massively established in the early twentieth century. However, the First World War and the Civil War made their own adjustments, and its release practically ceased. Against the background of the ruin and poverty of many rescued hunting, but there was a catastrophic lack of guns. Gradually, the production of simple ramrod copies, as well as alterations from domestic and foreign ammunition, was adjusted. Somewhat later, IG-5 guns and similar modern carbines were launched at that time. The Izhevsk model is a single-shot design with one trunk of a fracture type. Locking is carried out with the upper key, and the middle-impact mechanism is made with an external trigger.

Historical facts

The factory in Izhevsk began to make hunting rifles with the organization of a special model workshop, which recruited the best specialists in its field. The plant's products quickly became popular. At the beginning of the 20th century, Izhevsk masters serially produced weapons of various types and calibers, as well as elite models designed to reward officers.

With the advent of the power of the Soviets, gunsmiths from the Izhevsk plant mostly manufactured hunting rifles 28 and 32 caliber. This is due to the fact that most of the copies were converted from military rifles. The first IZH-5 gun was launched in 1924. There were attempts to produce double-barreled variations, samples with shops, but they were not widely spread. In place of the "five" in 1936 came IZHB-36 12 caliber with a pair of trunks.

A role model

The hunting rifle IG-5 was produced at the Izhevsk Arms Combine, in the shops of the steelmaking plant (1924-1241 and 1945-1948), and in Tula (1932-1941). The most common caliber was 16, 18, 20, 24 and 28.

This modification is almost an exact copy of the single-barreled American model "Iver Johnson", which, due to its excellent ballistic qualities and simplicity of design, was copied all over the world. The design features and advantages of these weapons include the following:

• The presence of a powerful ejector, throwing away the spent sleeve.
• Easy assembly and reliability.
• High accuracy due to special drilling.
• A well-developed shock-trigger mechanism.
• Pistol box made of walnut.
• Simple and reliable lock, comfortable upper arm.

Often, the domestic gun was called "Izhevsk-Johnson" for the striking similarity between the original and the Russian counterpart.

Design features

The domestic variant differed from the American prototype in that a birch bed was used instead of walnut. In addition, the IZH-5 gun is equipped not with ebonite but with a steel backplate, has belt-mounted antabuses and cylindrical barrel drilling.

Disassembly of the carbine is made by separating the barrel from the shoe after removing the forehead. The first models had a spring lock. In fact, the gun just broke away from the barrel. In the modifications of the postwar production, the fore-end was equipped with a locking latch on the barrel.

Visible differences of the Izhevsk variation:

• Elongated shoe (16 cm).
• Slight elevation of its edges above the breech (2-3 mm).
• Slotted type.
• Fixing the striker with a screw in the shoe on the right.
• Presence of trigger axes (7 mm) and upper hook (2 mm).
• Weight - 2,5-3 kg.

Later modifications were equipped with a cover (45 * 18 mm), which serves to cover the back of the block cut. The trigger axis was placed in a special niche provided directly in this cover.

Benefits

Model IZH-5 - a gun, the characteristic of which in many ways is similar to the American "Johnson", has a number of objective advantages:

• Single-barreled specimen does not have a heavy and massive shutter, unlike the variants converted from military rifles designed for pressure, 4 times higher than the indicator for hunting cartridges.
• The long barrel provides accurate damage to the target both with shot and shot.
• The weapon is reliable in operation, it is inexpensive, durable and lightweight.

Due to its parameters, the gun in question was in great demand among the hunting hunters.

Shortcomings

Despite all the advantages, single-barreled IZH-5 guns had certain disadvantages. The presence of one barrel causes some inconvenience during hunting. This defect was attempted to be eliminated by constructing a magazine according to the type of rifle pattern, but the modification did not take root in wide use.

Quite often, the trunks of domestic single-barrels loosened in the shoe after two or three hundred shots. This was due to an inaccurate fit of the landing area of the shoe. The American analogue was able to sustain steadily five to ten times more shots. The locking mechanism of the Izhevsk model was also not very reliable. Another significant drawback, which had a hunting smooth-bore gun IZH-5 - is the use of a cartridge with a paper sleeve, which contributed to a deterioration in the quality of the shot. Nevertheless, experienced hunters reached a combat accuracy of at least 40 percent.

Modern analogues

To replace the rifle under consideration, several modifications have come. Now IZH-18 is being manufactured. It is manufactured in all standard calibers (from 12 to 32). The barrel is not equipped with a sighting bar, the length of the chamber is 70 centimeters. The barrel and fore-end are removable. The hunting rifle shotgun IZH-18 is equipped with beech, birch or nut lodges and a pistol or straight neck. It can be easily divided into three parts.

The IZH-5 gun, unlike the modern modification, was not equipped with a special unlocking lever. It serves to quickly open the bolt and is placed below under the shoe, behind the safety guard. When it is raised, the trigger is synchronously switched to combat mode and the barrel is unlocked. In the improved model IZH-18E, the ejector is still activated. If a misfire occurs, the trigger can be re-inflated without opening the carabiner by moving the lever from top to bottom.

Conclusion

IZH-5 20-caliber gun is a fairly popular hunting rifle, which was actively used for fishing purposes and by ordinary hunters. Reliability, simplicity of construction and good ballistic characteristics became the main factors that influenced the popularity of this weapon. This modification is still used in some regions.

With the serial production of the gun was removed because of the use of paper cartridges and rapid deformation of the shock-trigger mechanism. Nevertheless, during its existence IZH-5 occupied a worthy place among the products of domestic gunsmiths.