Hunting smoothbore shotgun MP-155: reviews, technical characteristics, description, photos

• November 7, 2018
• Weapons and ammunition
• Natali Michaelis

The MP-155 semi-automatic smoothbore shotgun is one of the most successful products of the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant. Over the years, the well-known MP-153 weapon has been modernized, during which it was possible to improve ergonomics, increase functionality and reliability. In our article you will find characteristics, price, reviews of the MP-155 and much other useful information that will allow a novice hunter to decide on the choice of weapon.

Descriptions and review

The MP-155 is a self-loading smoothbore shotgun with an inertial gas engine, which is located on an under-barrel tubular magazine. The weapon is distinguished by a classic design, used by most weapons manufacturers when creating semi-automatic hunting models.

A more detailed overview of the MP-155 can be found in this video:

In it, the author expresses his opinion about this weapon, which is based on personal experience of using a self-loading gun for three years. Such information will be useful to anyone who is interested in reviews about the MP-155. In addition, the hunter gives many useful recommendations that will be useful to both professionals and amateurs.

Reactivation of weapons

After you have purchased this product from Izhevsk gunsmiths, you need to re-preserve it. Namely:

• Using white spirit or kerosene, you must thoroughly rinse the entire gun from dust, dirt and factory grease. There may also be particles of metal shavings - these also need to be carefully removed;
• check how tightly all the connecting pins fit, and if they are not securely fastened, place them on a thread locker or core them;
• Next, clean and lubricate the weapon and this is done simply: a cleaning rod, a brush and a cleaning cloth. We clean the weapon from the breech to the muzzle. Clean not to a “clean barrel”, but to a clean wiping cloth!

If you are going hunting or just shooting, leave the barrel dry; if the weapon is placed in a safe for an indefinite period, go through the barrel with a fluffy brush and oil.

Considering that the design system is the same with many semi-automatic devices from both Russian and foreign manufacturers, there are quite a lot of analogues.

In particular, the closest weapons are from the VPO plant - Bekas Auto and products from Turkish arms factories such as Hatsan, Stoeger, Khan Arms (Khan Arms) or ATA Arms. But as far as the “Turks” are concerned, the quality leaves much to be desired, and the spare parts are not exactly “camilleaux”.

As a result, we can say with confidence that the MP-155 is a fairly good (not without its drawbacks, of course) weapon, in the category of price/quality ratio. It is quite reliable and has good combat. This gun allows both a professional and a beginner just learning the basics of hunting to enjoy accurate shooting. It’s just a pity that anyway, due to the low build quality, you can’t use this weapon without a Russian “file and axe” and some kind of mother.

Advantages and disadvantages

Based on reviews from hunters about the MP-155, we can highlight some advantages and disadvantages of this weapon. Some of them may seem less significant, others more, but they are all worth familiarizing yourself with if you want to understand in more detail what this shotgun is all about.

Let's start with the advantages, of which there are many:

• Reliability and ease of use, indifferent attitude towards any type of ammunition used. This allows you not to worry about frequent repairs of the gun, and also “feed” it with budget options for cartridges.
• A modernized engine that can be easily adjusted to use different cartridges with different powder weights. It is unlikely that you will ever need to replace it.
• A barrel that allows you to shoot both steel and lead shot. It is also possible to change the choke, which allows you to change the characteristics of the weapon.
• Barrels with chamber lengths of 89 and 76 millimeters allow the use of ammunition of almost any size. The MP-155 manufacturer offers a choice of four barrel options of different lengths.

Judging by the reviews, the MP-155 has only one drawback - the set of calibers is limited only to the twentieth and twelfth options. This means that the weapon can only be used for hunting purposes.

