The history of a combined gun with three barrels (drilling in German, in our country simply “tee”) dates back to approximately the 1870s. The innovation here belongs to German gunsmiths, who managed to create a hunting rifle that satisfied the needs of wealthy and discerning hunters.
For shooting small animals, it is possible to use a “liner” - a short rifled barrel chambered for the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire cartridge of 5.6 mm caliber, often simply referred to as .22 WMR, .22 Win Mag, .22 Magnum or simply .22 Mag. The design of the “liner” ensures its precise zeroing and rigid fixation, guaranteeing the stability of the firing of the insert barrel, and its lightness and compactness (as well as the miniature size of small-caliber cartridges) allow you to carry the insert barrel in your backpack pocket for as long as you like without any hassle. In this case, the effective firing range from such an insert can slightly exceed 100 m.
A universal gun, essentially a rifle and a double-barreled shotgun on one frame, capable of solving the widest range of amateur hunting tasks - a unique and respectable design. And the dream of many domestic amateur hunters. It’s probably worth noting that fans of the European part of Russia go hunting, at best, only a few times a year. But we should not forget that the overwhelming majority of our hunters live on the periphery of the country.
And the worldview, needs and, most importantly, the capabilities of the bulk of the hunting community in our country are radically different from the “European”, “generally accepted” and other “civilized” ones. Therefore, in this article the “tee” will be considered from the position of the majority. Those. – hunters of the impassable taiga and forested mountains of Russia.
Having some, rather random, experience of hunting with combination guns, I tried never to go into the specifics of their design and the history of this interesting, but unusual for Russia, hunting weapon. Accustomed to pragmatically evaluating any weapon from the standpoint of not only a one-sided consumer position, but also taking into account production (consider historical, geopolitical and economic) realities, I understood the immensity of the topic of combined hunting weapons and the complexity of its disclosure, both for my own understanding and to convey to the reader. Therefore, it was decided to show the design features of drillings more clearly, in photographs, but we will try to discuss the specifics of using “tees” in our conditions in more detail. And it would be great if practical hunters from the peripheral regions of Russia responded to this article, talking about their experience of hunting with three-barreled “combinations”.
Evolution of the tee
The idea of creating a tee (drilling) belongs to practical Germans who wanted to design a universal hunting weapon. In 1878, gunsmith Peter Oberhammer from Munich made the first trigger tee: a rifled barrel was located in it under two smooth barrels. The gun seemed to combine a shotgun and a carbine.
In the Soviet Union in the 1980s, Tula gunsmiths developed a “game-changing” three-barreled hunting pistol TP-82. This weapon was intended to be used by Air Force pilots and astronauts as a tool for survival in deserted areas after an emergency landing. The two upper barrels of this unit were smooth (caliber 32), and the lower one with a caliber of 5.45 was rifled.
In the 1990s, the Austrian company made triple-tubes with a three-barrel block the main type of product, and the barrels were located horizontally. Thanks to this improvement, the pressure that acted on the bolt mechanism and block during a shot was less destructive than with the vertical arrangement of barrels familiar to craftsmen.
If we talk about today, relatively inexpensive tees are made today. They are reliable and durable, but quite heavy. Inexpensive three-barreled shotguns are produced at German facilities. This company with modern technology produces almost all types of tees on the market. Their range includes both classic designs and all-slug units, as well as three-barrel shotguns. A little higher in the price range is the “Plus” model from Krieghoff. Much more expensive three-barreled guns (Neptune Primus and Trump) are also made here. Reliable weapons with an unusual design can be purchased from (model D 99). Relatively recently, but very confidently, a young woman from France declared herself on the international market of weapons with three barrels.
