RUSSIAN SMALL ARMS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-03362A002500050005-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 9, 1999
• Sequence Number: 5
• Content Type: REPORT

Omnipresent PPSh 1941 and a ground-
modified DT Degtyarov in World War 11
service. Note cruciform carrier an table
holding biped legs of Degtyarov (Sovfoto)
SMALL ARMS
The army of the Soviet Union is equipped with reliable, functional weap-
ons, including several which are the ultimate in small arms simplicity
Tokarev 1940 rifles of both patterns were
seen in Revolution parade of 1948 (Sovfoto)
f4en of Siberian ski battalion (Yakutsk)
shooting 1891/30 Moison-Nagants
equipped with long bayonet (Sovfoto)
1p
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Dragging a PPSh 1941 submachine gun,
Russian officer instructs his men in In.
dian-style approach technique (Sovfoto)
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N 'rirr; SOVIET concept of warfare, the function of the army
I is to advance until the battle is decided. Closely sup-
ported by artillery and tanks, Russian infantry is expected
to advance without halting until the entire depth of enemy
positions has been penetrated. Heavy artillery fire preceeds
an attack. Tanks fight side by side with the infantry, over-
running centers of heavy resistance and punching holes into
enemy lines through which the infantry can advance. 'The
Soviet army is geared to overrun an enemy.
A Soviet infantry division of 9,300 men is made up of
three infantry regiments, one artillery regiment, one anti-
tank group, one battalion of engineers, and one communica-
tions company. Each infantry regiment consists of nine rifle
companies, one company of submachincgunners, one gun
battery, one anti-tank battery of six weapons, one detach-
ment of 27 anti-tank rifles, one mortar company, and one
pioneer company.
The infantry is armed with three shoulder weapons: the
1891/30 Moism-Nagcnt bolt-action rifle, the Simonov model
36 semiautomatic rifle, and the Tokarev model 40 semiauto-
matic rifle. The 1891/30 is a version of an action which is
over sixty years old. The Simonov has been in use since 1936,
and the Tokarev since 1940.
Essentially the Russian 1891/30 rifle is a manually-operated
officially adopted by Russia as the Model of 1891 rifle.
IIowever, in spite of contract manufacture of the arras at
Chatellerault in France, and in spite of extensive tooling up
at Tula Arsenal, it was not until about 1895 that enough
1891s were on hand to permit their issue as the prime
standard weapon.
Russian rifles and carbines on the basic 1891 action have
been produced in a variety of designs. In general, those made
before the Red Revolution may be distinguished from those
made subsequently by a receiver ring octagonal in section,
later weapons having a round ring. Similarly, Soviet versions
of the arm will generally have rear sights graduated in meters
while early arms will be found to be sighted in paces.
Early versions of the arm include the original model 1891
rifle, a 52-inch arm with 31 i/4-inch barrel; the dragoon rifle
of 1891, some three inches shorter in barrel and overall
lengths; and the 1910 carbine, a 20-inch barrel arm used by
machinegunners and artillerymen.
Other versions, such as the Models of 1894 and 1900 and
the American-made (Remington) Model 1916, represent
minor modifications of the original 1891 design. Earlier
weapons used sling swivels attached to magazine box and
upper band to attach the sling, but these swivels were subse-
quently abandoned in favor of slots through the stock to
Simonov 7.62 mm. rifle was Russia's first semiautomatic. Reportedly capable
of fully automatic fire, the rifle is fed from a 15-round magazine
Tokarev model 1940 7.62 mm. semiautomatic rifle has shorter stock than 1938
model, metal handguard forward of stock, and six-vent muzzle brake
two-lug bolt action fed from a five-round in-line box maga-
zine. Unlike most bolt-actions, in which the two locking
lugs at the bolt-head are vertically opposed when the bolt is
locked, the Moisin's lugs are horizontally opposed when
locked, engaging locking shoulders within the receiver ring.
This system offers certain advantages: for example, it. is not
necessary to cut away part of a locking shoulder to provide
a feed ramp.
The magazine is refilled either with single rounds or from
a five-round charger, and inclusion of an auxiliary interrupter
reduces the likelihood of rim-over-rim stoppages or of the
cartridge rim interfering with operation of multi-piece bolt.
The earliest version of the 1891/30 bolt-action rifle was
adopted by a special committee appointed in 1883. New
powders were either available or projected for the immediate
future, new bullet designs and calibers being considered, and
the use of magazine weapons was obviously only a matter
of time. At first, attention was paid largely to the matter
of a new cartridge and breech mechanism, but soon the
inquiry was broadened to take in magazine systems.
Final contenders in the competition were the rifles of
Sergei Ivanovitch Moisin (or Mosin, or Mouzin) and of the
Nagant firm in Belgium. The arm which was ultimately
selected used the Moisin breech mechanism combined with
the Nagant magazine and charger-loading system. Using a
rimmed, bottle-necked cartridge, caliber 7.62 mm., it was
JULY, NINETEEN FIFTY-ONE
accept straps to hold the sling ... precisely when this change
was made is not known, but it is believed to have taken place
around 1914.
In common with other countries, Russia, when first turning
to a smallborc rifle, adopted a long, round-nosed bullet. The
cartridge case was substantially the `7.62 Russian' case we
know today, a rimmed, bottle-necked one, but the bullet was
a 210-grain projectile fired at 2,034 feet a second. With the
improvement of 1908 came a pointed bullet of modern form
weighing about 150 grains and driven at about 2,800 feet
a second. This basic load was increased to around 2,854
feet a second by World War 11.