Design

Compared to its predecessor, the gun looks a little more “European” in appearance; elaborate design elements have been introduced: notches on the fore-end and box, an intricate bracket, a triangular safety button, an intricate butt plate, beveled outer ends of the fore-end. At the junction of the butt and the box, a washer finally appeared that regulates the retraction of the butt - a small thing, but a nice thing. This can probably only be welcomed, although personally, the “American” brevity of the MP-153 did not cause any negativity for me. I was pleased to look at the scales: the randomly taken gun weighs 3.06 kg with a barrel weight of 710 mm long with muzzle attachments of 0.92 kg.

Until now, the lightest one we have encountered was “Companion E” from ATA - 2.96 kg in nut with a barrel with a nozzle of 1.06 kg. It should be noted that the number of light assault rifles is growing rapidly, and no one cares about the magnum chamber on them; rather, its absence will be considered a disadvantage. If 7-8 years ago the Companion was the only one, now an imported fairly inexpensive gun weighing 3 kg is not uncommon.

One can argue for a long time whether such a lightweight Magnum machine gun is needed, but its very appearance is a noticeable step forward. If the MP-153 can be called a “goose” gun and say that it is more intended for “dense” shooting from ambush, then the lightweight MP-155 is clearly a gun that allows for comfortable walking hunting. Of course, few people will want to shoot a lot of 50 and 60 grams of shot from it, but the mere presence of such an opportunity is pleasing. I used to occasionally shoot, if necessary, with 50g clover mirage magnum cartridges from my Izh-18EMM 12x76 weighing 2.9 kg, and I could handle it quite easily even in early autumn, of course with some habit and preparation. It will also be interesting to compare the sizes of the MP-153 and MP-155 boxes. In my opinion, the longer box and bolt stroke of the MP-153 should have a positive effect on the reliability of cartridge extraction and cartridge feeding. There are no statistics on MP-155 yet.

Changes in recent years

Over the past few years, weapons have undergone many changes. These modernizations made it possible to improve the combat characteristics of the MP-155 shotgun, as well as increase the ease of use. This information will be useful to those who want to understand how old models differ from new (more expensive) ones. Here is a list of what has been improved in recent years:

• The slide stop and safety buttons were made of steel, which increased ease of use. The gun now has a mechanism for intercepting cartridges in the magazine, which makes it possible to quickly reload with another type of ammunition.
• The shortened receiver began to be made of aluminum alloy, which significantly reduced the weight of the weapon.
• On the upper edge of the receiver, two parallel strips were machined, which are ideal for mounting optical sights with a dovetail mount.
• The base of the safety and trigger mechanism is now made of impact-resistant polyamide. This material is used in the construction of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, which will greatly please lovers of the classics.
• The lodge also underwent changes. The designers made it less protruding and more flat. Finally, the forend, which previously looked more like a loaf, has become thinner.
• The design of the shock-absorbing butt plate has changed. Now it has become much more effective at dampening recoil, which is especially noticeable when shooting with a telescopic sight.

The gun has become much lighter, approaching in this indicator to expensive foreign analogues. Also included now is a set of spacers that allows you to change the angle of the butt in relation to the receiver.

Purpose

As mentioned earlier, hunting with the MP-155 rifle is almost the only option for using this weapon. As a rule, this event is held in the spring or autumn for game birds. For this purpose, twenty-gauge cartridges loaded with shot are used. If you want to kill a medium-sized elk or wild boar, you will need to equip the weapon with a twelve-gauge weapon. Good ballistic properties allow you not to worry about a lack of stopping power, especially in Russia. If you hunt ducks or geese, wounded animals may even suffer from buckshot fired from a 12-gauge cartridge case. Therefore, the MP-155 shotgun is perfect for hunting. Perhaps its only competitor on the market is the Saiga 20C self-loading smoothbore carbine.

Varieties

Unfortunately, the gun is produced only in the twentieth or only in the twelfth gauge. The stock of such a weapon is made of impact-resistant plastic, beech or walnut. If you decide to purchase a twenty gauge, then professional hunters recommend taking specimens with a wooden stock, since the recoil from a shot can be very strong, and the wood will soften the blow.