Summary
Summarizing the above, we can confidently state that the “tee” is an interesting, good and relatively universal weapon in itself. Especially if its performance characteristics meet the hunter’s needs. The precision of a rifled drilling barrel allows (with the use of optics) to shoot very accurately and at decent distances. As long as the caliber is suitable for your purposes. Paired smooth barrels of 20-12 calibers, despite the relatively short length, make the “tee” quite suitable for feather hunting and any of our classic hunts. It’s not for nothing that S.A. Buturlin called the hunter with a tee “the lord of the forest.” But, quite obviously - with all its advantages, a tee should not be the only gun - when hunting for the same quail or woodcock, this weighty gun, which does not have a “shot” balance, will not be the best choice.
Drilling triggers. The right trigger has a push-pull mechanism, adjustable trigger force and allows firing from the right smooth and rifled barrels.
Our main problem in this area is the complete absence of relatively inexpensive domestically produced “tees” (we do not take TsKIB products into account). If only we could buy the notorious Izhevsk drilling MP-272, with barrels 16x70 and 9x53 or 7.62x54, at a price no more than 30-60 thousand rubles. – for many hunters this would be quite acceptable. Izhevsk people could make both one-piece “tees” at an arbitrarily high price, and the cheapest option for fishermen and unassuming hunters, albeit without engraving, unsightly, as long as the barrels were well aligned. It would be possible to expand the range of rifled and smooth calibers and do much, much more. There is demand!
Unfortunately, the domestic military-industrial complex, apparently, is overtaking the unenviable fate of the rest of the industry. And this is too technologically troublesome and unprofitable for our factories - mass production of “tees”. Therefore, those who want to have a “tee” are forced to overpay for imported weapons and shoot with expensive foreign cartridges, many of which are still exotic in our country.
Speaking about the demand for combination shotguns with three barrels in Russia, it is necessary to take into account that many hunters judge these weapons only theoretically. In practice, many expectations often dissipate. And there comes an understanding that for the most effective use of drilling in hunting, considerable experience in handling this weapon and its adequate use is required. Only then will the hunter be able to fully realize all the capabilities of this amazing fusion of precision weapon mechanics - a three-barreled shotgun.
Technology
Triple-barrel rifled barrels are produced by cold forging. Due to the more than threefold jump in pressure during a shot from a rifled barrel (when compared with a shotgun), it obliges designers to use only high-strength steel for barrels. For smooth trunks this factor is not so important. This means that this barrel block will be lighter and more compact. By the way, due to the race to reduce weight, three-barreled guns have an average barrel length of 600 millimeters. The accuracy of combat with such dimensions does not drop much, but the initial speed of the bullet decreases quite significantly.
The first models of tees were produced in 12 or 16 gauge. The rifled lower barrel rarely accepted a bullet smaller than 9 mm. The large caliber of the main barrels was due to the fact that the guns were “sharpened” for black powder, and the lack of lethality was compensated by the large caliber of the bullet.
The well-known weapons expert V.E. Markevich, in a book about hunting and sporting small arms, mentions the following familiar combinations of barrel layouts for three-barreled guns:
- the most popular system is the horizontal connection of two barrels for shot cartridges; At the bottom between them there is a rifled barrel;
- shotguns chambered for a low-power rifled barrel cartridge use a similar design with a horizontal arrangement of two shot barrels and an upper position of the rifled barrel;
- the combination of a double-barreled shotgun with a single-barreled shotgun is most often a horizontal connection of two rifled barrels and a lower smooth barrel for a shotgun cartridge;
- “transformer” gun - a horizontal pairing of two shotgun barrels plus a removable lower rifled barrel.
Drilling production is a labor-intensive and time-consuming process that is very difficult to automate. This is probably why even such a technology giant as the USA does not produce three-barreled guns. The main production capacities of three-barreled weapons are from Austrian and German companies: Merkel, Borovnik, Blaser, Krieghoff and Sauer. Three-barrel guns are made in small quantities by gunsmiths in the Czech Republic, Belgium, France, Italy and Russia (TsKIB).
MAKSIMOV.SU
The history of a combined gun with three barrels (drilling in German, in our country simply “tee”) dates back to approximately the 1870s.
The innovation here belongs to German gunsmiths, who managed to create a hunting rifle that satisfied the needs of wealthy and discerning hunters.
