This is a continuation of the article about carbines of the KS-23 family. The first part is HERE.
KS-23K (Special carbine, 23 mm, short)
KS-23K is a further development of the "Drozd" theme. It was created by the specialists of the Tula KBP in 1998 on the basis of the main units and mechanisms of the KS-23 and KS-23M "Drozd" carbines, namely the trigger and the barrel.
The KS-23K was born because the security forces were not quite satisfied with the previous modifications of the KS family carbines due to the small capacity of the tubular magazines used in them, the low rate of fire and the impossibility of quickly replacing one type of used ammunition with another, for example, cartridges with gas grenades with knockout or shotguns cartridges. In addition, the dimensions of the above weapons were found to be of little use in confined spaces.
Taking into account the wishes of the operators, the Tula gunsmiths decided to equip the new sample with a detachable box magazine with a capacity of 7 rounds, and
to make the weapon smaller, the Bullpup layout was used with all the ensuing technical solutions inherent in this layout.
The only photo of KS-23K (Special carbine, 23mm, Short)
Reloading is done using a movable forend, which is rigidly connected to the shutter.
Thanks to the tips from users “Sanya.vorodis” and “Gross kaput” it became known that the fore-end is connected to the bolt by means of one single rod, which is located on the left side.
This solution was applied to hunting pump-action guns TOZ-94, TOZ-194 and IZH-81.
The KS-23K fuse is mechanical, flag type and is located above the pistol grip, on the left side. The spent cartridge case ejection window is located on the right side of the receiver. The ejector window is covered with a special plate that opens only when the shutter moves back to eject the sleeve. The magazine catch is located behind the magazine receiver. There is a rubber butt pad on the back of the receiver. The sight of the KS-23K carbine is unregulated, open type. The high sight rack serves as a handle for carrying the carbine.
For firing in the KS-23K, the same ammunition is used as in the KS-23 and KS-23M. There is no data on the compatibility and use of the "Cat", "Nozzle-6" and "Nozzle-12" barrel attachments.
Initially, the production of KS-23K carbines was established at NPO Tekhnika, which is now part of the PKU NPO STiS of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.
Whether the KS-23K is being produced now, whether they are accepted into service and whether they are being used - these are questions to which I have not found answers.
Most likely, the KS-23K were produced in a limited batch for testing and were no longer produced.
At least, the KS-23K carbine is absent from the official list of weapons in service with the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Comparative table with the performance characteristics of carbines of the KS-23 family:
Civilian versions of the KS-23 carbine
As a result of a massive conversion in the mid-90s, the Tula Arms Plant offered hunters a modern interpretation of the subject of “weftfighter”.
It was a TOZ-123 pump-action smoothbore shotgun for amateur and commercial hunting of the 4th caliber (23, 75 mm) for special shot cartridges 4x81. The TOZ-123 gun was developed on the basis of the KS-23 carbine and actually differed from its “donor” except for the smooth barrel bore (without rifling) and the ammunition used. The English Wikipedia says that they tried to offer TOZ-123 for export. In particular, the manufacturer was interested in supplies to the American market, but the Clinton administration imposed a ban on the import of TOZ-123 into the United States.
The same gun was produced in Klimovsk (TsNIITOCHMASH) under the Selezen-4 brand.
TTX TOZ-123. Screenshot of a page that no longer exists. It was posted on the website of the Tula Armory.
"Drake-4" is a heavy powerful gun, so it turned out to be of little use for hunting in its modern sense. Therefore, sane hunters did not see the point in using such a mortar. The gun was bought either by novice hunters, or simply by collectors of interesting and unusual weapons, of which there were not so many in the troubled 90s. The demand for the “Drake-4” gun was so low that its production was quickly curtailed.
It was not possible to find out the exact number of rifles fired, but, most likely, the total number of "Drakes" produced hardly exceeded 150-200 pieces.
The “Drake-4” rifle has a barrel without grooves.
Today, "Drake-4", due to its small circulation and unusualness, arouses more interest among amateurs and collectors of weapons than in the dashing 90s. Therefore, there is a small but constant demand for the used “Drakes”.
I want to point out that the sale or purchase of this giant “pump” is no different from the design of other smaller-caliber hunting rifles. Since August 1996, “Drake” can be bought and then registered in the Licensing and Permitting Department and used for hunting, shooting sports or self-defense.
Cartridges
While the "Drake" was produced and for the next few years after its discontinuation, VNIITOCHMASH produced cartridges of the 4th caliber with a sample of gunpowder of the "Sokol" brand 3, 9 gr. and 47 gr. fractions. The amount of shot in these cartridges could be surprising: after all, any magnum - 12-gauge cartridge has 48 grams of shot. However, according to experienced hunters and owners, "Drake" can withstand shots with cartridges loaded on their own, with a weight of up to 65-70 g of shot. This possibility to some extent justifies the meaning of the gun as a duckling.