Here are some more distinctive features of the MP-155:

• The twelve-gauge weapon comes with a folding stock or pistol grip, which allows you to customize the unit to suit the individual preferences of the hunter.
• There are several options for barrels, each of which is necessarily equipped with a front sight and a whole barrel.
• Not all models are equipped with a mechanism for intercepting cartridges. Some guns have a more classic version.
• You can also find models with a left-handed shutter on sale. As you might guess, such guns are intended only for left-handers.

If you wish, you can order an additional body kit for the MP-155 from a gun store, which often exceeds the price of the weapon itself. However, a collimator sight or an under-barrel handle can increase the technical characteristics of the MP-155 shotgun. By the way, it’s time to touch on this issue.

Specifications

Reviews about the MP-155 gun allow us to judge the quality and reliability of this weapon, but they do not provide such accurate information as the technical characteristics of the weapon. You can find them out when purchasing by looking at the weapons passport. They look something like this:

• type of weapon - self-loading gun with a gas engine;
• the weight of the gun with the barrel is 3.1 kilograms (12 gauge) and 2.8 kilograms (20 gauge);
• barrel – smooth, with a chamber and a chrome-plated channel;
• installation of replaceable choke constrictions is provided;
• increase in magazine capacity - up to 8 with an 89 chamber and up to 9 with a 76 chamber (only for 12 gauge);
• barrel length - 610, 660, 710 and 750 millimeters (the latter option is provided only for 12 gauge);
• barrel diameter at the breech is 18.4 millimeters (12 gauge) and 15.7 millimeters (20 gauge);
• chamber lengths are 76 and 89 (the latter option is provided only for 12 gauge).

What can be said based on these characteristics? The MP-155 12-gauge shotgun is best suited for shooting from a distance of 50 meters or more, since it has a more dense shooting pattern due to the long barrel. At the same time, the twenty is ideal for close shooting, as it has an excellent spread of shot. In general, if you want to go for a bear or elk, take a twelfth gauge, for a duck or goose, take a twentieth.

Summary

Surely the reader, especially the potential owner of the MP-155, will have a question about the comparative characteristics of the “murka”. If you try to compare the MP-155 with its main Western-made competitors, you get the following. Shotguns from Italian manufacturers, who today are called trendsetters in gun fashion, have excellent ergonomics, excellent performance characteristics, and a high level of finishing. This is the result of an advanced design school, the most advanced technologies, and the powerful economy of weapons companies (which did not have a devastating period like our “troubled 90s”). When compared with Italian shotguns, the MP-155 is inferior primarily in the level of finishing and quality of surface treatment.

But in terms of technical excellence, performance characteristics, reliability and options offered, the weapons of the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant look very worthy. But the price of any gun made in Italy starts at about 50 and can exceed 100 thousand rubles. The MP-155 is several times cheaper, that is, it is in a completely different price category, and it is not entirely correct to consider these “Italians” as competitors.

The situation is more complicated (for the MP-155) when compared with guns made in Turkey. The prices for them are already comparable to the price of MP-155. The level of finishing is very high, the quality is constantly improving. Again, the objective advantages of the MP-155 are high-quality materials, reliability and durability. Here our product is in conditions of fierce competition.

Of course, time and the market will show who is better and what best meets the needs of customers. But the new domestic “Murka” has every chance of becoming as popular a gun as the previous MP-153 model.

Yuri Maksimov

Design

Theoretical knowledge about the design and operating principle of weapons allows you to independently carry out all repair and maintenance work. Also, any self-respecting hunter should know what he uses to shoot game, otherwise respect for him from his comrades will quickly disappear. A self-loading smoothbore shotgun with a gas engine has a fairly classic design.

