What is the difference between the nozzle and the gun? Hunting rifle fitting

The gun fitting, without a doubt, is the most noble and romantic weapon used by hunters of any age. Designed specifically for hunting, a double-barreled rifle with rifled trunks appeared in the UK between 1830 and 1840, when deer hunting became popular in the highlands of Scotland . Until that time, only single-barreled firearms were used, but hunters realized the need for a quick second shot, mainly to finish off wounded game.

Short description

For several hundred years, people have been using firearms for hunting. What did not come up with for the production of animals and birds: a fitting, rifles, shotguns, shotguns of various designs and calibers. In the middle latitudes, the prestigious hunt for large animals: wild boar, elk, bear, deer. But the mammals of the “Big African Five” are considered the most treasured trophies: elephant, lion, rhino, leopard and buffalo. Each of them is deadly, therefore, for their production mainly special large-caliber rifles with rifled barrel channels are used - fittings.

Most often, this type of weapon is equipped with two folding arms - this is the most mobile, while the optimal type of layout. Allows one by one to carry out two killer shots. Even with a misfire with the first shot, the shooter has time to produce a second.

There are also single-barrel options - for hunting in the mountains, where accuracy and range of a bullet are important. Austrian and German gunsmiths produce three, and even four-barrel universal hunting rifles fitting. In this case, the two main trunks have a large caliber, and the other two have smaller calibers for different types of game.

Classification

This weapon has come a long and “thorny” path from the awkward muzzle-loading guns that used dangerous smoke powder to high-tech “nitro expresses” that embody the best ideas of engineering. Existing types of fittings are conditionally divided into three classes:

• Large-caliber - a tipping gun of an obsolete design, in which oblong or rounded short lead bullets are used. Traditionally, weapons of this type used smoke powder. The initial velocity of the bullets is small: 320-510 m / s.
• Express - tipping gun fitting caliber .450, .500, .577 and others. An oblong non-shell bullet is used, the initial speed of which is 465-610 m / s. Smoke powder is also used.
• Nitroexpress is a “breakthrough” designed for a modern shell bullet sent by smokeless powder. Initial speed 564-991 m / s.
• Bullpup is a new word in the construction of single-barrel fittings for relatively small calibers. The trigger is pulled out to the middle of the barrel and is located behind the percussion mechanism, and the barrel (not critical) is combined with the butt. This arrangement allowed, without reducing the length of the barrel, to make the weapon very compact. For loading, the back of the butt leans back, additional cartridges can also be located in it.

From evolution to revolution

Although the fittings belong to a separate type of hunting weapon, they are still derived from smoothbore guns. Throughout their evolution, in technical terms, they lagged behind the development of other types of hunting guns, were in the role of catching up.

With the popularization of African hunts at the beginning of the 20th century, the leading guns of Europe took up the production of fittings. In the 1920s, the best express trains were created (the products of English masters stood out for their special quality), which overshadowed both the smooth-bore and the carbines with their characteristics. They are still the dream of elite hunters.

What is the difference between a nozzle and a gun

In fact, the nipples are the same crucial double-barreled (vertically or horizontally located) rifles, but their barrel channel is not smooth, but rifled. Such a barrel will allow more accurately, further and with greater force to send a bullet. The flip side of this process is the created high pressure in the bore, due to which special strength requirements are imposed on the bolt system - it is significantly strengthened.

Given the large caliber of the trunks, from the "thick-walled", enlarged bolt of the gun, the nipple is usually heavy and bulky, respectively, it is not suitable for running hunting.

Slaughter and stopping power of large-caliber models are phenomenal: one bullet is enough to hit the largest land inhabitant of the planet - an elephant. Even if the shot was inaccurate, the kinetic energy of the projectile is enough to bring down and temporarily neutralize any large beast. No other type of civilian weapon is capable of this.

It must be borne in mind that this is a weapon that is difficult to use, it is not for nothing that they say that the fitting is for the pros. Particularly large caliber, design nuances, heavy weight and recoil become an obstacle for their use by inexperienced hunters.

Caliber Types

The fittings for the purpose and, accordingly, the calibers are divided into two large groups: the European type and the African-Indian. For hunting in the northern latitudes (Europe, Russia, North America, part of Asia) traditionally used "small" calibers: 9.3x74R; 8x57JRS; 7x65R. Accordingly, the length of the trunks is comparable to gun: 550-600 mm.

Animals of Africa, India, Southeast Asia are large, for the hunter incomparably more dangerous. The gauge for such giants is selected appropriate: .375-; .416Rigby; .470N and more.

The most powerful fittings

There are nitro-express monsters with huge (by hunting standards) calibers. For example, for a long time the most powerful were Holland & Holland rifles under the .600 Nitro Express cartridge, developed by Jeffrey. However, due to the whim of a certain millionaire (who wanted his .600 to be the last), Holland & Holland stopped their production in 1975 for substantial compensation. The amount of the contract is a secret, but apparently it is very significant, because one .600 caliber nitro-express cost more than $ 100,000.

However, the capitalists found a simple way to circumvent the contract-bound limitation - to produce rifles of even greater caliber. At the request of the American William Feldstein, Holland & Holland in 1989 created a .700 Nitro Express caliber gun, and the ammunition was developed at Bell Basic Brass. Experts assure that this is the most powerful hunting weapon in history. On the first hunt, three elephants were killed with three shots.

Issue price

Nowadays, even with increasing restrictions on hunting dangerous game, the need for double-barreled fittings remains unchanged, especially when it comes to acquiring a commissioned (used) specimen. Most respected large-caliber fittings are acquired either by collectors or "hunter-dreamers" who wish to have the same weapons used by James Sutherland, John Hunter and others.

Experts strongly do not recommend saving on this type of weapon if it is planned to use an acquired gun on a real hunt. The price depends on the type of gun, its caliber, manufacturer, technical condition and historical value. If you want to buy nitroexpress, then the price tag of a couple of thousand dollars should alert you: there are cases when cheap items fell apart after several shots. Upscale, which means reliable and efficient designs cost tens of thousands of dollars. Given this circumstance, companies that organize hunting for large animals in Africa have their own collection of fittings and rent them out to customers. Of the new ones, the cheapest in the world are Izhevsk MP221 and MP251 models (from 20,000 rubles).

Shotgun: Russian firearms

In Russia, the fittings as a hunting weapon are not widely used, apparently due to the lack of decent hunting facilities. But they were widely used in the tsarist army. Of course, some manufactories and craftsmen produced fittings in small batches, mainly for the extraction of bears.

Of the modern domestic-made fittings, we note the IZh18N single-barrel (with a smooth detachable barrel of 12 gauges in the kit), the Express shotgun MP251 with a reinforced locking unit and MP221 Artemis. These are models of relatively small calibers, which, however, are enough to confidently defeat any beast in our latitudes.

Conclusion

Nipples, especially nitro expresses, are the most powerful firearms for hunting. Thanks to the rifled barrels and the high pressure in its channel at the time of the shot, the bullet receives increased kinetic energy, flies further and hits more accurately. It differs from rifled carbines in a much larger caliber and the ability to fire two (or more) shots “one by one” without interruption from the sight of the sight.

Among the shortcomings, we note the increased weight of the weapon (some nitro express weigh 5 or more kilograms), sensitive recoil (relevant for large calibers) and high cost. In the case of double-barreled (three-, four-) execution, the effective firing range is reduced. However, the fittings of the European type, due to the smaller caliber, do not have these drawbacks.