A `heavy ball' load was developed, something along the
general line of our M1 load, with a bullet weighing 182
grains driven at 2,670 feet a second. This was identifiable by
its yellow painted bullet nose. There was also a target (and
perhaps small-game) load with half-mantled 69-grain bullet.
In addition, of course, there were a great many other loads
including tracers; armour piercing, tracer; armour piercing,
incendiary; armour piercing, tracer, incendiary; armour pierc-
ing; high explosive, incendiary.
The first post-revolutionary Moisin of distinctive design
was the Model .1924/27 carbine. This arm was shortly fol-
lowed by the Soviet Model 1891/30 rifle, a modernized arm
patterned after the original dragoon rifle with 28.5-inch
barrel. During World War II a special short carbine was
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brought out, and it is reported that the latest issue arm is a
carbine with a permanently attached folding bayonet.
In general, these arms have all the beautiful charactcristi,s
of the Moisin-Nagants, including a noisy bolt whose handle
seems to extend at least several feet to the right; but wartime
experience with special rifles, designed for use with scope
sights, whose handles were necessarily bent down, seems i o
have given the Soviets the idea that a bent bolt handle need
not be summarily rejected.
Accuracy of the Moisin arms seems to be a debatable point.
If you listen to the reports of some of their more rabid-or
better indoctrinated-partisians, you will think that you ai e
hearing about a substitute for a custom bull gun, but less
prejudiced observers seem to feel that the weapons give, in
general, just about service accuracy and no more.
On this point, A. Engelhardt's notes on the Russian pe ?-
formanee at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics may shed some
light. Because the point of impact varied according to whether
or not the bayonet was fitted, the Russian team fired its course
with fixed bayonets-and came in last. Further, he mentions
that the Russians purchased a number of heavy-barrel target
rifles from GECO some time after 1920, which they obtained
at a very good price, the firm hoping thereby to secure :i
rc-order: the Russians were then found to be making the
guns themselves!
Soviet experience and experiments early dictated the adop-
tion of a self-loading infantry arm: In 1936 the Simonov
was taken up as a service weapon. Its complicated action---
it had, for example, a two-part bolt whose lower section war;
engaged by a locking member in the receiver which wat:
locked by the upper section of the bolt and unlocked by s
moving slide above the barrel!-and its vulnerability to dirt;
combined with the fact that a. complete field-strip was prat
tically impossible, caused it to be replaced in 1938. The
Simonov did have a highly efficient muzzle brake, and it in-
troduced into Soviet service the above-the-barrel nozzle-and-
cup gas system which later proved so successful in the Tokarcv
38s and 40s and in the German Gew 43/Kar 43 weapons.
With the adoption of the Tokarev 1938, an arm in whose
design Simonov seems to have played a considerable part, the
Russians secured an autoloading service weapon of superior
design. Its tilting bolt, the rear end of which is cammed down
into engagement with an internal locking shoulder by cams
in the spring loaded bolt cover plate, is remarkably simple
and sturdy. When the arm is fired, gases tapped off through
the gas nozzle drive back the gas cup and operating rod,
forcing back the bolt cover, which lifts and refracts the bolt.
A greatly simplified hammer and disconnector mechanism
provides semi-auto fire, while a second sear, actuated by the
tail of the bolt as it locks, ensures against premature discharge
-and can quite easily be used to give full-auto fire with only
minor changes in the trigger mechanism.
Experience with the Tokarev 38s apparently made an im-
proved cooling system seem desirable. Along with other stock
changes dictated by the need of simplifying manufacture,
additional pierced metal handguards were provided. The
1940's muzzle brake, having six narrow vent slots on each side,
was replaced around 1942 with a muzzle brake having two
large ports on each side. This probably reduced the muzzle
blast effect somewhat, in addition to being easier to make.
A curious little carbine on the Tokarev system was report-
edly produced around 1940: Unlike the Tokarev rifles, whose
four-foot overall length includes a 28.5-inch barrel, the carbine
was only 39 inches overall.
Bayonet development paralleled that of rifles. The original
bayonets, slightly modified in design to fit the 1891 rifles,
were temporarily supplanted by the special knife bayonet re-
quired for the Simonov, muzzle brake of which was not con-
sidered adequate to support a bayonet. It gave way to the long
Tokarev knife bayonet of 1938, replaced in 1940 by the short
Tokarev knife. With the return to 1891-arms, the old bayonet
was again brought in. Latest reports describe- a folding bay-
onet mounted on the gun itself: that the original bayonet was
designed to be reversed on the gun should hot be forgotten.
A few recent 1891/30 Moisin-Nagant
rifles have been noted with bolt handle
bent for use with telescope sight (Sovfoto)
Reportedly, Tokarev rifles were entirely satisfactory in
service so long as the temperature stayed within reason. Ger-
man troops preferred Tokarevs to their own Mausers in
summer. With the coming of cold weather-and the word
`cold' has a special meaning in Russia-Tokarevs began show-
ing a tendency to `freeze,' particularly in the gas system. A
frost-proof oil was developed to combat this, but Tokarevs
have not had the recent general issue which might be expected.