• The barrel is cold forged, with a chamber and a chrome-plated bore. The muzzle has threads for installing various choke constrictions that adjust the length of the barrel.
• The MP-155 shotgun has a gas engine, which is located on the under-barrel magazine. It is quite easily adjusted using a spring-loaded piston. The setting allows you to reduce or increase the gas pressure inside the barrel, some of which exits through the fore-end cavity.
• The magazine is tubular, with the possibility of extension.
• The receiver is made of aluminum alloy. The window for ejecting cartridges can be located on the right or left (models for left-handers). The bunker windows are located on the bottom edge. There are two recesses at the top, at a distance of 11 millimeters, forming a dovetail mounting strip for installing a collimator or optics.
• The bolt has a swinging tooth, which, when locked, clings to a special tail.
• The return spring is located together with the gas piston, which makes it possible to adjust, replace and remove the position of the stock.
• The trigger mechanism has a lever for setting the weapon to delay when firing the last cartridge. You can find this button between the trigger guard and the magazine hopper.
• The store also has a mechanism for intercepting cartridges. The adjusting lever is located on the left side of the receiver. When you pull it back, the gun will enter the slide stop mode after each shot.
• The safety is located behind the trigger guard, which has a triangular shape. To bring the weapon into the firing position, you need to press the button from right to left, after which a red ring mark will appear. It is worth noting that the hammer remains cocked, and the safety locks only the trigger.
• The sighting device consists of a front sight with a red fiber-optic thread and a ventilated bar. Optionally, a rifle front sight or rear sight can be installed.
• The stock is semi-pistol, with a straight ridge of the butt and a flat handle.

The length of the MP-155 gun allows it to be used by almost any hunter. Aiming with it is quite easy, but recoil is a different story. For people who are in the small weight category, they will first have to get used to the blows to the shoulder, and only then go hunting.

Date of issue

The first digits of the number indicate that the gun was put into production in 2011, and went on sale as part of the very first batch only in mid-April 2012. Consequently, the design and technology have not yet been fully tested, the choice of options has not yet been completed and is very possible improvements and changes. This is certainly not news, it happened with the first Snipes, and with the first serial semi-automatic Izhmekh - MP-151, and in the West, it seems, it happens quite often - Browning Gold quickly turned into Gold Hunter and then into Gold Fusion, having lost a fair amount of weight road. (Records of weighing randomly taken specific guns showed - Gold weighed 3.62 kg, Hunter 3.47 kg, Fusion already 3.14 kg.)

Operating principle

As you might guess, the weapon operates on the principle of a gas engine. The energy of the released gases after the shot pushes the ballistic projectile out of the muzzle channel, which is why the bullet acquires an initial speed of about 380 meters per second. Remember that before equipping a weapon, you must always put it on safety, otherwise you risk an accidental discharge.

The cartridges are placed into the loading hopper through a special window, overcoming resistance from the spring, after which they are fixed in the magazine. If you need to install an additional cartridge in the chamber, first turn on the cartridge interception mechanism - simply slide the lever on the left side of the receiver to the reverse position. After this, you need to move the bolt frame and put it on hold. All that remains is to put the ammunition on the feed elevator. We move the locking lever, after which the frame itself will return to its original position, locking the barrel bore. Please note that if the ammo interceptor mechanism remains engaged, the weapon will only fire single shots.

To change the spring tension in a gas engine, you need to use a special key, which should come with the weapon. We select the end of the tool that has the shape of an arc with a tooth. We attach the key to the rectangular cut in the piston nut and make its fixation a little easier. To understand the essence of the process, special markings with colored marks are applied here.

Tips for buying MP-155

If the Murka is your first gun, then you should choose the plastic version, in caliber 12x76 with a barrel length of 710. This option will allow you to try absolutely all types of hunting, as well as achieve your first results in the sport.