Sauer 3000 Drilling,
cartridges in barrels
For shooting
For small animals, it is possible to use a “liner” - a short rifled barrel chambered for the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire cartridge of 5.6 mm caliber, often simply referred to as .22 WMR, .22 Win Mag, .22 Magnum or simply .22 Mag. The design of the “liner” ensures its precise zeroing and rigid fixation, guaranteeing the stability of the insertion barrel.
And its lightness
and compactness (as well as the miniature size of small-caliber cartridges) allow you to carry a loose barrel in your backpack pocket for as long as you like without any hassle. In this case, the effective firing range from such an insert can slightly exceed 100 m.
Universal gun
, which is essentially a rifle and a double-barreled shotgun on one frame, capable of solving the widest range of amateur hunting tasks - a unique and respectable design. And the dream of many domestic amateur hunters and lovers of the European part of Russia, who go hunting, at best, only a few times a year. But we should not forget that the overwhelming majority of our hunters live on the periphery of the country.
Worldview
, needs and, most importantly, the capabilities of the bulk of the hunting community in our country are radically different from the “European”, “generally accepted” and other “civilized” ones.
That's why
in this article, the “tee” will be considered from the position of the majority. Those. – hunters of the impassable taiga and forested mountains of Russia.
On the side, above the triggers,
Griner system fuse
Having
Some, rather random, experience of hunting with combined guns, I tried never to go into the specifics of their design and the history of this interesting, but unusual for Russia hunting weapon.
Getting used to it
pragmatically evaluate any weapon from the standpoint of not only a one-sided consumer position, but also taking into account production (consider historical, geopolitical and economic) realities, I understood the immensity of the topic of combined hunting weapons and the complexity of its disclosure, both for my own understanding and for reporting to the reader.
That's why
It was decided to show the design features of drillings more clearly, in photographs, but we will try to discuss the specifics of using “tees” in our conditions in more detail. And it would be great if practical hunters from the peripheral regions of Russia responded to this article, talking about their experience of hunting with three-barreled “combinations”.
"They" and us
To start
let's try to make a decision and, no matter how unpleasant it may be for some of our hunters, come to terms with the fact of a completely different approach to hunting in Russia and in Europe.
Let's remember
that since the Middle Ages in “civilized” Europe, any desire to hunt has been eradicated by draconian methods. How to use the forest: poachers and loggers were physically tortured, and the methods of execution were no less sophisticated than in the basements of the “holy” Inquisition.
Nevertheless,
European forests were completely destroyed (almost all modern forests in Europe were planted by humans), and many animal species simply disappeared.
Today
forests in European countries are gardens with half-tame deer and wild boars. And classical European hunting is just a parody of hunting in our conditions, which is not distinguished by “glamor” and comfort, but is Hunting with a capital “H”.
Drilling
Sauer 3000 Drilling with optical sight
Sauer 3000 Drilling
produced in Germany. A three-barreled shotgun with two smooth upper barrels and one lower rifled barrel. Smooth trunks: 16x70. Rifled barrel chambered for 7x65R cartridge. Trigger: with two triggers. Weight: 3-3.3 kg Length: 106.5 cm, barrel length: 63.5 cm. Chokes: half and full choke. Sights: lifting shield and front sight; possibility of quick installation of an optical sight.
Speaking
about the features of European and Russian weapons, do not forget about the traditional conditions and specifics of their use. What is modern “European hunting”? As a rule, this is shooting from a tower at a baited animal or from a number during a raid hunt. And not for food, but for fun or prestige.
The most important component
– external surroundings: comfortable hunting lodges, expensive hunting clothes, exquisite and specific weapons, twigs and feathers in hats and other attributes of an “elite” holiday. Guaranteed shooting of a baited animal from an insulated tower is not a multi-day trail in the snowy taiga or even hunting in a den.
This,
in my opinion, it is simply a cynical murder that does not require any hunting skill, endurance and willingness to be left not only without a “trophy”, but also to lose health or even life.