This may be a ruse. Although it was reliably held that pro-
duction and issue of Tokarevs was practically eliminated in
1942, a 1944 Tokarcv has recently appeared . . . so perhaps
the Tokarev is being held back for a special purpose.
With the purchase of an entire Zeiss plant, Russia found
herself in a greatly improved position in the matter of pro-
clueing optical equipment. An early result was the 4 power PE
telescope sight, a heavy but effective unit. Mounted either in
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a two-part mount on the left side of the Moisin receiver or in
a monobloc mount on the receiver ring, the PE (and a
turned-down bolt handle) transformed the 1891/30 into a
good sniping weapon. A later telescope, the 3.5 power PU, was
mounted either in a one-piece left-side mount on the Moisin
or in a unique single-unit mount on the Tokarev series.
Both the PE and PU scopes have been illustrated mounted
on the TOZ (Tula) .22 rifles, bolt-action single shot (TOZ8)
and box-magazine repeating (TOZ9) rifles. These are unre-
markable training and sporting arms, some of which are fitted
with sling swivels in spite of the apparent Russian idea that
the sling may also be wrapped right around the barrel.
As one curious note, the Russians in World War I im-
ported and issued quantities of the old Winchester 1895
box-magazine lever-action rifle in 7.62 mm. caliber fitted with
the gun were developed on this basic system, among them the
DA (aircraft gun) and the DT (tank) . Extensive use of the
arm demonstrated that the recoil spring, carried in a tube
below the barrel around the piston rod, overheated and weak-
ened during prolonged firing, and so a modernized version
of the gun was introduced having its recoil spring in a tube at
the rear of the receiver. Both the DP and the DT were thus
modernized, becoming the DPM and the DTM. Oddly,
unmodified DP guns and modified DTM guns have been
found in Korea, many of the DTMs being used as ground-
service machine rifles-some fitted with a scope and mount.
The Smitli and Wesson Russian Model (variously described
in European sources of the period as Model 1875 and Model
1878), .44 Russian caliber, was the first `modern' handgun
adopted by the Russians, although a Galand revolver is be-
Designer of several semiautomatic rifles and pistols, F. V. Tokarev, at Designer of PPSh 1941, George Among arms invented by late V. A.
age of 70, as he received the Gold Star 'Sickle and Hammer' and title Shpaghin is reportedly chief design. Degtyarov was one of the best light
of 'Hero of Socialist labor' from M. Kalinin in November 1940 (Sovfoto) er of infantry weapons (Sovfoto) machine guns ever built (Sovfoto)
military stock and a charger-guide over the magazine. That
some of these were stored away is indicated by the report that
one has turned up in Korea. The Russians also got consid-
erable quantities of weapons in 7.92 mm. German service and
in .303 British, especially Pattern 14s, before and during
World War II.
The burden of rifle-caliber automatic fire in the Russian
squad falls on the famous Degtyarov machine-rifles, the DP
and DPM guns. Their inventor had a unique career: born
in 1880, working at Tula in 1891, an enlisted man at Oran-.
ienbaum witnessing tests of foreign machine guns, back at
Tula with Fyodorov developing the loadings for the 1908 im-
proved cartridge--V. A. Degtyarov stands on a par with Maxim
and Browning in the development of automatic weapons.
After the Soviet government was relatively firmly estab-
lished, one of its first thoughts was to modernize its weapons.
Earlier experiences with the Madsen machine-rifle had dem-
onstrated the desirability of a weapon of this class. Early in
1924, Degtyarov undertook development of an automatic
weapon, and late in that same year his brain-child was tested
against the Maxim-Tokarev and the Maxim-Kolscnikov. The
Degtyarov suffered breakages, and the Maxim-Tokarev was
tentatively adopted for field tests.
When these tests disclosed that it would be necessary to
redesign the Maxim-Tokarev action, which eliminated to a,.
large extent its ability to use standard Maxim parts, a retest
was ordered. Redesign of "the Degtyarov had greatly improved
it, and in new tests it easily outclassed the Maxim-Tokarev.
The basic action of the Degtyarov (locking flaps carried
in the bolt whose rear ends are forced out to engage shoulders
in the receiver) was adaptable, and several other versions of
lievcd to have had some limited issue in the Russian Navy.
It was displaced by the Nagant adopted in 1895. Used
in both single-action and double-action versions, this arm
was designed around a peculiar cartridge whose bullet was
entirely enclosed in its case. At the moment of firing, a
movable breech-piece jammed the cartridge and cylinder
forward so that a recess in the front of the chamber en-
veloped the rear end of the barrel as the cartridge mouth
slipped into the barrel, thus providing a gas-tight joint. This
arm had a solid frame without provision for simultaneous
ejection, cartridges being loaded individually through a gate
and being forced out by an ejector rod. The Nagant re-
volver's peculiar cartridge with the projectile fully enveloped
in the case was not color-coded, but it is distinctive enough
without any coding. The bullet weighs 105 grains and is
nominally driven at around 900 feet a second (although 11. P.
White Co. reports a velocity of about 950 feet a second).
Early tests indicated a velocity of 1,082 feet a second fired
in the Nagant revolver-and 725 feet a second fired. in a
similar revolver lacking the Nagant's gas-check design.
