Russian gunsmiths are gaining more and more respect in the international arena, there is no doubt about this. One of the notable new products of the end of 2022 was a smooth-bore carbine called “Ladoga-366”, which has already acquired the nickname of the first domestic “straight shot” of .366 TKM caliber. Since the beginning of 2022, the model has been produced on a serial scale, which cannot but please buyers.
History of creation
Manufacturing is a division founded in 2004. In the domestic arms market, Art Dec Art, from the very moment of its inception, was engaged in the manufacture of wooden parts for shotguns and pistols (stocks, stocks, forends), as well as the production of hunting and souvenir knives. In 2013, the company's management decided to move to full-fledged production of firearms. For this purpose, a branch of the company was created, which received the name “Adar”.
First steps to Ladoga
The transitional stage on the way from the production of souvenirs and tuning to our own carbine was the release of a series of hunting and sports pneumatics. Experts highly appreciated the Tula version of the Lynx pump-action shotgun, created at Adar in 2016. However, buyer interest in St. Petersburg pneumatics was not so high, and it was decided to abandon the large-scale production of air guns.
Pump-action shotgun Lynx-k RM-96 manufactured by ADAR
During these same years, due to the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions and counter-sanctions, the import of foreign hunting rifles decreased. The Adara management immediately decided to take advantage of this. In 2017, the chief designer of the company, V. Sukhnev, through the mediation of R. Chumak and M. Degtyarev, began developing a smoothbore carbine. The work was carried out for more than a year and a half, which resulted in the birth of “Ladoga”-366, first presented in 2022 at the “Hunting and Weapons” exhibition.
In the summer of 2022, a version of the carbine from Adara, created from foreign components, but using a domestic barrel, went on sale. The barrel was manufactured in Vyatskie Polyany, had a chrome coating and earned good reviews from Russian hunters. The weapon was chambered for the low-pulse .223 Remington cartridge and featured a skillfully crafted stock and stock. Many years of experience in the manufacture of wooden body kits for various arms companies had an impact.
AR-15 carbine made from imported components
Creating your own “straight walker”
It was decided to create a smooth-bore magazine version of the weapon entirely independently without the use of foreign components and parts. With this, the young arms company from St. Petersburg laid the foundation for its future development as an independent player not only in the domestic but also in the international market. The linear shutter design was considered the most promising for production. In this case, it moved only along one axis - forward and backward. Manufacturing a model with a rotary-sliding bolt with the production and technical capabilities of Adara would be an overly complex and expensive undertaking.
Oddly enough, the chief designer of the new carbine, V. Sukhnev, did not have any special education as a gunsmith. As a result, a number of conceptual errors crept into the project of the future carbine at the initial stages. To correct them and speed up the work, two more specialists were brought in to the project. They were R. Chumak, a professional gunsmith, employee of the St. Petersburg Artillery Museum, and M. Degtyarev, editor-in-chief of the Kalashnikov magazine.
Ladoga shotgun chambered for .336 TKM
As a result, the Ladoga straight-action carbine turned out to be of sufficient quality, without obvious shortcomings and “childhood diseases”. However, the designers do not exclude the possibility that some shortcomings will emerge during its operation in real field conditions. But according to their assurances, all possible problems will be non-fatal and can be easily eliminated by design modifications.
A little history
Even at the sketch stage, Ladoga was already a very ambitious project. The developer and manufacturer of the model is, founded in 2013 as a subsidiary, which paid more attention to the decoration of weapons, and not to their technological indicators. For this reason, pneumatic models served as prototypes and conceptual models of Ladoga, which quickly “evaporated” from the market.
While searching for “their” place in the niche and other commercial loopholes, the inventors chose the main direction of production of the model - localization and a limited edition to search for a contractor willing to take a risk in a promising area. An important stage was the exhibition “Arms & Hunting” in 2016, which takes place at the Moscow Armory Yard every October. It was then that ADAR presented two new products: an interpretation of the Tula pump-action shotgun “Lynx” and a 20-caliber revolver shotgun of its own design.