Drilling
Sauer 3000 Drilling, general view
You can
imagine a Siberian fisherman who lives by hunting, armed with an expensive German tee or an elegant rifled Austrian single-barrel “breaker”? Me not. For most of the fishermen in Russia have an SKS or “melkan”, paired with a double-barreled shotgun. And they carry two guns at once.
Wonderful
The Belka combine, suitable for fur hunting, is not the best weapon when meeting a bear. In addition to the highly controversial practical suitability of imported “tees” for fishing in our conditions, a significant factor is the price of such weapons.
Drilling
Sauer 3000 Drilling, partial disassembly
Who lives by hunting
he doesn’t need sophisticated engraving and a butt nut on his weapon. He needs a tool. Axiom - in a normal forest, any gun very quickly loses both its external luster and its original value.
Gun
gets wet and freezes in the rain and snow, falls along with the owner onto the stones and into the water, ends down the rocky mountain path from the rider's shoulder. You never know what happens in the forest!
The middle part of the
Sauer 3000 Drilling on the left side.
Here we are
and came to where we started - the type of weapon is determined by the conditions of use and the purposes of the hunt. And also – legislative restrictions on the use of rifled weapons, as they were not so long ago in the USSR. Therefore, as V.E. Markevich once wrote, it turned out that: “Modern tees are well developed by European gunsmiths.
Ahead of others
German masters are in this business, and Austrians, Czechs and Belgians are trying to keep up with them. And tees are most widely used in central Europe.” Not much has changed since then.
The “tee” was originally developed as a universal weapon for walking “landowners” on land, when you don’t know who you’ll run into – a roe deer or a quail. Serious hunts require specialized weapons - that's a fact. For universality always requires sacrifice, which we will discuss below.
Tees
in Russia and the USSR
In modern Russia
amateur hunting quickly and irrevocably becomes fun for wealthy people. For the poor and those who generally live only by hunting, laws are now being written and adopted just as quickly, which in the future will completely bury both hunting and the very desire to hunt legally.
Certainly,
poaching, like partisans, is physically impossible to defeat, therefore our forests and fields will be empty just as surely.
In Tsarist Russia
, which amateur hunting was also available only to the rich, to a meager few percent of the population. The hunting poor subsisted on hunting and poaching, fortunately this was uncontrollable even then, but sometimes allowed them to feed their families.
And then
, as now, the “elite”, not satisfied with the quality and range of domestic hunting weapons, ordered expensive guns from English and German-Austrian craftsmen from “Europe”.
Similar
motivating this by “high matters”, such as the aestheticism of hunting and the insignificance of the amount of meat obtained. Looking through the catalogs of our capital's gun stores from the very beginning of the 20th century, willy-nilly you pay attention to how successful the sales of expensive guns were in those difficult years.
Trigger tee
of the Zulian master Heim
How would it be
did not sound unexpected, but the strict socio-economic distinction between hunts for the “boyars” and for the “black people” in Tsarist Russia can be traced everywhere - both in Russian literary classics, and in art and the very spirit of that time. Unfortunately, we are now seeing the same social phenomena.
These are the realities
- there is a “beautiful and noble hunt” and there is something else, either “ignoble” hunting, or banal forced poaching for the “rabble”. And anyone who claims that hunting in Russia today is just pleasure is either lying or does not have information about the state of affairs in the country outside the Moscow Ring Road.
Drilling Sauer 3000 Drilling.
Rifled insert for small caliber cartridge
We are again
We have come to the conclusion that drilling is an elite weapon that requires appropriate conditions, practice of use and adequate care.
Design features
The “tee” has special requirements during its production, which greatly affects the cost of the product.
Combination shotgun
Sauer 3000 Drilling.
Rifled insert
for small caliber cartridge
That is why
The “tees” created in the USSR were produced in extremely small quantities: the same TOZ-28, created in the early 60s, was both expensive and impractical due to the weak cartridge for a rifled barrel and smooth 20-gauge barrels. TsKIB “tees” MTs-30 and MTs-140 already had a rifled barrel chambered for 9x53 cartridge and smooth 12-cal barrels.