How to choose the best gun from several offered in the store? There are some tips:

This is what concentric circles look like on a straight trunk

And here the alignment is broken

• Check the alignment of the muzzle device with the bore. There should be no scoring or irregularities at the transition of the barrel to the choke; you need to check on both sides;
• Chamber transition cone. When viewed from both sides there should be no sharp distortions or deviations; the shadow ring should be round and symmetrical;
• Checking with a sleeve without a primer. Concentric rings will help identify irregularities in the trunk, if any;
• Sighting bar. Check the soldering points, they should be smooth, without voids or drips. The bar should be visually level;
• Gas chamber soldering area. The same thing - no voids or drips.

Defects in the soldering of the sighting bar - loose seam, cavities and voids
Be prepared for the fact that you will have to work a little with your hands - these guns don’t always shoot the way you want out of the box. Here are some tips for depreservation and initial “peeling”:

• After purchase, before leaving for the shooting range, disassemble and remove excess lubricant - Izhmekh generously pours preservative into its products, and it can ruin clothes;
• Apply dry lubricant to the shutter guides and rod - this will improve the stability of the automation and significantly increase the service life of the parts;
• If possible, polish the surface of the rod with a mirror - this also affects the stability of operation;
• After purchasing a gun and before going hunting, you should “break in” it. To do this, you need to fire 100-150 shots with magnum-mounted cartridges so that all the parts get used to it and “work together.”

The rod needs to be ground from the ends, otherwise it may bite and refuse to reload cartridges with low impulse

Disassembly

Complete or partial disassembly of the MP-155 shotgun allows for repair or lubrication work. This stage should be approached with great responsibility, since the slightest damage to one of the parts can lead to disruption of the entire weapon. Partial disassembly of the gun is carried out according to the following algorithm:

1. We unload the gun, after which we jerk the bolt frame several times in order to achieve the setting in the delay mode.
2. We unscrew the nut, which is located at the front end of the magazine.
3. We remove the forend.
4. We remove the barrel from mating with the receiver. To do this, you need to move it along the magazine with the muzzle pin.
5. We press the bolt stop release lever, and then hold the bolt by the handle so that it does not return to the reverse position.
6. We take the piston of the gas engine with one hand, and with the other we rest against the barrel so as to move the bolt frame back a couple of centimeters.
7. We remove the handle from the bolt frame.
8. Gradually release the piston of the gas engine. This will allow the return spring to straighten.
9. We remove the gas piston from the magazine along with the cylinder and the bolt frame.
10. Remove the return spring from the magazine.
11. We separate the piston from the bolt frame and remove the cylinder from the frame.
12. We knock out the pins on which the trigger mechanism is attached, and remove it from the receiver.

After all repair and lubrication procedures have been completed, assembly is carried out in the reverse order. Judging by the reviews, the MP-155 is quite easy to repair. Replacing any broken part is not difficult even for an amateur gunsmith. The most important thing is to follow the algorithm described above when disassembling.

Box and shutter

• There are now two types of boxes - different for 12x76 and 12x89 cartridges. The 12x76 box and its side window for cartridge ejection became shorter than the MP-153 box by 11mm.
• Most likely, the box for shotguns chambered for 12x89 will not be much different from the MP-153 box.
• Grooves for the collimator finally appeared on the top of the box, but the guilloche disappeared. The latter, in my opinion, slightly worsened the ease of aiming.
• The bolt and firing pin are also shortened by approximately the same 11mm, and the rear part of the bolt frame is shortened accordingly. That is, a firing pin from 155 to 153 will not work. At the same time, the stroke length of the shutter has remained virtually unchanged, approximately equal to 103-104 mm. The weight of the recoil parts is 0.5 kg for the MP-155, 0.56 kg for the MP-153. The coordinate of the gas outlet is 257 mm for 155 and 245 mm for 153.
• The bolt handle remains interchangeable, and it looks like the ejectors are as well.
• The barrel, bolt with frame and piston from 155 fit onto the box 153 normally, when moving the bolt by hand, the sleeve was sent through and thrown out.
• The shutter differs slightly in appearance from the MP-153 shutter; the main thing that is noticeable is the lightening selections. Whether they will affect survivability is still unknown. Until now, I have not encountered any cases of breakages of the MP-153 bolt body (but I have seen several cases of breakages of thin protrusions near the ejectors), but I have seen cracks on the lightweight bolts of some Turkish guns, and quite a few.

