In Russia, the production of hunting weapons was massively established at the beginning of the twentieth century. However, the First World War and the Civil War made adjustments, and its release almost stopped. Against the backdrop of devastation and poverty, hunting came to the rescue of many, but there were sorely lacking rifles. Gradually, the production of simple ramrod instances, as well as alterations from domestic and foreign ammunition, was adjusted. Somewhat later, the IZH-5 rifle and similar modern carbines at the time began to be produced. The Izhevsk model is a single-shot design with a single barrel of a critical type. The locking is carried out by the upper key, and the mid-position percussion mechanism is made with an external trigger.
Historical facts
The factory in Izhevsk began to produce hunting rifles with the organization of a special model workshop where they recruited the best specialists in their field. The plant's products quickly became popular. At the beginning of the 20th century, Izhevsk masters mass-produced weapons of various types and calibers, as well as elite models designed to reward officers.
With the advent of the power of the Soviets, the weapons craftsmen of the Izhevsk factory mainly manufactured hunting rifles of 28 and 32 caliber. This is due to the fact that most of the copies were remade from military rifles. The first IZH-5 gun was released in 1924. Attempts were made to produce double-barreled variations, samples with shops, but they were not widely used. In place of the "five" in 1936 came IZHB-36 12 gauge with a pair of trunks.
Role model
The smooth-bore hunting gun IZH-5 was produced at the Izhevsk arms factory, in the shops of a steel plant (1924-1241 and 1945-1948), and in Tula (1932-1941). The most common caliber was 16, 18, 20, 24, and 28.
The considered modification is almost an exact copy of the single-barrel American model Iver Johnson, which, thanks to its excellent ballistic qualities and simplicity of design, was copied all over the world. The design features and advantages of this weapon include the following:
- The presence of a powerful ejector, ejecting the spent sleeve.
- Easy assembly and reliability.
- High accuracy due to special drilling.
- Well-developed trigger mechanism.
- Pistol box made of walnut.
- Simple and reliable lock, convenient upper lever.
Often, a domestic gun was called the Izhevsk-Johnson for its striking similarity between the original and the Russian copy.
Design Features
The domestic version differed from the American prototype in that a birch bed was used instead of a nut one. In addition, the IZH-5 rifle is equipped not with an ebony, but with a steel butt plate, has belt swivels and a cylindrical barrel hole.
Dismantling the carbine is done by separating the barrel from the block after removing the forearm. The first models had a spring clip. In fact, the gun just came off the barrel. For versions of the post-war release, the forearm was equipped with a locking latch on the barrel.
Visible differences Izhevsk variation:
- The extended block (16 cm).
- A slight elevation of its edges above the breech stem (2-3 mm).
- Entirely slotted type.
- Fixing the striker with the screw in the block on the right.
- The presence of the axis of the trigger (7 mm) and the upper hook (2 mm).
- Weight - 2.5-3 kg.
Later modifications were equipped with a cover (45 * 18 mm), which serves to cover the rear shoe edge. The axis of the trigger was placed in a special niche provided directly in this cover.
Benefits
Model IZH-5 - a gun, the characteristics of which are largely similar to the American "Johnson", has a number of objective advantages:
- The single-barrel specimen does not have a heavy and massive shutter, unlike the versions converted from military rifles designed for a pressure that is 4 times higher than the figure for hunting cartridges.
- A long barrel ensures accurate hit of the target with both shot and buckshot.
- The weapon is reliable in operation, is inexpensive, durable and light.
Due to its parameters, the gun in question was in great demand among commercial hunters.
Flaws
Despite all the advantages, IL-5 single-barrel shotguns had certain disadvantages. The presence of a single barrel causes some inconvenience during the hunt. They tried to eliminate this shortcoming by building a magazine like a rifle model, but the modification did not take root in widespread use.
Quite often, the trunks of domestic single-barrels were loosened in a block after two or three hundred shots. This happened due to inaccurate fit of the landing area of the pads. The American counterpart was capable of stably delivering five to ten times more shots. The locking mechanism of the Izhevsk model was also not very reliable. Another significant drawback that the IZh-5 hunting smoothbore gun had was the use of a cartridge with a paper sleeve, which contributed to the deterioration of the quality of the shot. Nevertheless, experienced hunters achieved accuracy of battle of at least 40 percent.
Modern analogues
The gun in question was replaced by several modifications. IZH-18 is now available. It is manufactured in all standard calibres (from 12 to 32). The barrel is not equipped with an aiming bar, the length of the chamber is 70 centimeters. Barrel and forend - removable type. The smooth-bore hunting hunting rifle IZH-18 is equipped with a stock of beech, birch or walnut and a pistol or straight neck. It is easily disassembled into three parts.
The IZH-5 shotgun, unlike the modern version, was not equipped with a special unlocking lever. It serves to quickly open the shutter and is located below the block, behind the safety bracket. When it is raised, the trigger is simultaneously transferred to the combat mode and the barrel is unlocked. In the advanced model IZH-18E, the ejector is still activated. If a misfire occurs, the trigger can be cocked repeatedly without opening the carbine by moving the lever from top to bottom.
Conclusion
IZH-5 20-caliber rifle is a fairly popular hunting rifle, which was actively used for commercial purposes by ordinary hunters. Reliability, simplicity of design and good ballistic characteristics were the main factors that influenced the popularity of this weapon. This modification is still used in some regions.
The gun was withdrawn from serial production due to the use of paper cartridges and the rapid deformation of the trigger mechanism. Nevertheless, during its existence, IL-5 occupied a worthy place among the products of domestic gunsmiths.