The projects turned out to be unsuccessful, they had to be frozen, and all available funds were allocated to the AR direction, which had noticeably thinned out as a result of anti-Russian sanctions, and also to engage in the innovative development of a repeating rifle. As a result of all the efforts made, 2016 was marked by the receipt of the first prototypes of the ADAR-2-15 model in .233 Rem caliber. "Adar-2-15" was assembled from imported parts, and the super wear-resistant barrel was "borrowed" from . Buyers quickly appreciated the quality of the model in tandem with the stock and butt made of wood and laminated wood.
Operating principle
“Ladoga” is currently the only Russian carbine in production that has a linear, longitudinally sliding bolt mechanism. This design is quite simple compared to the rotary one. The barrel in such weapon models is unlocked by moving towards itself, without rotating around its axis. "Ladoga"-366 has manual reloading and is chambered for the 366-TKM cartridge. But there are also design developments to adapt it to 7.62 mm and 6.5 mm rifled cartridges.
This is precisely why the creators of the carbine explain the choice of a longitudinally sliding bolt mechanism for installation on their brainchild. In the production of rifled Ladogas, it is easier to adapt such a bolt to a cartridge from AKM (7.62x39) or Grendel (6.5x39). For the same reason, not the most common Winchester caliber today, .308-Win, was chosen, but 366-TKM. This ammunition was developed back in 1991 for hunting small and medium-sized game. It became the first cartridge created in the Russian Federation. Its main purpose is to fire rifles equipped with a Paradox rifled attachment. It is also used for shotguns with semi-rifled bores of the Lancaster type.
Ladoga carbine with forward action
The bolt of the carbine has an extended stroke, equal in size to the length of the cartridge used. To reload, the hunter’s physical strength is used directly: after firing the shot, the bolt is pulled back. After installing new ammunition, the bolt moves forward and the cartridge enters the receiver. It is locked using 3 stops located on the bolt frame and the bolt end. When moving forward with the help of a tracking pin, the bolt rotates and the stops engage and snap into place. The firing mechanism allows you to fire one shot, after which the safety is put on.
The removable bolt cylinder is planned to be modified to make the reloading process smoother. However, handling the Ladoga requires a certain skill due to the design of the shutter locking latch. It is difficult to reload a gun slowly and carefully with the features available today. Even the technical data sheet supplied by the manufacturer specifically states that cocking the mechanism requires vigorous forward movement of the bolt.
This fact is undoubtedly a disadvantage in real hunting conditions, when the shooter is not far from the intended prey. The disadvantage becomes especially relevant if we consider that the effective firing range of a smoothbore carbine is 70-100 meters. Among the advantages of the new weapon is a smooth trigger release. The pressing force, according to the technical specifications, is about 2 kg. This allows you to significantly improve shooting accuracy and combat accuracy. The undoubted advantage of the upright gun, compared to the “bolt” classics, is the increased rate of fire of the weapon. This advantage will be appreciated by those who like to hunt schooling or fast-moving game.
First of its kind
“Adar Ladoga”, which “saw the light” in 2022, largely repeats the design and operating principle of Adar “two-fifteen”. The carbine is presented as a smoothbore carbine, which allows you to purchase it under a “green” license (without having to wait a full five years). The “Ladoga” version differs from its predecessor mainly in appearance.
The principle of operation is a longitudinally sliding bolt with manual reloading. Three lugs reliably serve to lock the bolt, which is carried out by rotating the latter around its axis using a carbon font. This font is fixed in the copy frame, it acts on the copy surface of the shutter shank. Recharging is done manually. The trigger mechanism (trigger mechanism) belongs to the trigger group, ensures the execution of a single shot and setting the weapon on safety.
The chamber and barrel channel are chrome plated to protect against corrosion, mechanical and thermal wear. The presence of an oval drill chambered for the 366 TKM cartridge allows the weapon to combine the accuracy and accuracy of shooting of “rifled” specimens, while having the safety and “transparency” of wearing “smooth-bore” guns. The legendary Lancaster type drilling has a similar property. In particular, all lines of weapons with a Paradox-type muzzle structure have a Lancaster drill - when, “according to documents,” a smooth-bore gun has small drilled cuts not exceeding 140 millimeters near the muzzle.
