After the failure with the P-96 pistol, the Tula State Unitary Enterprise "KBP" thoroughly revised the design of a promising army pistol, presenting the GSh-18 pistol in the early 2000s.
In the course of development, various ways of locking the barrel were considered - with a swinging wedge, as in the German Walther P38 pistol, and an earring, as in the TT pistol. In the final version, neither the first nor the second option was approved, and a locking scheme was implemented by turning the barrel due to the interaction of the protrusion on the breech of the barrel with the groove of the pistol frame liner.
The barrel engages with the bolt by ten stops located in the front part, with a clutch fixed in the bolt. When locking, the barrel turns 18 degrees (the P-96 had one stop and a 30 degree turn.
The trigger mechanism (USM) of the GSh-18 pistol is conceptually similar to the trigger mechanism of the Austrian Glock pistol - striker, with an automatic safety lock on the trigger (the “Sport” version does not have an automatic safety lock on the trigger). The trigger moves straight when pressed (trigger), reminiscent of the trigger for a TT pistol.
Manufacturer - State Unitary Enterprise "KBP" (now JSC "KBP") often opposed the GSh-18 pistol Glock-17, indicating a smaller number of parts and weight, the ability to work in contaminated conditions and technological simplicity of production.
Unfortunately, in a real comparison, things are not so rosy. Personal experience, albeit small, shows that shooting from a Glock-17 pistol is much more comfortable compared to shooting from a GSh-18 (GSh-18 in a sports modification). The disadvantages of the latter include the higher complexity of the store's equipment, less comfortable descent, less convenience of twitching the shutter due to the small area of the side edges (slips). When fired, the sleeve flies not to the side, but vertically upward, trying to hit the head or by the collar, which also does not add to the comfort of shooting.
The overall manufacturing quality of the GSH-18 pistol is much worse than that of the Glock-17. According to the shooting gallery instructor, after 10,000 shots (with sports cartridges, not 7N31 armor-piercing cartridges), the GSh-18 must be sent to the factory for restoration. Glock-17 can withstand more than 100,000 shots (and sometimes 200,000 shots) without any problems.
Formally, GSh-18 was adopted by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, but in fact, purchases were carried out in minimal quantities.
There are enough materials on the Internet that claim that Glock pistols are not suitable for arming the army, since they can fail if contaminated. But personally, I would prefer a pistol that, although it can stop working when contaminated, is guaranteed to work reliably under normal conditions, than a pistol that can fail at any time due to disgusting workmanship, with the theoretical possibility of working in mud.
Nevertheless, work on fine-tuning the pistol is slowly going on, as can be judged by the appearance on the manufacturer's website of a photograph of an updated version of the GSH-18. Let's hope that, although small, but the real market for sports weapons, will force the manufacturer to pay attention to his brainchild, bring it "to mind" and solve production quality problems.
It will not be superfluous to create the GSh-18 in a version chambered for the.40 S&W cartridge and create a compact modification modeled on the Glock-26/27 pistols.
Of course, the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant could not stay away from the topic of developing an army pistol. In 1993, within the framework of R&D "Grach", a pistol designed by Yarygin (PYa) with the same name "Grach" was presented.
The Yarygin pistol has a classic design based on a short recoil of the barrel and its rigid locking with a skew in the vertical plane. Locking is carried out by a protrusion in the breech of the barrel behind the window for ejection of sleeves in the bolt.
The bolt and pistol frame are made of steel. The Yarygin pistol uses a double action trigger with an open trigger. A double-sided non-automatic fuse, located on the frame, and when turned on, blocks the trigger, sear and bolt; when the fuse is on, the trigger can be blocked both in the cocked and deflated state. Magazine capacity 17 rounds.
Formally, Yarygin's 9mm pistol was declared the winner and adopted by the RF Armed Forces. In the future, the pistol began to be purchased not only by the Armed Forces, but also by other Russian power structures.