Pciper of Belgium had produced in 1889 a somewhat
similar obturating revolver with a crane and swing-out cylin-
der, but, curiously, the Peiper revolvers sometimes found in
Russion service lacked both swing-out cylinders and obturat-
ing mechanism, although they resemble the Nagant closely.
The importation, reportedly by revolutionaries preparing
for the 1905 uprising, into Russia of quantities of the
Schwarzlose 1898 automatic pistols, 7.63 mm. Mauser caliber,
gave the Empire its first good taste of what autopistols could
do. Largely stopped at the border under stringent restrictions
on the importation of firearms-the (Continued on page 46)
13
JULY, NINETEEN FIFTY-ONE
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Marine General Merritt Edson
Named NRA Executive Director
0 NE OF THE Marine Corps' out-
standing heroes of World War
II has just been named to succeed
C. B. Lister as Executive Director
of the National -Rifle Association.
Major General Merritt A. Edson,
whose record spans both a military
career climaxed by the award of the
Congressional Medal of Honor and
long-time devotion to virtually every
phase of the shooting game, was
named to the Association's top ad-
ministrative post on June 15, 1951.
On that date, Edson handed his
resignation as Commissioner of Public
Safety to the Governor of his native
state of Vermont and resigned as
NRA President.
In taking over as the head of the
NRA on July 1, General Edson will
guide the activities of over 500,000
American civilian marksmen organized
into more than 8,000 affiliated clubs
from coast to coast. Also under his
guidance will be the Basic Small Arms
Training Schools now operating
throughout the country and the junior
program which each year teaches
thousands of youngsters to handle
guns safely. He will oversee the
American target shooting game.
Edson was born in Rutland, Ver-
mont, on April 25, 1897, and attended
the University of Vermont. -During
the summer of 1916 he served on the
Mexican Border with the Vermont
Infantry (National Guard) and, at
the outset of World War I, enlisted
in the United States Marine Corps.
He was commissioned a second lieu-
tenant in the regular service on Octo-
ber 9, 1917.
Between the wars, Edson served at
Ouantico, Virginia, as a flyer at the
Naval Station on Guam, at sea aboard
the USS Denver and Rochester, and
as comanding officer of Marine patrols
in Nicaragua, for which he was
.awarded his first Navy - Cross. From
September 1929 to 1931, he served
as an instructor at the Marine Corps
Basic School in Philadelphia. In the
late 'thirties, Edson served in Shang-
hai, where he picked up much of the
knowledge of the Orient which he
used so success fully during World
War II. -
In June of '939 Edson was as-
signed to Hcadquartcrs, Marine
Corps, as officer in charge of all tar-
get practice. Throughout his serv-
ice career, Edson had been closely
associated with scooting. From 1931
to 1934 he was Ordnance Officer at
The Marine Corps Depot of Supplies,
Philadelphia, in charge of all ordnance
procurement for the Corps. He was a
firing member of Marine Corps teams
(1921), assistant team coach (1927,
'30, '31), Marine. Corps team coach
(1932), and teem captain (1933).
Upon resumption of the National
Matches in 193`:, he captained the
Marine Corps nal ional rifle and pistol
teams of 1935 and '36 which carried
off top national h 3nors for both years.
General Edso is service during
World War II is well known. In the
first American off usive- of World War
II, Edson commanded both the First
Marine Raider Battalion and the
Second Battalion, Fifth Marines, in
the landing on Tulagi, in the Solomon
Islands, on the m-)rning of August 7,
1942. General Edson's forces cap-
tured the island after two days of
fighting. In early September 1942
he commanded the raid on Tasim-
boko, on Guadalcanal, and in Septem-
ber he conducted the defense of Hen-
derson Airfield. One action followed
another: Guadalcanal; Tarawa; Sai-
pan; Tinian. As a result of recom-
mendations incident to his conduct
during the battle of Tarawa, he was
promoted to brigadier general late in
1943. On December 16, 1945, Edson
was ordered to Washington, D. C.,
having completed almost forty-four
months of continuous duty in the Pa-
cific theater, the longest continuous
overseas assignment of any Marine
Corps officer (luring the war. In 1947
Edson retired with the rank of' major
general, and accepted the executive
and administrative post of Vermont's
first Commissioner of Public Safety.
In 1948 Edson was elected vice-
president of the National Rifle As-
sociation and in the following year,
president. His selection as executive
director of the NRA by the Associa-
tion's Board of Directors came as the
climax of an extensive search to fill the
vacancy created by the tragic death
of C. B. Lister (RIFLEMAN, June,
page 10). Edson comes to the - NRA
with a lifelong acquaintance with
shooting behind him, and a keen ap-
preciation of the problems facing the
NRA as a result of today's tensions
and uncertainties. Edson has been a
Life Member of the NRA since August
22, 1933, and a member of the Board
of Directors and the Executive Com-
mittee since September 1939. ? e 0
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Shushan, New York, in May 1912, when the rifle was new.
Dr. Mann wanted to see what the long Krag .25 caliber car-
tridge would do on woodchucks, so at his request I made up a
rather plain stock in a hurry, but the rifle was bedded right. I
put double set triggers on the rifle and a 16-power telescope
sight. It weighed 111/2 pounds, which was heavy for a
hunting rifle, but the weight made it hold nicely for shooting
offhand. The first chuck I shot at was about 220 yards away.