Self-loading of cartridges is the only thing that remains for the owners of the Drakes: they are not on sale, since cartridges have not been produced for a long time. But this occupation is by no means simple. There are no 4-gauge casings on sale, no wad containers, no tools for home assembly of cartridges. Owners of these guns can only buy gunpowder, shot and primers. That is why the savvy owners of Drakes use cardboard sleeves from 4-caliber signal flares as “donors” for assembling cartridges. Cartridges for rocket launchers are still in production, and the standard capsule can be replaced with the desired one.
For the same purposes, with minor alterations, even sleeves from aviation systems are used to shoot heat traps of the ASO type. The procedure is as follows: an electric capsule is removed from the shot casings from the ASO, then a bushing is installed in its place, into which standard Zhevelo or KB capsules, which are sold in hunting stores, are pressed into it.
On the basis of the KS-23 carbine, another sample of civilian weapons was developed for cartridges of 16 and 12 caliber: the Bekas smooth-bore pump-action shotgun. "Bekas" and its numerous modifications are produced at the "Molot" plant.
Its history began with the fact that in the early 90s TsNIITOCHMASH specialists turned to VPMZ "Molot" and proposed to develop a civil pump-action shotgun on the basis of the same KS-23 carbine. At the Vyatka-Polyansky plant, no one had experience in designing smooth-bore hunting weapons, but a month later a gun was developed for cartridges with a short sleeve 16x35. Soon, a prototype was made, which, given the weak cartridge and the large mass of the weapon, caused only surprise and smiles. Work continued, and a prototype for the once popular 16x70 cartridge was born. In 1997, a trial batch was made, which did not exceed 20 barrels. After passing the tests, the "Bekas" appeared in the basic version.
Eighteen years have passed since then, but "Bekas" is being produced to this day, and new versions and modifications appear. At the moment, a self-loading version of the gun is available on the market under the name "Snipe-Auto", which is produced by the Hammer Arms enterprise.
Alternative designs
Special carbine OTs-28
The KS-23K carbine was developed at KBP in the late 90s. In parallel with it, the KBP branch (TsKIB SOO) were engaged in their own development, as a result of which a special OTs-28 carbine appeared. The OTs-28 did not enter service, at least for economic reasons: its production was more expensive than the KS-23K, so the latter was put into service.
Special carbine OTs-28 with a muzzle attachment No. 12 for firing 82-mm grenades "Cheryomukha-12"
The special OTs-28 carbine is built according to the “traditional” layout scheme, according to which the trigger is located behind the magazine.
The layout scheme is the main difference between the OTs-28 and the KS-23K, which is built according to the bullpup scheme.
The OTs-28 carbine is equipped with a folding shoulder rest, which in the folded position is superimposed over the receiver and fixed.
The shoulder rest in the folded position can serve as a handle for carrying a weapon.
I have no data on sights. It is quite possible that the rear sight is located on the upper part of the receiver, and when the shoulder rest is folded (in the folded handle), the diopter sight is hidden, as on the M16.
For firing in the KS-23K, the same ammunition is used as in the carbines of the KS-23 family, including the "Cat", "Nozzle-6" and "Nozzle-12" barrel attachments.
The wide range of 23-mm cartridges for carbines of the KS-23 family gave impetus to the creation of cheap single-shot products.
The Research Institute of Special Equipment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs remembered the German Sturmpistole and developed an inset rifled barrel-liner for installation in the GP-25 "Koster" grenade launcher. The interchangeable barrel was named "Larry".
The SPS was not ignored either. Using a flare gun from the Second World War as a prototype, they developed a single-shot rifle of a breakthrough design, which received the index OF-93 "Farmer".
On the basis of the sawn-off shotgun from the OF-93, a pistol was developed, which received the Tulyak index.
Farmer's weapon: OF-93 "Farmer"
Pistol 'Tulyak', developed on the basis of OF-93
This is all that I was able to collect and systematize on the subject of 23-mm weapons of Soviet / Russian design.
I would be grateful for any additions and comments.
Finally, I would like to share the document “Technical description and operating instructions for the KS-23”. I posted it on Google Drive for public use. The document is saved in PDF format and can be found HERE. It can be opened and simply viewed or downloaded and saved on your computer.
Thank you for the attention!
Sources of information:
Igor Skrylev KS-23: Our police carbine.
Mischuk A. M. 23-mm special carbine (KS-23).
Degtyarev M. The birth of "Snipe".
Blagovestov A. From what they shoot in the CIS.
Monetchikov S. B. Infantry weapons of the 3rd Reich. Pistols.
