Air gun MP-512 “Murka” - review of a hardball air rifle

Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Today our guest is the legend of air guns, the queen of the hardball sniper and just a person with a very famous poetic name - “Murka”, aka MP-512 . We are greeted with applause - the MP-512 "Murka" aerial vehicle.

She has been asking me to come visit me for a long time, but apparently serious matters are getting in the way. Not surprising - the item is in great demand. But it would be unforgivable to remain silent about this, so we will write without the hero of the occasion. By the way, I was not the owner of this unit, but I had to shoot. And even more often they let me hold it, so during this time of volunteering as a loader I looked at something, and with the help of the almighty Google you can at least write a rough technical article. Let me remind you that the review, due to the subject of the site, will be simplified, so to speak, of a custom type. Therefore, those who are thirsty for technical improvement of their ward are asked to visit thematic forums. Well, let's go.

Registration and anatomy are the lot of a sniper

The MP-512 air rifle is the brainchild of IZHSMEKH, a famous Russian weapons factory. It got its nickname because of the “Weeping” abbreviation in the factory name. And although there are plenty of similar “MRok” on the market at the moment, by “Murka” they mean the 512 rifle. The rifle is a replacement for the popular IZH-38, about which legends can also be created, but today we are talking about something slightly different. Everyone has seen it, almost everyone has shot - all park shooting ranges in Russia use it.

The rifle itself is a spring-piston, breaking type. It breaks along its length, so a prone sniper in battle has to change plane (read as “turn over on its side”) in order to reload. But if you want to live, be able to reload quickly, so all hardball snipers who own the MP-512 air gun sooner or later learn this maneuver.

And due to the price and widespread availability of this rifle, almost all snipers sooner or later end up owning it. This is such a vicious circle. In summary, I will express my personal opinion that any hardball player should fire at least a couple of shots from this rifle in order to understand the role of a sniper in the game. The MP 512 air rifle is generally recognized without exaggeration; such fame can be compared with the MP-651 pistol (and its various modifications), as well as the Drozd, but even here one can philosophize for a long time about the lack of other models to match its performance. Anyway.

What is a gas spring and how does it work?

A pneumatic spring is a hollow cylinder containing compressed gas. In one part there is a plunger - a special rod that moves under the influence of compressed gas in the longitudinal direction. By pushing the plunger out of the cylinder, a force is created on the pneumatic piston. During cocking, the rod is pressed into the cylinder, and during the shot, the gas with which the power spring is filled pushes the rod back.

The MP-512 with a gas spring operates on this principle. The speed of the bullet (the photo below represents the operating features of spring-piston pneumatics) depends on the speed of the plunger and piston accelerated by compressed gas.

If necessary, you can increase the pressure in the cylinder to 250 atmospheres, which will significantly increase the speed of the bullet (up to 230 meters per second).

Modifications

There are many modifications, each one is different both externally and internally, but this does not change the situation - the Murka remains a Murka and is suitable for hardball. Let's focus only on a couple of additional letters to the name. Adding a “C” to the name puts the rifle into the category of toys up to 3 J, a good gift for a child. The addition of “M” takes it beyond the permissible 7.5 J into the class of hunting pneumatics up to 25 J. We follow this very letter M, we do not allow it on hard. Although sometimes tuned mugs can easily catch up with these same hunting options, so the best means of access remains a chronograph.

Models

Varieties of MP-512 Baikal:

Minuses

• I only came across loose screws in older models. At our competition, because of something like this, the rifle folded in half and didn’t want to unfold, so we had to stop shooting.

Owners can freely express their opinions on the advantages and disadvantages in the comments to the article.

I’m not going to go into detail in a general article about an entire long-term production series - all MP-512 air rifles are different, they all have their own problems and advantages. General opinion: suitable for those who do not have money, but have hands and desire.

Therefore, I’ll stop my chatter here, the owners are happy that the Internet has expanded about their brainchild. In conclusion, instead of a conclusion, I will add the experience of a real owner; it cannot be better than the opinion of an experienced person. Thank you Andrey, see you all.