I saw him tumble when I fired, but Dr. Mann and Dr. Baker
said I missed him. So I went up and got the chuck and
carried it back to show them. The bullet had smashed it
up so I had to carry it in both hands. Dr. Baker took one
look and said, "That is a hamburg making rifle."
During that trip to Shushan an I fired several targets with the
Hamburg rifle. One group of 21 shots, one sighter and 20
for record, fired at 200 yards from the prone position,
measured 2-11/16 inches vertically and 2-3/32 inches hori-
zontally. The target was made with a load of 45 grains of
Lightning and the 101-grain bullet in the long Krag case
we used until August of 1913. Another target was fired at
.the same time for Dr. Mann with the Hamburg rifle and the
load mentioned above. 11c had me hold on center and pay no
attention to a 1.5-mile-an-hour wind that was blowing across
the line of fire. The range was 200 yards. Fired from a prone
position, the group strung out 3-7/16 inches with the wind
but measured only 1-3/16 inches vertically. I thought it
was pretty good shooting.
The Hamburg action was a single shot, lighter in actual
weight than the Springfield but a lot stronger. Most of the
weight was in the front part of the receiver, where it is
needed. The bolt is %s inch in diameter, weighs about 13
ounces, and has two wide locking lugs on opposite sides of the
bolt head. The bolt head fits up into the chamber behind
and around the rear of the cartridge case. That is the way
a bolt action should fit; there is no reason to leave the head
of the cartridge sticking out of the chamber unsupported on
the sides. Recently Remington has come out with a very strong
action on their Models 721 and 722 using that type of bolt.
The IIamburg action was made with a one-piece extractor
separate from the bolt but operated by it. Sliding in a
groove in the bottom of the receiver, it will extract a case as
positively as a ramrod pushed down the barrel. The firing
pin is separate, screwed onto the cocking piece of the bolt. It
cannot be blown out.
The original barrel was 34 inches long and rifled, with
six lands and grooves, one turn in twelve inches. At first,
the Hamburg was chambered for a special long Krag case
necked down to .25 caliber. Dr. Mann had secured about
500 unnecked, untrimmed Krag cases from a government
arsenal and I made up some of these in various body and
neck lengths and with different shoulder angles. After
Improved Hamburg action with screw
bolt made by Niedner in 1913 was
single shot for high-velocity cartridges.
Unfinished action, shown here with
original gauges and .25 Krag cartridge,
made by Niedner, are in collection of
M. G. Van Way
considerable experimenting, I chambered the Hamburg rifle
for a shell that was 2-3/4 inches overall in length with a r/4-
inch neck. The next year, 1913, we decided to use the
regular Krag case necked down to .25 caliber as results with
it were just as good as with the longer case, and using the
regular Krag case simplified the problem of making cartridges.
In August of 1913 the Hamburg rifle was rechambered for
the shorter Krag case and the barrel was shortened to 271/2
inches at that time.
During these experiments with the .25 Krag cartridge, as
it has been called, we used 86-, 90-, 101-, and 103-grain
bullets with both cases. For the Hamburg rifles these bullets
were made from commercial, soft-point, jacketed, 117-grain
.25 caliber bullets by swaging them in a series of different
dies. There was a point shaping die, a body die, and one
that formed the base band. The base band was 1/16 inch
wide and the bullet was seated in the neck of the case about
3/16 inch. The base-band bullet chambers were throated
60 degrees.
To prevent erosion in the bore of the Hamburg rifle two
wax wads with graphite lubricant between them, or a mixture
of vaseline and graphite, were loaded in the cases behind the
bullet. I fired close to 20,000 rounds through the original
barrel and when I sold the rifle to R. S. Hill a few years
ago it was still capable of making good groups.
Harry Pope was present when we were taking the tra-
jectory of the .25 Krag cartridge in the Hamburg rifle on
Dr. Mann's 200-yard range. The raid-range trajectory
measured 1.60 inches. When Harry saw that he said,
"Niedner, you will soon be getting the up curve instead of
clown curve."
The Hamburg rifle was a great woodchuck gun. I used it
on many hunting trips and my old records show I killed
as high as thirty-four chucks in one day with it. When I
held on one up to 300 yards, he was mine.
The United States Cartridge Company, in 1912, advertised
the .28 Ross cartridge at 3,000 feet a second. During a con-
versation with Mr. Butler of that company he told me that
the velocity wasn't actually 3,000 feet a second but so close
to it that the Company advertised the .280 Ross at that
speed anyway. Sir Charles Ross, who designed the Ross
rifle and cartridge, had made some enthusiastic claims for
his rifle and cartridge in England and America. The .280
Ross cartridge, according to some English catalogs of that
time, had a muzzle velocity of just over 3,000 feet a second
with a bullet of about 140 grains. The Ross rifle, a straight-
pull bolt action, had been adopted by the Canadian govern-
ment. Dr. Mann got one and we examined it, but it had some
serious faults and was a dangerous gun so we got rid of it.
Mr. Butler knew I was doing a lot of work on high-
velocity cartridges. When he (Continued on page 50)
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few which did get in being captured when the revolution
went sour-and reissued as police weapons, the Schwarzloses
undoubtedly played a major part in establishing the caliber of
Russian pistols and submachine guns.