But they were also released
They were only made to order, in extremely insignificant quantities, and the price was appropriate. Once again the hunting community was able to verify that there is some truth in the axiom “drilling is an elite weapon.”
Combination shotgun
Sauer 3000 Drilling.
Barrel selector
and cocking indicators
Avoided confiscation
and destruction during the Second World War, German pre-war “Sauer”-drillings continued to serve domestic hunters. But already like ordinary double-barreled shotguns or smooth-bore triple-barreled shotguns: during legalization, rifled barrels were either drilled to a “smooth” 32 caliber or rendered unusable by perforation.
Although
the well-known “cartridge” problem still quickly turned any “tee” into a heavy double-barreled shotgun with an “extra” barrel.
Combination shotgun Sauer 3000 Drilling.
Barrel selector and cocking indicators
At the beginning of the 21st century
the realities are such that the “tee” in Russia also serves more as an indicator of social status or material well-being than as an ideal hunting weapon for our conditions.
Attempt by IZHMEKH
since the late 1990s.
(when an order arrived from the USA) to organize the production of inexpensive two- and three-barreled combination shotguns ended in nothing - the order was oh, they forgot about the developments. Sauer 3000 Drilling combination shotgun handguard removed
It's a pity
- the vertical “tee” MP-271 and the “horizontal” drilling MP-272, designed, respectively, on the basis of the Izh-27 and Izh-43 guns, could occupy the niche of inexpensive combined weapons, both for amateur hunters and fishermen.
That's why
Our hunters, as before, are forced to buy either very expensive new European-made drilling guns or look for more or less preserved old guns on the secondary market.
Design Features
Classic "tee"
is a gun with folding barrels, with a rifled barrel located under two horizontally welded shotgun barrels.
Drilling happens
and with the top two rifled barrels, but they are more specialized and less durable weapons.
Sauer 3000 with barrels removed.
Please note that the locking of the “tee” is structurally identical to the triple locking of a conventional “horizontal” - the hooks of the barrels are locked with a Perdet bar, the upper protrusion of the breech end of the barrels is locked with a Griner bolt.
First models
tees had locks with external triggers, were heavy, bulky and awkward to use. As they improved, drills received internal triggers and became lighter and more compact.
Brought
to constructive and technological impeccability, this type of hunting weapon is rightfully considered the pride of German and Austrian gunsmiths.
Combination shotgun
Sauer 3000 Drilling
100 m lifting rear sight
for a rifled barrel. It is spring-loaded and fixed in the raised position only when the hammer of the lower rifled barrel
Because
“Tees” were originally designed on the basis of the classic “horizontal”, then you can find a lot in common between them. At the same time, due to the increase in the height of the barrel block, the upper smooth barrels have a high location relative to the axis of rotation, which causes the gun to loosen faster.
Cartridges used in the “tee” Sauer 3000 Drilling
,
allow you to “cover” almost all types of hunts in central Russia.
As practice has shown, in the Caucasus mountains
this combination of calibers is quite optimal
Application
a “deeper” block and the highest quality steels can partially minimize this main disadvantage of “tees”, but the increased weight of the barrel block causes another problem - a significant increase in the weight of the gun.
Caliber reduction
barrels up to 16 or 20, shortening them and reducing the thickness of their walls makes it possible to reduce the weight of the gun to a more or less acceptable value.
Sauer 3000 Drilling, scope mount hooks
But this
forces you to use the highest quality modern materials and carefully shoot the barrel block. In principle, they don’t shoot much from a drill, but anything can happen when hunting: after shooting 2-3 rounds in a row, “separations” begin from the rifled barrel; the barrel must be allowed to cool.
Technologically
One of the most difficult moments in the production of a “tee” is soldering all three barrels in such a way that, when using an open sight, the bullets of the smooth and rifled barrels fall at the same point. The Germans have achieved a high degree of perfection in this and for this they must be given their due.
