The VSK-94 sniper rifle is the brainchild of Tula designers, developed in the nineties. A little about its history, development details, creation goals and much more will be discussed in the article.
Destination
This rifle sniper complex (VSK-94) was created to conduct covert warfare and defeat enemy infantry. At a distance of up to 400 meters, a bulletproof vest is not able to stop a bullet from it. If the shot is fired at a distance of up to 100 meters, then a sheet of steel with a thickness of 8 mm makes its way through.
In other words, to penetrate an enemy soldier equipped with body armor, you need to get pretty close.
Thanks to the design, the position of the shooter is not unmasked: there is no flame, silent shooting, as well as low rebound resistance. The latter factor ensures high firing accuracy, especially during hostage release operations.
Mechanics
The mechanism of operation of the VSK-94 sniper machine from Tula comes down to the movement of a gas piston with a rotary shutter that locks the barrel channel. The principle is the same as that of most samples of domestic weapons.
Shooting is possible as a burst, and single.
It is possible to mount the muffler on the barrel, as well as folding the butt up and forward. Assembled rifle is convenient for hidden transportation.
Ammunition
Especially for the VSK-94 sniper rifle, a ninth caliber cartridge (9x39mm) was created. Ammunition PAB-9 is an analogue of the SP-6 of the same caliber, but less costly.
It was also planned to develop an underbarrel grenade launcher for the VSK- 94, but the project was withdrawn, since the model was too light, and such improvements would adversely affect the operation of the sample.
TTX
The product was successfully used in the second Chechen campaign, as well as in the restoration of constitutional order during the conflict in South Ossetia in 2008. According to unconfirmed reports, it is also used in Syria.
The technical characteristics of this machine are very impressive:
- VSK-94 is quite light: weight without a magazine and optics is only 2.8 kg. The curb shop itself weighs 700 grams, which is also a bit.
- The length of the product is 932 mm with a width of 44 and a height of 192 mm.
- When firing in bursts reaches an indicator of 700 rounds per minute.
- Range, as mentioned above - 400 meters.
Such indicators ensured the adoption in 1994 of the VSK-94 sniper rifle. The price of success was low, when compared with the similar in appearance VSS Vintorez gun. In contrast to the latter, the VSK-94 does not disassemble the muffler, and therefore, exposure to corrosion can adversely affect further operation.
Advantages
Among those distinguish:
- Acceptable amount of energy released by the combustion of gunpowder.
- High armor-piercing qualities.
- Thanks to the specified aiming range (400 meters), the product proved to be excellent in special operations both in open areas and in confined spaces. The low coefficient of fire emitted during shooting, as well as the silencer of the shot, allow the sniper to be in a shelter for a long time without danger of being detected.
- Since the bullet is relatively heavy, it does not soon lose its stopping effect even after exceeding the aiming range.
- Due to its small dimensions , the VSK-94 sniper rifle allows you to fire from a prone position, without raising your head high.
- All design principles by which Kalashnikovs are created are also stored in this product: reliability, durability, high quality.
disadvantages
Negative sides are also present, much without them:
- The disproportionate ratio of the mass of the bullet to the mass of the machine itself results in a strong return, which can negatively affect accuracy.
- At night, the clang of a rifle is heard far enough if there are no other sources of noise. Not so quiet when compared with the same VSS Vintorez.
- As already mentioned, the bullet is relatively heavy, so you can’t drag a lot with you. Because of this, the amount of ammunition for the VSK-94 sniper rifle is very limited in combat conditions.
Despite these shortcomings, this type of weapon proved to be quite good and is successfully used by special forces of the internal forces of the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
In popular culture
The cannon is often mentioned in domestic TV series about airborne troops and special forces.
In the gaming industry, the most striking example is a third-person shooter called Metro 2033 and the sequel Metro: Ray of Hope. A sample in the game is called BCB and is mistakenly called the “Screw Cutter” by many fans of the game. All because of the external similarity, poor knowledge of weapons and the enthusiasm of the STALKER universe. Although the projects are weakly correlated with each other, the topics are very similar. In addition, in the last mentioned shooter, Vintar is almost one of the best rifles.
In STALKER game projects, the gun is absent, although it was originally planned by the developers. Given that one company released both games, the developers were not left without ideas, and the fans without their favorite weapons.
Fans of airsoft also widely use the VSK- 94 sniper rifle. The price of the adapted version varies from 37,000 to 65,000 rubles, depending on the country of manufacture and the body kit that comes with the sample. In this case it is inappropriate to speak about the tactical and technical characteristics, because airsoft is a game, it does not pursue the goals of breaking through armor and eliminating the enemy’s manpower.
Instead of a bullet - a ball of paint, and death is formal. Under the realities of the game and made a model of weapons: a different caliber, a different mechanism of work. From the original, only the appearance remained.
In many books, heroes are also armed with this rifle. These are mainly paratroopers and commandos, which is quite logical. We are talking about the books of the Universe Metro franchise by Dmitry Glukhovsky and STALKER, and if in the first, for the most part, this weapon is presented as a makeshift model, then in the second it is almost like a freshly unpacked item from the warehouses of the Debt group, which is present in the Zone along with other formations: “Freedom”, “Clear Sky”, “Monolith”, “Mercenaries” and other permanent inhabitants of the mentioned gaming universe.
Let the war remain only in games, films and literature.