Yarygin's pistol, like its counterpart for the competition, the GSh-18 pistol, is plagued by manufacturing quality problems. The pistol turned out to be quite voluminous and heavy, it may seem uncomfortable to carry it on a permanent basis after PM.
On the basis of the Yarygin pistol, several versions of civilian pistols were developed - the MP-445 "Varyag" and the MP-446 "Viking".
During the same period, the MP-444 "Bagheera" pistol was developed for 9-mm cartridges: 9 × 17K, 9 × 18PM and 9 × 19 Parabellum.
The frame of the Bagheera pistol is made of high-strength injection molded thermoplastic, with integrated stamped front and rear guides. When unlocking - locking, the barrel moves due to the interaction of the bevel on the lower protrusion of the barrel with the bevel on the basis of the return-buffer mechanism. The return-buffer mechanism provides shock absorption of the barrel and bolt in the rearmost position
This pistol uses the original trigger. On the one hand, it is of the striker type, but at the same time there is a special cocking striker resembling a trigger, which allows the shooter to cock the striker manually and thus fire both self-cocked and with a pre-cocked striker.
The MP-444 Bagheera pistol remained a prototype.
Another prototype was the MP-445 "Varyag" pistol, the design of which is based on the Yarygin pistol. The MP-445 Varyag pistol was intended for the civilian market and was to be produced in 9x19 and.40 S&W calibers in full-size and compact versions. The MP-445 body is made of polymer, structurally the pistol is similar to the MP-443.
The most successful modification of Yarygin's pistol was the MP-446 "Viking" pistol, which differs from its combat prototype in essence by the frame material. For MP-443 it is made of steel, for MP-446 the frame is made of high-strength polymer.
It was this pistol that began to be purchased in large quantities by shooting galleries and sportsmen by “practitioners”. First of all, this was facilitated by the minimum cost of the MP-446 - from 20,000 rubles at the present time. The low price forces them to close users to the many operational problems of the Viking, especially in the initial period of release.
During training in shooting from the MP-446 "Viking" pistol, I shot several thousand rounds. During all this time, when firing from a pistol belonging to a shooting organization (i.e. operated by many people), cartridges of not the highest quality, there were only a few delays / distortions. A partner once had a malfunction in the same pistol, which required repairing it. From personal feelings, the pistol at first seems uncomfortable, the handle is large for shooters with a small hand, but then you get used to it. For pistols of early releases, magazines were often incompatible (the magazine from one pistol did not fit to another and vice versa).
Shooters who are engaged in practical shooting professionally, over time, usually change the MP-446 to foreign samples, for example, the Czech CZ or the Austrian Glock.
However, competition in the sports short-barreled weapon market forces the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant, which is part of the Kalashnikov concern, to develop its brainchild. In 2016, an improved model was presented - the Viking-M pistol with the resource of the main parts increased to 50,000 shots.
A large notch appeared on the shutter, including in the front of the shutter, a Picatinny rail was added for mounting additional accessories. Thanks to a weighting agent in the front of the pistol frame, as well as an elongated and thickened barrel, the pistol's balance is improved and its toss when firing is reduced. For the Viking-M pistol, a new magazine with a single-row exit of cartridges was developed, however, the pistol is compatible with magazines of both types, both with single-row and double-row exit of cartridges.
The modernization of the Viking pistol in the Viking-M is very important, since the developments used in it can later be implemented in the design of the Yarygin MP-443 army pistol. There is no doubt that no matter whether the Kalashnikov concern needs to compete in the relatively open market of sports short-barrels, the modernization of the pistol, if carried out, would be an order of magnitude slower, which once again emphasizes the importance of the civilian weapons market in the country.
I would very much like to hope that the country's arms concerns will resist the temptation to restrict the admission of foreign weapons to the domestic market by administrative measures. Although such a step will bring financial benefits in the short term, in the long term it will completely discourage them from developing and improving their products.
