The Osa barrelless pistol is familiar to many Russian citizens today. This is an excellent example of non-lethal civilian weapons. The development of this pistol was completed at the turn of 1997-1999 at the Research Institute of Applied Chemistry. Since 1999, this pistol has been mass-produced. Today, it is produced by the New Weapons Technologies (NOT) company located in the Moscow Region city of Sergiev Posad.
The modern weapons complex "Osa" is a multifunctional system of civilian firearms of limited destruction. "Wasp" is designed for active self-defense, as well as for giving various signals and lighting areas of the terrain. Especially for this pistol, 5 types of cartridges were developed: traumatic, light and sound, signal, lighting and aerosol.
The "Wasp" complex includes various modifications of firearmless self-defense devices and a set of various cartridges. Today it is one of the most advanced models of personal civilian self-defense weapons on the Russian market. "Wasp" embodies the unique developments of Russian defense enterprises, which have no analogues in the world. Well-developed ergonomics of the weapon in combination with the built-in laser designator make it possible to conduct aimed shooting with the efficiency and speed of an experienced shooter, even to an unprepared person. At the moment, a modification of the fourth generation "Wasp" barrelless pistol is in production, the representative of which is the PB-4-2 barrelless pistol.
A distinctive feature of the PB-4-2 barrelless pistol from its predecessors is the increased caliber and new ammunition. The manufacturer increased the caliber of the cartridges used in it by half a millimeter, most likely so that the cartridges from the old "Wasp" could not be used in the "new" (respectively, and vice versa). At the same time, the use of a new elongated sleeve made it possible to increase the powder charge in the cartridge, which, in turn, had a positive effect on the initial kinetic energy of the bullet.
The barrelless pistol PB-4-2 uses a new traumatic cartridge 18, 5x55TD, which has increased efficiency. It is reported that the stopping power of the new cartridge is comparable to the stopping power of the 9x18 mm cartridge of the PM pistol, which is very common in Russia, and its penetrating power (the likelihood of inflicting serious bodily harm on a person) is lower than that of its predecessors. The control board has also been improved, which uses a special integrated circuit. This increases the reliability of the weapon by significantly reducing the number of elements on the board.
However, the main difference is precisely the traumatic cartridge used, which is equipped with a large-caliber heavy bullet with a reinforcing metal core. When using the traumatic cartridge 18, 5x55T, its bullet has a stopping effect due to a strong pain effect. The painful effect occurs when a rubber bullet hits the target. In this case, the bullet does not cause serious bodily harm to the object if the shot is fired from a distance of more than one meter from the open end of the sleeve to the object. It should be noted that the muzzle energy of the bullet was 85 J for the previous Wasp pistol, and that for the new barrelless pistol PB-4-2 this figure reaches 93 J.
An additional advantage of the new cartridges is that the tail of the bullet is no longer sealed in the gas generator of the cartridge, as it was on previous models. This made it possible, in particular, to get rid of the "somersault" of the bullet in flight. Currently, the bullet is carried out separately from the gas generator, which makes it possible to achieve a free bullet exit from the sleeve. In addition, the weight of the bullet and its length were changed in the new ammunition, which also contributed to the stabilization of the bullet flight.
The average diameter of the sifting in five group shots of 4 cartridges in each group from a given pistol at a distance of 25 meters from the open end of the sleeve is 200 mm. At the same time, the use of the new cartridge 18, 5x55T allows to achieve a higher accuracy of fire, for example, in comparison with cartridges 20, 5x45, which are used in the Shaman pistol. At the same time, in traumatic cartridges 18, 5x55T, the bullet is no longer retained in the sleeve, in addition to elastic deformation of the rubber coating, compared to the old cartridges 18x45, which made it possible to achieve higher hitting accuracy and bullet stability in flight. At the same time, the shots from the "Wasp" are very loud, and the recoil of the PB-4-2 pistol is sensitive even for people accustomed to a service combat pistol.
For the pistol, there are also cartridges of caliber 18, 5 × 55, which are equipped with a special charge, which, when fired, creates a powerful sound shock and a flash of light, which causes a temporary, up to 30 seconds, loss of orientation, as well as visual and auditory sensations in the attacker. In order, if necessary, to send a distress signal and indicate your location, you can use special signal cartridges, which can be equipped with pyrotechnic elements of green, red and yellow colors. They are fired at a height of 100 to 120 meters. In this case, the burning time of the pyrotechnic elements is at least 6 seconds.
Also, the barrelless pistol OSA PB-4-2 is distinguished by its longer length and the presence of a special horizontal groove on the sides of the chamber block. In addition to installing large sighting devices, it is distinguished by the presence of a more powerful laser designator. The shape of the safety clip was also changed along with its increase, thanks to this, you can fire from a pistol even with gloves. Otherwise, the PB-4-2 pistol is practically indistinguishable from the PB-4-1ML model by its design. The PB-4-2 pistol is equipped with a block of four chambers, this block is made of a light alloy based on aluminum. In the role of the barrel in the pistol, a cartridge case is used.
The frame of the barrelless pistol is made of special impact-resistant plastic. In this case, the chamber block is connected to the frame using a special hinge assembly located in the lower rear part of the block. The process of loading the OSA PB-4-2 pistol is carried out strictly one cartridge at a time. The very process of reloading the cartridge chamber is carried out by folding it down, like a conventional double-barreled hunting rifle. In this case, the sleeves partially come out of the chamber with the help of a spring-loaded ejector. Then the sleeves are removed one by one by the shooter by hand. The pistol uses an electronic trigger that is powered by a magnetic pulse generator. It, in turn, generates energy by pulling the trigger. The laser designator mounted on the pistol is powered by a lithium battery. The LCC can be controlled using a switch located above the pistol grip on the left side of the frame.
From a visual point of view, the PB-4-2 pistol has significantly lengthened, which is further emphasized by the addition of horizontal grooves to its design. Perhaps the use of such a solution is intended to lighten the overall weight of the weapon. Also, the safety bracket of the start button has acquired a more interesting shape. Thanks to these visual changes, the pistol has become more impressive, now it is unlikely to be called "like a rocket launcher."
Another positive aspect of the change in the design of the Wasp PB-4-2 pistol was the installation of an open sighting device on it, which consists of an adjustable front sight and rear sight. In addition, the aiming process is facilitated by special contrasting white dots, which are applied to the rear sight and front sight. Another useful innovation is the placement of a special sling swivel on the lower part of the handle of a barrelless pistol, which is designed for the possible attachment of a pistol to a safety belt.
The main performance characteristics of the PB-4-2 pistol:
Caliber: 18, 5x55.
Dimensions: length - 130 mm, height - 119 mm, width - 39 mm.
Weapon weight without cartridges - 350 g.
Cartridge capacity - 4 pcs.
Descent force - 3, 5-4, 5 kgf.
Technical accuracy - no more than 220 mm for a series of 4 shots.
Application temperature range: shooting - from -30 ° to + 50 ° С, with a laser designator - from -10 ° to + 40 ° С.
The main performance characteristics of the cartridge 18.5x55T of traumatic action:
Bullet caliber - 15.6 mm.
Bullet weight - 13, 3 g.
Cartridge weight - 29 g.
The limiting initial kinetic energy of a bullet is 93 J.
The maximum muzzle velocity is 120 m / s.