After World War I, when the Germans found themselves
unable to manufacture pistols of 9 mm. caliber and further
found themselves without a satisfactory domestic market,
they quite naturally sought markets abroad for their weapons,
and the Mauser Model 1920 using its standard 7.63 mm.
cartridge was immediately taken up by the Russians. They
bought so many of this model that it became known as
the Bolo Mauser, and by 1929 the British Textbook of Small
Arms was able to report that the Nagant had been almost
entirely superseded by its automatic rival.
The autopistol load, in a case practically identical with
that of the 7.63 mm. Mauser, is an 86-grain jacketed bullet
at 1,377 feet a second. H. P. White Co. lists a similar
Russian load at 1,492 feet a second. Agreen-nosed tracer load
and a black-red coded armour-piercing, incendiary load are
also known, undoubtedly intended mainly for use in the several
Russian submachine guns.
Even the subsequent adoption of the Tokarev 30, a small,
Browning-type autoloading pistol using the 7.63 mm. Mauser
cartridge, by now known as the 7.62 mm. Russian auto-
pistol cartridge, did not, however, entirely displace the
Nagant. A small production lot: of Nagants in .22 rimfire was
run off around 1935, and World War II saw Nagants by the
easeful being hauled out and issued.
As for the Tokarev 30, its career has been somewhat
pathetic. It appeared on the scene just a little too late
for very extensive use, and the general issue of machine
pistols throughout the Soviet army has almost completely
forced it aside. Soviet machine pistols, particularly of the
1941 and 1942/43 patterns, have become practically uni-
versal weapons in the Soviet Army.
The adoption of machine pistols or submachine guns into
various European services is now generally considered to have
resulted from studies of the use of such weapons by Bolivian
and Paraguayan forces during the South American Gran
Chaco War. Adoption by Belgium and Austria in 1934 of
the Bergmann and Steyr-Solothurn guns, and by Germany
of the BMP34 and MP38, was certainly helped along by
the demonstrated effectiveness of such arms as the Bergmann
1918, Vollmer, and _Schmeisser. It would appear that
Russia drew similar conclusions at the same time, since she
adopted the Model 34/38, an entirely conventional little
pistol carbine, caliber 7.62 mm. Russian armour piercing,
with a cyclic rate (900 RPM) much too high for its 25-
round box magazine.
Quite probably Russia's early experiences with this arm
were not encouraging, which might explain why there were
so few submachine guns available to Russian troops during
the invasion of Finland. Finnish Lahti-designed Suomi
pistols with their 71-round drums and low cyclic rates took a
terrible Russian toll-and the Russians learned fast. As an
initial step, they seem to have produced a drum magazine
for the 34/38.
In 1940 they brought out the PPD (Degtyarov), a simplified
but still conventional machine pistol with a large-capacity
drum. It was shortly superseded by the PPSh (Shpaghin)
1941, which was not conventional. The upper and lower
halves of the pressed-metal receiver of this arm are hinged
together in front of the magazine well; release of a catch at
the rear of the receiver makes it possible to tip up the rear of
the upper half, making all the working parts and the barrel in-
stantly accessible for cleaning.
Late-pattern 1941s-and PPSh guns are known to have
been in production as recently as 1950-have been strength-
ened around the magazine slot but otherwise appear un-
changed. The original 71-round drum has been retained, a
35-round special box magazine which came out late in World
War II is still in service, and the arm is as cheap and as
deadly as ever.
A similar weapon was brought out in 1942 -as the PPS
(Sudarev). Closely resembling the PPSh in action, it lacked
the cocking handle slide safety of the PPD and PPSh, had an-
added pistol grip, and substituted a folding stock for the
wooden fixed stock on the earlier guns. It used a 35-round
box magazine. Originally the PPS receiver and barrel guard
were made in two pieces and assembled and the long folding
buttstock saddled its shoulder-piece around the ejection port
Pfc Howard Jameson, USA, examines a PTRS 1941 anti-tank rifle which was
captured with 1910 Maxim machine gun in Korea last year (U.S. Army photo)
when folded, the gun weighing 71/4
pounds. However, in 1943 a rede-
signed PPS appeared with a one-
piece barrel guard and receiver and
a shortened folding stock, its weight
being reduced to about 61/z pounds.
This arm has not been reported from
Korea. Extensively issued to Guards
battalions, which were mostly con-
verted airborne units, during World
War II, the arm is now seen in pa-
rades of airborne infantry in Moscow.
Although these arms are all ex-
tremely simple blowback-operated
weapons, they represent perhaps the
deadliest sort of light infantry arma-
ment. Properly issued and used in
association with rifle-caliber and
heavier weapons, the machine-pistol
is uniquely fitted for its job.
Although the Russians experi-
mented with and issued two versions
of their 12.7 mm. anti-tank rifle, a
bolt-action weapon patterned after
46 THE AMERICAN RIFLEMAN
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the German T-Gun of World War I, they dropped it as
ineffective in 1939.. Available both as a single-shot and
as a box-magazine repeater, fitted with bipod and muzzle
brake, this arm represented one solution to the problem
of the one-man anti-tank weapon. The Poles brought out
their Mareszek (or Masecrczech?) super-high-velocity 7.92
mm. rifle, the Germans developed the PzB38, PzB 39, and
M-SS-41; along the same general projectile theory, the
British came up with the .55 Boys-and the Russians dropped
their gun.
In 1941 they came out with two weapons firing the re-
markably effective 14.5 mm. Russian anti-tank rifle cartridge.