Premium series gas springs

Premium reinforced springs are used for Russian-made air rifles such as MP-514 and MP-512. With a gas spring, the bullet's speed is constant. The same cannot be said about brass options equipped with conventional coil springs. For such weapons, the initial velocity of the bullet is unstable, and changes are observed from shot to shot.

Characteristics:

• the diameter of the spring rod is 0.8 cm;
• gas spring length – 119 mm;
• the spring rod has a length of 88 mm;
• a force of 55 kg is applied to the rod;
• injection pressure – 120 atmospheres (depending on individual preferences, you can, by ordering a pressure setting, increase it to 250 atmospheres);
• Gas used for filling is nitrogen 80%;
• The spring body and its rod are made of steel.

During operation of a pneumatic weapon reinforced with a gas spring, it is necessary to periodically carry out a technical check for maintenance. It is advisable to do this after eight to ten thousand shots.

Review of MP-512

Out of the box it gave 160-180 m/s half a gram. It was produced in both plastic and wood. On overclocked propellers, the birch cracked from the recoil. Plastic is more practical. Occasionally we came across export beech stocks with a pistol grip. Perhaps the best option I've seen. The USM block is like that of the IZH-38, but with a less deep spring seat. The trigger has acquired a manual safety and a new safety mechanism. The piston is identical to the IZH-38 of later releases. Unlike the Izhik, the Murka has a longer compressor and, accordingly, a piston stroke, therefore, greater muzzle energy. The rifle has a sighting bar adjustable in two planes and a dovetail for installing an OP. With non-violent use, the rifle is practically eternal, unpretentious and reliable. Congenital diseases include: crooked and poorly welded dovetail, loose barrel hinge, poor bolt fixation, tight and uninformative trigger. It is worth paying attention to this when purchasing. Fortunately, many things can be treated with thoughtful peeling. Of the many modifications, for our purposes I recommend modifying the trigger, installing a telescopic guide, and even better, replacing the spring with a gas one (Attention! WITH THE REQUIRED compression force.) Changing the angles of the piston hook and cocking rod, modifying the bullet entrance and muzzle chamfer. Also stops for OP and weight distribution. All this has been described many times on the Internet. I can give you some advice, just ask. It is also worth noting that craftsmen offer a variety of improvements to this model in abundance.

Its accuracy is quite acceptable, especially with the GP and barrel weighting. The guys collected 18-20mm out of five at 50m in the shooting range using up-to-date propellers. There is an inconvenience with charging with gloves, which can be solved with a loader from an insulin syringe. The fuse is also remade according to the IZH-38 type. IMHO this is more convenient. There is also a nuance, a noisy platoon like all PPPs, requiring space. To reload while lying down, you need to turn on your side. The lack of swivels for shoulder straps is also not great; I welded it semi-automatically onto the barrel closer to the stock. My opinion is that hard is only good for lack of something better. The same IZH-61 is more compact, plus a side cocking and with a clip. The main advantages of Murka are budget, simplicity, reliability, and rigidity of construction. A kind of pneumoMosinka. I myself snipered with a store-bought PCP rat gun, and the guys quickly “got crazy.” Kolek actually took the 850 after the hedgehog and the rat, well, you know. Sniping is a serious matter and requires an appropriate approach. In addition, budget optics do not like PPP.

Optical sight selection

Despite belonging to PP pneumatics, “Murka”, as already noted, has, in contrast to magnum class pneumatics, quite a small recoil. Therefore, the optics do not fall apart after a week or two. And still, you shouldn’t buy the cheapest (300-800 rubles) sights.

Vologda optics (VOMZ Pilad 4x32) is a good choice. And the Leapers brand (also 4x32) is recommended by experienced users.

Photo of the VOMZ Pilad 4x32 optical sight

Air rifle Izh-38

Izh-38 is the most common rifle of the period 1980-1993. It is a direct continuation of the history of the Izh-22 rifle. The design included such innovations as a closed front sight with a ring-shaped front sight, a complex-shaped rear sight with height adjustment. As a change to the barrel design, it was decided to abandon the brass rail and switch to a fully forged barrel with 12 grooves. The barrel mounting and fixation unit has been improved.