In 2012, information appeared in the media about another Russian Glock killer - the Strike One / Strizh pistol. Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation, at that time it was D. O. Rogozin, said that the Strizh pistol would be adopted and replace the Makarov pistols and Yarygin pistols in the RF Armed Forces.
Later, representatives of the RF Armed Forces reported that the Strizh pistol was supposed to be included in the Ratnik equipment in the future, but that will be later, but for now the army will buy Gyurza and PYa pistols. A couple of months later, it was reported at all that the Strizh pistol had not passed the state tests and was rejected.
The lack of reliable data on the tests does not allow us to understand what exactly the Strizh pistol did not suit the military, and whether there are any "pitfalls" here, especially considering the fact that TsNIITOCHMASH, where the tests were carried out, is itself a manufacturer of weapons and claims to supply of army pistols to the RF Armed Forces.
Returning to the Strizh pistol. The pistol was developed and manufactured by the joint Russian-Italian company Arsenal Firearms. The pistol itself is conceptually and visually reminiscent of the very Glock to which it is opposed.
The peculiarity of the Strizh pistol is the lowered position of the barrel relative to the handle, which reduces the barrel toss when firing. The barrel of the pistol moves along the frame along the guides, locking is carried out by a U-shaped insert movable in the vertical plane. The pistol uses a striker-type trigger trigger, single action, with a partial cocking of the striker.
Currently, the Strizh pistol as such no longer exists, and, by the way, it most likely did not exist, but the Italian Strike One pistol was hastily adapted for the Russian market.
Due to trademark disputes, Arsenal Firearms rebranded itself to become Archon Firearms in the United States. Pistol "Strike One" has also undergone design changes, and is sold under the name "Stryk B". In Russia, the Stryk B pistol can be purchased as a sporting weapon.
Once again, the topic of an army pistol surfaced in 2015, when the Kalashnikov concern presented a promising PL-14 pistol developed by designer Dmitry Lebedev, which was renamed PL-15 after modification.
The Lebedev PL-15 pistol uses automation using the recoil of the bolt coupled to the barrel with a short barrel stroke. Unlocking is carried out by lowering the breech of the barrel with a figured tide under the breech of the barrel. The barrel bore is locked by a protrusion in the upper part of the barrel behind the ejection window.
The frame of the pistol is made of aluminum alloy, in the future it is planned to use a frame made of high-strength polymer, the maximum thickness of the handle is 28 mm. USM pistol PL-15 hammer, with a hidden trigger and inertial striker, only double action (trigger pull is 4 kg, trigger travel 7 mm). There is a double sided manual safety device.
A version of the PL-15-01 pistol has been developed, which has a single-action striker trigger, with a reduced trigger force and trigger travel. A shortened version, PL-15K, has also been developed.
At the end of 2018, the managing director of the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant, Alexander Gvozdika, announced that the serial production of the PL-15 pistol would begin in 2019 on new technological equipment. The pistol will be produced for law enforcement agencies and for civilian (read sports) use. At the IDEX international arms exhibition, which took place in Abu Dhabi in February 2019, a sports version of the PL-15 pistol was presented - the SP1 pistol.
It would be extremely useful if, before being put into service, the PL-15 pistol was released in a sports version, and “walked” around the market for several years, in order to reveal all possible design flaws. No testing can replace this experience, you can give an example from another area, when a seemingly repeatedly tested product - the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, suddenly began to explode when it hit real users.
Another potential contender for the title of an army pistol is the Udav self-loading pistol developed by TsNIITOCHMASH. The first information about this pistol appeared back in 2016, but they actively started talking about this pistol in 2019, in connection with the end of state tests.
The Udav pistol was developed to replace the Serdyukov SPS self-loading pistol (SR-1M, Gyurza / Vector) and uses the same 9x21 caliber ammunition. Due to the fact that the 9x21 cartridge is used mainly by special units, it is wrong to say that the Boa pistol will become the main army pistol, rather it, like the Gyurza, will be purchased in limited quantities. And talking about replacing the Makarov pistol with this pistol in the Ministry of Internal Affairs is at least strange.
