Weapons and firms. Every person, or rather a man, is a bit of a murderer at heart. This is in his genes, because it was a man who, for many hundreds of thousands of years, killed a variety of animals and fed them to his life partner and her offspring. Well fed - well bred. He fed poorly … and there was someone who could do it better and deprived the loser of the opportunity to pass on his genes.
Today, the question of killing animals for food is not on the agenda. But some of the "killer genes" inside men still remain, even if their percentage cannot yet be counted. That is why some males still go hunting (not to mention the fact that there are those who volunteer to join the Foreign Legion and Blackwaters!), While others … just shoot at the target! Quite a stupid occupation, in my opinion, if you are not going to make money from it, even more so - this is just an extra transfer of money and time, but, as they say, there is no dispute about tastes. On the other hand, if there is an opportunity to shoot, then why not shoot?
If you have the desire and the ability to shoot, then you also have the opportunity to choose a weapon for this. And the more people there are, the more samples they want to choose from. To emphasize, so to speak, your individuality with everything you can: both the quality of the weapon, and its appearance, and its result, which is often directly related to all this. And it is not surprising that in the West (by the way, today we also have) a large number of firms specialize in the production of both hunting and purely sporting (although who said that sporting weapons do not kill ?!) marksmanship weapons.
Some firms produce weapons for the army and the police, and some under these conditions - for citizens who are fanatical about shooting and … the same police who want something special. One of such firms turned out to be the American company Savage Arms, which we told you about in the two previous articles of this series. Its weapons were never able to make their way into the arsenals of the US Army, but on the American market for hunting and sporting weapons it is represented very worthily. Every year, this company produces more and more samples of both bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic rifles based on such famous designs of Eugene Stoner as the AR-10 and AR-15.
At one time, these rifles were not scolded by us except that only a lazy one. Well, actually, like the bourgeois way of life itself. But time passed, "passions subsided", the experience of using them was gained and it turned out that it was the AR-10 and AR-15, made of modern materials, with modern coating, with modern care products, that give excellent results when shooting and, one might say, and - this is hardly an exaggeration, they are almost an ideal weapon for sports shooting.
The company itself says today: “There is great news for serious shooters who want more from their modern sporting rifles. The legendary American gunsmith's new line of next-generation semi-automatic rifles takes the popular AR platform to new heights, offering higher performance, expanded caliber choices and modern designs, and a full suite of various standard feature upgrades. The family of four rifles, dubbed the MSR 10 and MSR 15 (an abbreviation for "Modern Sporting Rifles" - translates as "Modern Sporting Rifles" but the firm translates it as "Modern Savage Rifle"), includes a pair of powerful MSR 10 rifles. that turn shooters' dreams into easy play and provide tactical dominance at all long range shots. The two models in the MSR 15 line provide precision and firepower that the mass-produced M4 clones cannot achieve with standard specs. Savage Arms made the decision to enter the modern sporting rifle market not on a whim, and not overnight. The company has been producing firearms for over a century. Shooters around the world recognize the brand's name as synonymous with craftsmanship that delivers impeccable precision and unrivaled performance even in extreme shooting conditions. Savage is best known for its extensive collection of specially designed bolt action rifles that offers shooters of all ages and skills as unmistakable options for hunting, competitive shooting and just shooting for fun. But few consumers know that Savage has over the years also created quality barrels for other manufacturers, honing this process to the level of art.
Approximately 10 million modern sporting rifles are already in the hands of American gun owners, so why not give their owners the opportunity to purchase something new and even better. After communicating with thousands of shooters online and in person at ranges across the continent, the company knew exactly where and what it should aim for. Therefore, "Savage" settled on an expanded choice of calibers and increased custom functions. Experienced engineers of the company in the development of new rifles actively collaborated with ammunition manufacturers, which made it possible to optimize each new development for its specific cartridge. Today the company is on the offensive in the AR brand rifle market and is convinced that its latest developments are excellent examples in the family of all other “arches”. Meet the new generation of modern sporting rifles: MSR 10 Hunter and Long Range (AR-10 platform) and MSR 15 Recon and Patrol (AR platform -15). Together, they are raising the bar for modern sporting weapons even higher, and the serious shooters are sure to hit their targets everywhere with them.”