One of these weapons, the PTRS1941, designed by Simonov,
is nothing more than a scaled-up version of the Tokarev
rifle. Its 44 pounds was considered too much of a load for
one man, so removal of one key permits the gunner and
loader to break the gun into two sections for transport.
The other gun, the PTRD1941, Degtyarov designed, is
a thoroughly remarkable arm. Outwardly it appears to be
no more than an extremely massive bolt-action mechanism
fitted with a long barrel and a buffered stock. When the arm
is fired, the entire gun except for the rear of the buttstock
recoils. Fitted to the non-recoiling section is a fixed cam
which intercepts the bolt handle. As the recoiling parts move
to the rear, the cam forces the bolt handle and bolt to the
unlocked position. If, as is urgently recommended, the gun-
ner has used only clean and lightly greased ammunition, the
bolt then slides fully open, completing extraction and ejec-
tion of the cartridge case.
Both of the 1941 anti-tank rifles have appeared in Korea.
They created quite a stir in the newspapers-mystery weap-
ons and all that-but it would appear that their use was not
profitable enough to the North Koreans. At any rate, they
are not longer reported in extensive use.
The trend in Soviet service, in anti-tank weapons for the
individual soldier and squad, has been almost entirely the
reverse of the trends noted in other countries. The Red
Army had a heavy shaped-charged anti-tank grenade but
adopted the anti-tank rifles of 1941 firing armour-piercing
projectiles. In contrast, the British went from their .55 Boys
rifle to the Piat projector. The Germans discarded, to a ma-
terial extent, their PzB 38 and 39 and M-SS-41 anti-tank
rifles in favor of the 8.8-cm RkPzB 43 and54 and the Panzer-
faust 30 and 60, even converting many of the PzB39 rifles
to fire grenades. We dropped our reliance on the .50 cali-
ber machine gun as an anti-tank weapon and turned to shaped-
charge rifle grenades and the bazookas.
Ammunition for the unsuccessful anti-tank rifles dropped
in 1939 gave ballistics practically identical to those of the
heavy machine gun cartridge. The 12.7 mm. anti-tank load
delivers a projectile weighing 801 grains at a muzzle velocity
of 2,821 feet a second.
The 14.5 mm. anti-tank rifles of 1941 used a much more
potent load. The basic load for this arm was a 963-grain
14.5 mm. steel-cored bullet with incendiary composition be-
tween the jacket nose and core. A load of 471 grains of
powder gave it an estimate muzzle velocity of 3,200 feet a
second. Another load, believed to have a carbide core, put
487 grains of powder behind a 991-grain projectile to give it
3,280 feet a second muzzle velocity. (This also included an
incendiary composition in the bullet nose.) The cartridge
case was a large, rimless, and sharply bottlenecked affair.
In general, Russian development of weapons for the in-
dividual soldier has reflected an extremely realistic state of
mind on the part of Russian (Czarist and Soviet) arms de-
signers and military technical authorities.. The PPSh 1941 and
the PPS 1942 and 43 represent something rather close to the
ultimate in small arms simplicity. The Degtyarovs, both the
older patterns and the more recent `modernizations', are light
Tokarev 1930 pistol in 7.62 mm. caliber is short recoil operated Brown-
ing type with eight-round magazine. It measures 79la inches overall
machine guns of the highest possible grade. (It might be
noted, merely in passing that the present Soviet medium ma-
chine gun-the 1943 Goryunov-is very possibly the best
thing of its kind in service today.)
It is hard to try to evaluate satisfactorily the Moisin-Nagant
series of rifles. Any brief description of them must neces-
sarily first take note of the fact that they are clumsy, not
particularly easy to handle, accurate only to the extent re-
quired of a general-service rifle around the turn of the century
and, at first glance, generally inferioi.` Then you come up
solidly against the fact that these rifles have been in service
without major modification for sixty years. They have out-
lasted two semi-automatic rifles. They have seen service in
climates from those of the deserts of central Asia to those of
the `regions of eternal frost'. So take the gun for what it is-
no beauty-contest winner, but a weapon which has proved its
worth many times, a rifle which has won and kept a place in
the service of a country which has frequently demonstrated
a willingness to drop any weapon which doesn't measure up.
As for marksmanship within the Soviet Union, the activity
of Osoaviakhim-part of which is now known as Dosav-in
training Soviet citizens in the use of small arms is well known,
and the abilities of the marksmen who went into service from
the "Soviet Union of Hunters" were amply demonstrated to
-and on-the Nazis and their allies.
Organized in 1927, Osoaviakhim counted twenty million
members in 1939, almost thirty percent of whom were women.
The record of the accomplishments of the organization is re-
markable, showing of what value trained civilian riflemen
may be to a nation in time of war. During World War II
Osoaviakhim was ordered to form a mass of trained reserves
for the army, navy, and air force. Several million Russians
received instruction in auto and anti-tank weapons. The or-
ganization also formed a corps of defense wardens, contrib-
uting 15,000 active members to cadres of partisan detach-
ments. Stalin, in outlining the function of Osoaviakhim dur-
ing World War II, said in 1941: "In territories occupied
by the enemy we must organize units of sharpshooters on
horseback and afoot, as well as groups of partisans, to fight
the enemy units, to take up guerilla warfare everywhere, to
blow up bridges and roads, to cut telegraph and telephone
wires, to burn woods, supply depots and foodstuffs." Mem-
bers of Osoaviakhirn formed the guerilla units which harassed
Germans during their invasion of Russia.