Sauer 3000 Drilling,
barrel block muzzle
Conclusion
To summarize the above,
we can confidently state that the “tee” is a weapon in itself that is interesting, not bad, and relatively universal. Especially if its performance characteristics meet the hunter’s needs. The precision of a rifled drilling barrel allows (with the use of optics) to shoot very accurately and at decent distances.
If only
the caliber was suitable for your purposes. Paired smooth barrels of 20-12 calibers, despite the relatively short length, make the “tee” quite suitable for feather hunting and any of our classic hunts. It’s not for nothing that S.A. Buturlin called the hunter with a tee “the lord of the forest.”
But,
It is quite obvious - for all its advantages, a tee should not be the only gun - when hunting for the same quail or woodcock, this weighty gun, which does not have a “shot” balance, will not be the best choice.
Drilling triggers.
The right trigger has a push-pull mechanism, adjustable trigger force and allows firing from right-hand smooth and rifled barrels
home
Our problem in this area is the complete absence of relatively inexpensive domestically produced “tees” (we do not take TsKIB products into account). If only we could buy the notorious Izhevsk drilling MP-272, with barrels 16x70 and 9x53 or 7.62x54, at a price no more than 30-60 thousand rubles. – for many hunters this would be quite acceptable.
Izhevtsy
they could make both one-piece “tees” at an arbitrarily high price, and the cheapest possible option for fishermen and unpretentious hunters, albeit without engraving, unsightly, as long as the barrels were well aligned. It would be possible to expand the range of rifled and smooth calibers and do much, much more. There is demand!
Unfortunately,
The domestic military-industrial complex, apparently, is overtaking the unenviable fate of the rest of the industry. And this is too technologically troublesome and unprofitable for our factories - mass production of “tees”.
That's why
those who want to have a “tee” are forced to overpay for imported weapons and shoot with expensive foreign cartridges, many of which are still exotic in our country.
Speaking
about the demand for combination shotguns with three barrels in Russia, it must be taken into account that many hunters judge these weapons only theoretically. In practice, many expectations often dissipate. And there comes an understanding that for the most effective use of drilling in hunting, considerable experience in handling this weapon and its adequate use is required.
Only then
the hunter will be able to fully realize all the capabilities of this amazing fusion of precision weapon mechanics - a three-barreled shotgun.
Shooting from the
Sauer 3000 Drilling
The article was published
in the magazine "Hunting" in 2009
Advantages
Perhaps the most important advantage is the famous third shot, which hunters so often lack. True, this shot is often made from a rifled barrel of a smaller caliber, but at the same time it allows you to send a bullet over a fairly long distance. Therefore, modern tees are often sold together with an optical sight.
The tee is indispensable during raid hunting. The forest in which the drive is carried out can be of different types, and in the same clearing you can shoot at a longer distance. If the hunter has a carbine, an accurate shot can be achieved only after combining all three points, which takes time. The situation changes if the hunter has a three-barreled shotgun. It is much easier to make a successful shot from a smooth barrel with an aiming rib and front sight.
Flaws
Skeptics usually blame the tee for its considerable weight and lack of a magazine (although it is implemented in expensive models, for example, in the Sauer 3000 Deluxe). It is believed that three-barrel barrels have less strength, since their walls are made thinner in order to reduce weight. Such trunks are less resistant to damage and become looser faster. The tee mechanism is more complex and, as a result, sometimes less reliable. The price is also not particularly pleasing - as a rule, three-barreled guns are more expensive than their double-barreled counterparts.
Comment from Sauer 3000 Drilling owner
I exchanged this unique gun for several knives. It just so happened that the owner of the store where I saw my Sauer was fond of edged weapons. So we “gave up.” True, at that time this gun was in a bit of a deplorable state - one of the barrels was swollen. Apparently this is a rather rare, custom-made piece, since it weighs only 3 kg 200 g, and this is with a barrel length of 720 mm. If it weren't for the shunted lower barrel and shells, this gun could sell for $10,000. I taught my son to hunt with this gun; I take it out into the field three times a year.