The piston was enlarged in the compressor design, its weight reached 90 grams. The barrel has become thinner - only 13.5 mm. In the first half of the 80s, the first modernization of the rifle was carried out - the forged barrel with 12 rifling was replaced with the same one, only there were 6 rifling.

Since 1985, the rifle barrel has become even thinner, it was reduced to 13.0 mm. The shape of the mark on the weapon has been changed.

The last modernization affected the rifle in 1992-1993. The trigger mechanism and compressor were modified, it became shorter than its predecessors by 20 mm.

Upgrade

Many people complain about the stiffness of the trigger. To make tuning and make it softer, you can grind all the contacting elements of the sear and piston. And also remove burrs on the sear axle (if present). And one more thing: it’s worth changing the angle of the ledge on the release hook. Optimally, as experience has shown, up to 110 degrees.

To reduce the travel of the trigger, you can install a transverse pin (or screw) that limits the travel of the trigger guard during cocking. Or simpler: shorten the length of the ledge on the trigger bracket (but in this case, it won’t be possible to return it to the way it was, if that happens).

And a little more about the hook: for comfort when shooting, it is advisable to round the edges on its front part. And sand the surface well. By the way, careful grinding with GOI paste will not damage both the cylinder with the piston and the muzzle chamfer.

To shoot more accurately, it’s a good idea to weigh the stock down. Why do they hang a metal muzzle on the barrel (from 200 to 300 grams). If the fuse horns get in the way, they are simply cut off.

To slightly increase power, you need to reduce the bypass hole (using a special bushing inserted into the old-style rubber band, before 2008). We also change the cuff. A good option is a product from Petrukha. You can also order it from fluoroplastic. Or fill the factory cuff using sealant to seal its grooves. SHRUS-4 lubricant is well suited for a newly installed cuff.

Well, replacing a weak factory spring with a gas one will help to increase power (and reliability, by the way) more significantly - and for the Murka this process was developed “from start to finish”, and the components are sold everywhere. They may even install a GP for you for an appropriate fee. However, if you buy a kit, you can do it yourself. How - read on.

The video shows the disassembly and tuning of the MP-512-24 air rifle:

Gas spring installation

After completing partial disassembly, you first need to remove the old coil spring, and also free the piston with the backplate from its remaining components. This is an inertial weighting material, guides with gaskets, washers.

Holding the piston with one hand, with the other hand we take the gas spring by the cylinder body. And then carefully and smoothly insert it into the piston all the way - forward with the cylinder body. We take the centering support washer, direct it with the recess for centering to the gas spring rod and place it in the back of the trigger mechanism. If there is a protrusion on it, insert this protrusion into the corresponding recess of the backdrop. Then we put the backdrop into the barrel box.

We check the correctness of precompression. If all is well, then the protrusion on the back is not fully inserted into the groove of the barrel box (by 2-5 millimeters) - it is hampered by the resistance provided by the GP rod.

We rest the back of the release mechanism against something flat and solid, overcome the resistance of the gas spring and insert the protrusion into the corresponding groove. We assemble the device.

Recommendations from professionals

It is quite easy to choose a rifle for yourself; the main thing is to decide on the purpose - what it is needed for and in what cases it will be used. In the media, many gunsmiths have created a whole system of such definitions.

1. I need the cheapest rifle for study and entertainment; ultimately I don’t plan to buy a more expensive weapon. The MP-512-22 plastic rifle is suitable here. Its characteristics are not inferior to other modifications, but the price is much lower. In addition, it is the lightest of its brothers.
2. But if you plan to switch to more expensive weapons in the future, you need to take a closer look at rifles made of wood. They are much heavier, and once a beginner gets used to shooting them, it will be easier to switch to expensive weapons that will have a similar weight.
3. If you plan to upgrade your rifle, then experts recommend paying attention to the MP-512-11 model. Its futuristic appearance will appeal to any weapon experimenter.