The Soviets have taken a realistic approach to the matter
of weapons and their use. Government sponsorship-and
that word, too, has a special meaning in the Soviet Union-
of Osoaviakhim, Dosav, Ohkot Soyuz, and other civil de-
fense organizations makes our own national record look very
sad indeed. , e 0
JULY, NINETEEN FIFTY-ONE 47
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 AWA
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A -PAPER FOR PEOPLE WHO SHOOT
HUNTERS"CORNER
Texan Fires Once,
Bags Half-Ton Elk
Abilene, Texas, July, 1951-
Bob Rankin of the A-Bar
Ranch has two trophies after
his last hunting trip. One is a
half-ton bull elk; the other
weighs less than half an ounce.
Rankin was riding in a for-
est 40 miles northeast of Jack-
son Hole, Wyoming, when he
heard the elk bugling. Dis-
mounting, the Texan took his
Remington bolt action Rifle
and crawled through tangled
undergrowth until he saw the
hulking animal.
Rankin fired just one shot,
from a kneeling position. The
big bull dropped to the ground,
JULY RIFLE VENISON
Just recently we returned
from a tour which took in the
Pacific coast, the inter-mountain
area and Texas. It was a won-
derful opportunity to see and
talk with many of our old
friends--and we made the most
of it.
Our first stop was at the Los
Angeles Rifle and Revolver Club,
where we attended the Pacific
Coast Small Bore Championship
Matches. This club can really
be proud of its modern, 112-point
range.
From there we went on to San
Francisco and took advantage of
the opportunity to look over the
ranges to be used in the National
Rifle and -Pistol Matches this
Fall. Now that we've seen these
fine ranges we can hardly wait
until the important day when
the range officer gives his first
command to "Commence Fir-
ing."
Portland, Oregon, was our
next stop. There were no
matches scheduled while we were
there, so we spent some time
looking over their new indoor,
range. Every member of this
club deserves credit for the- per-
sonal efforts expended in mak-
ing the range and lounging
rooms second to none.
Not to be outdone by their
neighbors in Portland, Seattle
and Spokane have new outdoor
ranges under construction. When
these ranges are completed they
will be as fine as any in the
United States. Both clubs al-
ready have the "Welcome" mat
1itIc'
tana, with its vast, open -terri-
tory, shooters like the sport of
organized matches. Any shooter
who enters a match in Montana
will soon find that he's up to
his ears in tough competition.
Our next stops were at Den-
ver and Lafayette. Denver shoot-
ers will soon have a new range.
It was under construction when
we arrived. Lafayette will be
the scene of the -Regional this
year. After looking over the
range we feel sure that shooters
who plan on attending tht; Re-
gional will find things to their
liking.
Last stop, Dallas - foc the
Southwestern. It was ni' a to
visit the home town agair', but
after ten years things had
changed so much we had to
watch our step to keep from
getting lost.
It was a pleasant trip, and
one we will remember through
the years to. come. It wa; fun
to attend the shoots, and to see
so many new ranges springing
up. But most of all we were
glad to see those old friend. who
have given unstintingly of their
own time so that others may en-
joy shooting.
A smooth-running, successful
Rifle Match is generally the re-
sult of careful planning, not
chance. Before your nex,. big
shoot, read the National Rifle
Association's Competitions Bul-
letin No. 2 and learn the steps
necessary in conducting a suc-
cessful Rifle Match. In thitu bul-
letin you will find tips on the
duties of officers, conduct on the
out. As they put it: It won't firing line, management of the
make any difference what kind office, and how to get newspaper
of rifle the shooter has-there'll and radio publicity.
be a place for him to shoot. To obtain a free copy o`' this
In Montana, we visited many bulletin, write to Shooting Pro-
fine ranges, both indoor and out- motion Section, Remington Arms
door-and made a special stop Company, Inc., Bridgeport 2,
at the splendid Anaconda layout Connecticut, and ask for the
which will once again be host "National Rifle Association's
Rancher
Rankin's
bullet.
an instant kill un-
der the impact of
a 30-06 Reming-
ton "Core. - Lokt"
bullet.
Examining
his prize, Rankin
found that the
ft 10
Texas rancher Bob Rankin stands beside
1000-pound -elk he shot in Wyoming.
bullet had entered at the junc-
tion of shoulder and neck, and
had emerged just under the
hide. That mushroomed bullet
is the rancher's second trophy.
He writes that he is keeping it
as a memento of the amazing
stopping power of Remington
"Core-Lokt" bullets.
AROUND OUR CLUB ......... The Contortionist
at the Regional. Even in Mon- Competitions Bulletin No. a." 11 _ N______
HENRY, ARE YOU DOWN THERE
BY YOURSELF, OR IS THERE
00-
HE JUST TOLD ME HE WANTS
TO SHOOT IN THE FREE RIFLE
EVENT BECAUSE HE THINK4j
THEY GIVE AWAY RIFLES! J
.... ANA THEN IF THERE'S -.
A DRAFT, THE SLING KEEPS
YOUR HAT ON.
--Core-Loki" AaI gvpf1 -F1951PAj4#9?qr 0uI1IP/Pg $rT$ Pbipt'on8-03362A002500050005-2