Options and packaging

The MP-155 self-loading shotgun is supplied with the barrel removed in a cardboard box. Optionally, you can order an additional receiver unit.

The weapon also comes with a set of interchangeable choke constrictions - a choke, a choke, a cylinder and a key for installing them, which is also used to adjust the spring tension in the gas piston. The kit usually comes with several spacers to change the position of the butt. A weapon passport and operating instructions are required.

Tuning and price

Using spacers, you can adjust the position of the butt relative to the barrel and receiver. It is also possible to completely replace the stock with a barrel handle for twelve-gauge weapons. As mentioned earlier, an optical or collimator sight with a dovetail mount can be installed on the gun. No one forbids installing additional accessories in the form of an under-barrel flashlight, an additional handle, a night vision device or a thermal imager. All these units will significantly facilitate the hunting process, especially in the dark. You can also completely change the appearance of the weapon, giving it a more vintage or military style. On sale there are wooden and plastic stocks, butts, receivers, painted in various colors.

However, it is worth considering that such modifications may exceed the cost of the weapon itself. By the way, about the last one. The price for one set of MP-155 with plastic fittings is set at around 23 to 28 thousand rubles (depending on the configuration and region).

Differences between MP-153 and MP-155

The most serious changes affected the size and weight of the receiver: the chamber was reduced to 76mm (in the basic version) and the removal of metal in non-critical places made it possible to lighten and shorten the receiver.

The next important feature is the transfer of gas exhaust mechanisms to the gas chamber, changing the piston and thrust. This significantly affected the weight and balance of the gun, now the weight did not exceed 3.25 kg. Due to the change in the recoil vector, the gun began to kick less, and the accuracy during tempo shooting increased.

External differences between MP-155 and MP-153 (above)

Changes also affected the trigger: there are fewer parts in it, and it has become lighter due to the use of polyamide in the base. The descent became shorter and drier.

All control units have become larger and more convenient, making it possible to easily operate the gun with gloves. A cut-off device has been added to the units: it allows you to block the feed to the tray and quickly send the desired cartridge through the ejection window.

The high sight rail became much more convenient - there was no longer a need to aim low, the gun became more versatile. A dovetail was added - it became possible to install additional sighting devices directly on the receiver, without fiddling with spacers at the base of the butt.

The design of the gun also changed - it began to look much nicer and more modern.

Owner reviews

MP-155 is a gun designed for hunting medium and large game. With adequate adjustment of the spring in the gas piston, it has relatively low recoil. Most users complain about the fact that when purchasing they come across crooked trunks. However, the manufacturer provides a warranty on all models, so a defective version can be replaced in a store without any problems. Also, occasionally you come across models with poor quality assembly. The shutter handle can be held “on a good word”, so it’s worth stocking up on a reserve one.

If you close your eyes to all the above nuances, then the owners’ reviews of the MP-155 can be considered purely positive. What pleased hunters most of all was the fact that the weapon can be “fed” with almost any cartridge. This allows you to save significantly on ammunition, which in 2022 is quite expensive. Hunters also note that the greatest productivity from the MP-155 can be obtained if you use cartridges rolled with an asterisk.

Perhaps the MP-155 is the best gun for hunting in its price category. It will become an indispensable companion for both beginners and experienced hunters. Most reviews about this weapon are only laudatory. If you come across a defective version when purchasing, the manufacturer will easily replace it with a high-quality model. Also, stores often give a warranty of operation for one to two years of use or for two thousand shots. If you have a breakdown, the manufacturing company will undertake all repair work, but this happens extremely rarely. The weapon is quite easy to maintain and can be used in any weather conditions. The dimensions of the MP-155 shotgun allow it to be used by owners of any size and build.