The Boa pistol has a classic design using the recoil energy of the barrel during its short stroke. Coupling of the barrel and the bolt is carried out by a protrusion in the breech of the barrel with a window for ejecting the sleeves, disengagement occurs when the figured cutout under the barrel interacts with the frame elements. The frame is made of polymer with steel support elements.
The trigger mechanism is hammer, double action, with an openly located trigger. Manual safety levers are duplicated on both sides of the bolt. The double-exit detachable box magazine has a capacity of 18 rounds. An interesting feature of the "Boa constrictor" pistol is an automatic shutter delay, the shutter is removed from the delay automatically when a new magazine is installed.
It is unlikely that the "Boa constrictor" will appear in a commercial version if it is not released in a version chambered for, for example, 9x19.
In general, an interesting practice has developed recently in Russia. A new pistol appears, the media sing praises to it, with the obligatory indication of how much it surpasses world analogues in general, and Glock pistols in particular. After a while, the hype dies down, reports of tests and imminent acceptance into service appear sluggishly, and then information about the next killer of Glock's iPhone quietly disappears. Ultimately, the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Internal Affairs remain with the PM.
As a result, the classic Russian questions arise: who is to blame and what to do?
The easiest way to explain the problems of an army pistol in Russia is a conflict of mutually exclusive interests of arms enterprises and concerns. This is certainly the case, but such is the nature of the market. Lobbying of interests and undercover bickering exists not only in Russia, but also in the United States, and in all other countries of the world, it was also in the USSR.
The problem is that in the United States, for example, there is a huge domestic market, the consumers of which cannot be won over with sweet fairy tales. As part of the competition for this market, weak manufacturers are eliminated, the designs of pistols and other weapons are being polished, and production lines are being improved.
When the moment comes to choose a new army pistol, potential suppliers do not need to develop a fundamentally new weapon. They take a pistol that has been accepted by the market, whose design has been worked out by millions of users, and based on it, often almost without alterations, they offer it to the US Army.
And no amount of gimmicks or numerous tests can replace the collective experience gained by arms manufacturers from independent users who are not bound by the rule of "you will have what you give." Ultimately, almost any of the alleged army pistols - GSh-18, PYa, PL-15 or other, can be brought to the required quality level and suitable for use as an army / police pistol. The question is how many "bumps" will be collected in the process of bringing this weapon "to mind", and how much time / money will be spent.
What should be done first?
First, to teach how to shoot those pistol users who are supposed to be on duty, and to teach how to shoot from what they own now. If an officer of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation wears a PM, then give him the opportunity to train in shooting from it, and oblige this opportunity to use, and not wait for the appearance of a miracle pistol, at the sight of which the enemy immediately falls dead from its mere sight. And the consumption of cartridges for these trainings should be at least several hundred per month per person - this is the very minimum. To hammer into your head the rules of safe handling of weapons, adopted in practical shooting competitions.
It is better to be able to shoot with a PM than not to be able to use a Glock.
Domestic enterprises need to stop the vicious practice of targeting the lowest price segment of the market. Lower price means lower wages for workers, worse equipment, and hence worse product quality and, as a result, lower price. In general, a vicious circle.
The only thing that can motivate arms manufacturers to develop is competition in the open, including for foreign manufacturers, civilian arms market. Even those insignificant volumes that are being implemented now for practicing athletes are forcing manufacturers to move forward. In the case of legalization of rifled short-barreled weapons for citizens of the Russian Federation, sales will amount to hundreds of thousands - millions.
As a result, the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other law enforcement agencies will be able to receive guaranteed high-quality weapons, as well as employees who can competently use them. In the meantime, both in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Makarov pistol remains the most common and reliable weapon of its class.