Besides its external beauty, I like it for two reasons:
- I can use shotgun barrels for flying shots and at running game. The rifled barrel is cocked and ready to fire at a large target. I don't have to waste time reloading, and the gun doesn't make the noise familiar to hunters with repeating rifles.
- The economic benefits of a combination gun are undeniable - I can hunt birds, hare and fox with a shotgun throughout the season. But there is an opportunity to go wild boar or roe deer. Why buy a triple gun? For a person with average income this would be too expensive.
Conclusion: if I only had this gun, it would suit me in every sense.
Comparison with us
First, let's try to make a decision and, no matter how unpleasant it may be for some of our hunters, come to terms with the fact of a completely different approach to hunting in Russia and in Europe. Let us remember that since the Middle Ages in “civilized” Europe, any desire to hunt was eradicated by draconian methods. How to use the forest: poachers and loggers were physically tortured, and the methods of execution were no less sophisticated than in the basements of the “holy” Inquisition. However, European forests were completely destroyed (almost all modern forests in Europe were planted by humans), and many animal species simply disappeared. Today, forests in European countries are gardens with half-tame deer and wild boars. And classical European hunting is just a parody of hunting in our conditions, which is not distinguished by “glamor” and comfort, but is Hunting with a capital “H”.
Sauer 3000 Drilling made in Germany. A three-barreled shotgun with two smooth upper barrels and one lower rifled barrel. Smooth trunks: 16x70. Rifled barrel chambered for 7x65R cartridge. Trigger: with two triggers. Weight: 3-3.3 kg Length: 106.5 cm, barrel length: 63.5 cm. Chokes: half and full choke. Sights: lifting shield and front sight; possibility of quick installation of an optical sight.
Speaking about the features of European and Russian weapons, we should not forget about the traditional conditions and specifics of their use. What is modern “European hunting”? As a rule, this is shooting from a tower at a baited animal or from a number during a raid hunt. And not for food, but for fun or prestige. The most important component is the external surroundings: comfortable hunting lodges, expensive hunting clothes, exquisite and specific weapons, twigs and feathers in hats and other attributes of an “elite” vacation. Guaranteed shooting of a baited animal from an insulated tower is not a multi-day trail in the snowy taiga or even hunting in a den. This, in my opinion, is simply a cynical murder that does not require any hunting skill, endurance and willingness to be left not only without a “trophy”, but also to lose health or even life.
Can you imagine a Siberian hunter who lives by hunting, armed with an expensive German tee or an elegant rifled Austrian single-barrel “breaker”? Me not. For most of the fishermen in Russia have an SKS or “melkan”, paired with a double-barreled shotgun. And they carry two guns at once. The wonderful “Belka” “combiner”, suitable for fur hunting, is not the best weapon when meeting a bear. In addition to the highly controversial practical suitability of imported “tees” for fishing in our conditions, a significant factor is the price of such weapons.
He who lives by hunting does not need sophisticated engraving and butt nut on his weapon. He needs a tool. Axiom - in a normal forest, any gun very quickly loses both its external luster and its original value. The gun gets wet and freezes in the rain and snow, falls along with its owner onto the rocks and into the water, and ends up falling down onto the rocky mountain path from the rider’s shoulder. You never know what happens in the forest!
The middle part of the tee is on the left side. On the side, above the triggers, there is a Griner system fuse.
So we have come to where we started - the type of weapon is determined by the conditions of use and the purposes of the hunt. And also – legislative restrictions on the use of rifled weapons, as they were not so long ago in the USSR. Therefore, as V.E. Markevich once wrote, it turned out that: “Modern tees are well developed by European gunsmiths. German masters are ahead of others in this matter, and Austrians, Czechs and Belgians are trying to keep up with them. And tees are most widely used in central Europe.” Not much has changed since then.
In short, the “tee” was originally developed as a universal weapon for “landowner” walks on foot, when you don’t know who you’ll run into – a roe deer or a quail. Serious hunts require specialized weapons - that's a fact. For universality always requires sacrifice, which we will discuss below.