But how does the AR10 / AR15 system captivate both manufacturers and shooters? Well, everything is clear with the manufacturers. There is a license that you can freely buy. Recently, for example, the Russian company ORSIS announced the release of the AR15 and will now supply the ORSIS-AR15J semi-automatic rifle to the market. Moreover, earlier they were assembled from components supplied from the United States. Now she will make them from parts of her own production.
But many other firms do the same. They buy all the technical documentation, all the data on steel grades, tolerances, in a word - "a rifle on paper inside and out." And they begin to produce another clone. But … this is where the fun begins. The license does not prohibit changing the material, the shape of the handle, the barrel cover (receiver, as it is now called in English-language instructions). An absolute requirement is the interchangeability of parts, but only for the same cartridge and caliber. You can, however, change the caliber, which will require reworking many parts, but this is not prohibited by the license. So having licenses for the base 7.62mm (AR10) and 5.56mm (AR15) calibers, you can easily fire them for 7, 8, 6mm, 9 and 11.45mm cartridges. The main thing is that this cartridge of your choice is produced, known in the market and certified.
And then, again, modern achievements come into play. We install a free-hanging barrel on our rifle, which is a fashionable trend today, we put an adjustable buttstock at 5-7 positions, a Picatinny rail for the entire length of the receiver and a receiver ("from front sight to front sight", then a couple of "picatinny bars" on the sides and one on the lower side and … here we have a "new", excellent tactical rifle for … hunting large animals. But we can also make different barrels for different cartridges and thereby expand the "product line." different: matt black, "dark earth", "sand", "alpini" - that is, in principle, any color and for every taste. But, most importantly, it is still a convenient design. The rifle is simple. in fact, there are only two - the bolt, the bolt carrier and the return spring, which is easy to clean, in a word, for sportsmen and hunters this is the very thing.
But a lot in creating a new market model of weapons depends on the cartridge …
For example, the.338 Lapua Magnum cartridge (8, 6 × 70 mm) appeared - specially designed for long-range sniper shooting, and this immediately gave a chance to appear and a rifle specifically for this cartridge. It was created to conduct accurate fire at a "growth target" at a distance of up to 1800 m, that is, it requires a rifle capable of shooting farther than the one that uses.300 Winchester Magnum cartridges (7, 62 × 67 mm), but lighter than firing.50 BMG cartridges (12.7 × 99 mm). The optimal range of the.338 Lapua Magnum cartridge is 1500 m. That is, this cartridge occupies a niche between such sniper cartridges as.300 Win. Mag. and.408 Cheyenne Tactical (10.3 x 77 mm). And, of course, he needs his own, made specifically for him, a rifle.
In 2006, the.338 Federal cartridge (caliber 8.6 mm) was created, which soon earned a reputation as a universal cartridge, which, of course, was convenient for many shooters, since they received the destructive power of the "magnum" bullet, but without the "magnum" recoil. "And … who wouldn't like it? And, of course, the Savage MSR 10 Hunter rifle soon appeared for it. Weapons, both with a sliding bolt action and self-loading for this cartridge, are now produced by a number of well-known weapon companies, for example, Tikka, Sako, Ruger Firearms, Savage Arms, Wilson Combat, Arma Lite, DPMS Panther Arms. Moreover, just one listing of them speaks of a huge demand for weapons in the same USA. There are so many companies, and there is enough for everyone … "a place in the sun"!
But there are also.250 Savage 6mm and.300 Savage (7.8mm), so rifles can be created on this principle … a huge number and in fact today is exactly what is happening. In the advertising brochure of the "Savage" company, we find 12 (twelve!) Samples of various rifles based on the "good old" arch. By the way, the Savage company does just that, using many different cartridges for a variety of rifles. Ammunition in use today includes the.224 Valkyrie 5, 7mm, 6mm Creedmoor, 6.5 Creedmoor,.308 Winchester, 338 Federal and.223 REM - 5.56mm!
This is how the Savage company works today with the legacy of Eugene Stoner and, of course, not only it, but now also our Russian manufacturer ORSIS.
These are the principles today that are guided by modern manufacturers of "arches". Well, specifically, we will get acquainted with the samples of Savage products under the MSR brand next time.