The straight-line movement of the handle is very convenient, even simply irreplaceable during long-term use. The main feature of the Adar-Ladoga model is the linear movement of the handle during reloading. The barrel coupling is equipped with a special “platform” for attaching a bracket for optics and other sighting gadgets.
Description of the carbine
"Ladoga"-366 is a straight-action smoothbore carbine with a Lancaster-type bore. This option is used on all guns with semi-rifled barrels. The oval-screw profile has drilled rifling at the end of the barrel that does not go deeper than 14 cm.
Modifications
There are four possible execution options:
- Classic. “Basic” version, having a walnut stock and butt.
- Hunting. A modification adapted for hunting small and medium game. It has the ability to install a muzzle brake-compensator.
- Sport. A modification of the carbine used for sports and recreational shooting. Also equipped with DTK.
- Tactics. A more “militarized” version, stylized as an SVD.
Modifications of the Ladoga carbine
At the beginning of 2022, a conceptual shortened and lightweight Ladoga-Compact model was presented. The retail cost of the weapon, depending on the modification, is about 55-59 thousand rubles.
Design Features
Of particular note are the high-quality and comfortable butts and stocks. The only criticism can be caused by the insufficient length of the butt for a straight shotgun. Some models have a cheek rest that can be pulled out from the butt and can be adjusted in height. When reloading, the long-stroke bolt is too close to the shooter's face.
There is a platform on the barrel coupling intended for mounting optics or other sighting devices. The bracket for optics going to the Ladoga is 50 mm long and has only one cutout. It is attached to the coupling with one bolt, which limits the weight of the sight to 700 grams. This type of mounting may cause the mount to move after a number of shots, requiring the scope to be readjusted. The bracket is not included in the kit and is sold separately for 9-14 thousand rubles. In the basic version, the carbine is equipped with open sights with glow-in-the-dark inserts. This allows the Ladoga to be used for night hunting without additional equipment with night vision devices.
Mounting the optic rail
The safety has two positions, moving to the right and left. To avoid inadvertent removal of the safety catch due to snagging on clothing and equipment, it protrudes above the surface by only a few millimeters. On the other hand, this can create problems with installing or removing the rifle from the safety catch in winter, when the hunter is wearing warm gloves. The carbine is equipped with a cocking indicator, which is located under the safety and is painted bright red for greater visibility.
A distinctive feature of the Ladoga bolt mechanism is its multi-caliber nature. There is the potential to use three types of cartridges:
- 7.62x39;
- 6.5x39 Grendel;
- .366-TKM.
In the near future, it promises to expand the range of barrels for rifled warheads. The barrel is attached to the stock using two hex bolts, the key for which is included in the kit. At its end there is a left-hand thread for installing a brake compensator or flame arrester. For greater durability, the bore is chrome-plated.
Ladoga with optical sight and flash suppressor
Specifications
In terms of its technical characteristics, the Ladoga-366 is not inferior to other models of domestic smooth-bore guns, and in some ways it surpasses them.
Weapon performance characteristics:
- ammunition type - four-round magazine;
- sighting range - 75 meters when shooting with shot, 150 m when using a bullet;
- weight without sights and cartridges - 3.2 kg;
- length with butt - 98.5 cm;
- trunk length - 50 cm;
- caliber - .366-TKM;
- Warranty life - up to 6000 shots.
The sighting range of the gun when using a bullet is 150 meters.
The ammunition used in the carbine also has its own characteristics. The .366-TKM cartridge is a Russian development: its creators and the Vyatka-Polyansky “Molot”. It is designed to defeat fairly large game weighing up to 300-350 kg. The maximum effective firing range of this ammunition is 200-250 meters, after which its destructive power drops sharply. The advantages of .366-TKM include:
- high lethality;
- good accuracy of combat;
- Possibility of use without a “rifled license”.
In general, the new product from the St. Petersburg armory turned out to be quite interesting and promising. Despite some complaints, Ladoga-366 has a good chance of success, especially considering the large potential of its design for possible further modernization.
