The history of the appearance of the Vepr gun began with the fact that the Russian Ministry of Defense reduced government orders for the production of army types of weapons. Because of this, almost all domestic weapons manufacturers had to retrain their industrial capacities to create weapons for civilian use. One of these plants was the Molot machine-building plant, which began production of the Vepr hunting carbine. The Vepr self-loading hunting carbines were created on the basis of the popular Kalashnikov machine gun, and the caliber of ammunition for the weapon was 7.62x39 mm.
Description
The release of this type of weapon is based on the caliber of ammunition that is used in the weapon. Each weapon model uses its own type of ammunition, which is why quite a lot of models of this type of weapon have appeared. However, all modifications of this type of weapon have some common characteristics.
Technical characteristics of "Vepr":
- To increase service life, the chamber and bore are chrome plated.
- Optics for the Vepr carbine can be used, or targeted shooting can be carried out with an open sight at a distance of up to 350 m.
- Recharging of the "Vepr" occurs automatically due to the fact that the energy of the exhaust gases and the return force of the spring are used.
- Almost all models are equipped with an orthopedic stock, which has a cutout for the thumb and a pistol grip.
- To reduce flashes of flame, a non-removable flame arrester is located on the body.
- To increase safety, the carbines have safety catches.
- To soften recoil, a rubber shock absorber is located at the end of the butt.
- The temperature at which you can fire ranges from -50 to +50 degrees Celsius.
Design
Carbines are available in several modifications, which depend on the type of cartridges used. If we talk about the automation of this type of weapon, it is built on the basis of Kalashnikov automatics, which provides enormous reliability and the ability to fire in the most extreme situations. The design features of weapon reloading, the presence of a flame arrester and the durability of the weapon were written above.
When using imported ammunition, inertial puncture of the primer is possible. In order to avoid such a problem, the carbine bolt striker is spring-loaded.
An additional safety measure for this weapon was that since 1997, all modifications of the Vepr-308 export version, as well as some modifications for domestic sale, also received a spring-loaded firing pin. If you use domestically produced cartridges, there will be no problems.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages include:
- the large caliber of the bullet allows hunters to hunt large animals;
- recoil is weak;
- quite a long firing range;
- high accuracy of fire;
- there is the ability to conduct long-term shooting without loss of accuracy;
- a longer sighting line improves the accuracy of the weapon;
- Optical sights for the Vepr-308 carbine can be installed;
- there is the possibility of firing from an open sight even with installed optics;
- even at low temperatures the weapon will be fully operational;
- the overall quality of the weapon is at a fairly high level;
- the best price among weapons with similar parameters.
The disadvantages include:
- heavy weight of the gun.
- weak weapon balance.
- The processing of the wooden parts of the weapon is poor.
- When the fuse is switched, a loud sound is produced.
- The open sight often becomes dislodged when crossing bushes or falling.
- difficulties in disassembling the gas chamber.
- difficulty in cleaning the gas chamber piston.
historical reference
1990, July 13
laid down in workshop No. 50 of the Sevmashpredpriyatie PA in the city. Severodvinsk is like a large nuclear submarine.
1992, June 3
reclassified as a nuclear cruiser submarine.
1993, April 6
By order of the Navy Civil Code, the name
“Vepr”
.
1994, December 10
removed from the workshop
1995 from June 29 to November 3
completed a program of factory and state sea trials, during which the first torpedo firing was carried out on 08/26/1995, and the first missile firing was carried out on 11/02/1995.
1995, November 25
the acceptance certificate was signed, entered into service (chairman of the State Acceptance Commission - cap. 1st rank Efimov V.N., commander - cap. 1st rank Knipst A.A., responsible delivery person - Sorokin V.N., delivery mechanic - Belopolsky S.A. ., leading military representative - cap. 3rd rank Petrov V.V.).
1995, November 30
The Naval flag was solemnly raised, the date November 30 was approved as the ship's annual holiday.
1995, December 10
arrived at its permanent base in b. Yagelnaya GB. Saida.
1996 August 2
The crew worked and passed the tasks of the combat training course and were included in the permanent readiness forces.
1996
During a diving inspection, a crack was discovered in the sonar fairing, and therefore the planned combat service was cancelled.
1996 from December to June 1997
at PA "Sevmashpredpriyatie" in the city. In Severodvinsk, a warranty emergency repair was performed to replace the sonar fairing.
1997 from November 1 to November 20
completed the tasks of the first combat service with the crew of
the K-461 “Wolf”
(commander - Cap. 2nd Rank O.A. Telushkin, senior on board - ZKD
24th DPL
Cap. 1st Rank I.V. Fedorov).
1998, September 11
OK. At 03.00 a serious incident occurred on board the submarine: Mrs. Kuzminykh S.V. with a chisel removed from the rescue panel, he killed the top armed watchman, Ms. Bochanov D.N. and took possession of an AKS-74U assault rifle with 30 rounds of ammunition. Having gone down to the 2nd compartment, in the personnel cabin and on the torpedo deck of the 1st compartment, he shot his colleagues: m/s Motovilova O.A., Art. 1 article by Khuzin I.I., art. 2 articles by Rakimov I.N., Ms. Okoneshnikov A.V., Ms. Zhigalov V.M., Ms. Klementyev N.V., Ms. Militsky S.N. As a result of the special operation carried out by the anti-terrorism group and FSB specialists, Mrs. Kuzminykh A.S. eliminated by an explosive device disguised in the handset of the telephone used for negotiations.
1998 from December 9 to February 19, 1999
fulfilled the tasks of the second combat service (commander - cap. 1st rank Vorotnikov V.M., senior on board - ZKD
24th submarine
capt. 1st rank Fedorov I.V., after entering the town of Okolnaya on January 19, 1999, senior on board - commander of
the 24th dpl
cap. 1st rank Burilichev A.V.).
1999, April
took part in the command control exercise to transfer the formation's forces to the highest levels of combat readiness according to the inspection plan by the Military Inspectorate of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, rating “good”.
1999 from September 15 to September 26
completed a program of extended acoustic tests at the acoustic test site in Kandalaksha Hall. White Sea.
1999, December
Based on the results of her combat service, she won the Navy Civil Code prize “For searching and long-term tracking of a foreign submarine” and took 1st place in the Navy for long-term tracking.
2001, March 2
The submarine was visited by an official military delegation of the French Navy, headed by Chief of Staff Admiral Delaunay J.-E.
2001, December
at the end of the year, she won the prize of the Navy Civil Code “For long-term tracking of a foreign submarine”, took 1st place in the competition for the Navy championship in searching and destroying an enemy submarine with torpedo attacks and 1st place in the unification competition in the Northern Fleet for preparation for the BZZh (commander - cap. 1st rank Vorotnikov V.M.).
2002, February
took part in strategic command and staff exercises under the leadership of the Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces with the
608th crew
(commander - Cap. 1st Rank Kavlis S.E., senior on board - ZKD
24th DPL
Cap. 1st Rank V.M. Vorotnikov ). During the exercise, a combat exercise was performed with a feint launch of a long-range cruise missile, the rating was “good.”
2003 from April to May
completed the tasks of the third combat service with
the 608th crew
(commander - Cap. 1st Rank Kavlis S.E., senior on board - ZKD
24th DPL
Capt. 1st Rank V.M. Vorotnikov).
2003, May
The ship's combat crew took 2nd place at the formation in the competition for the prize of the formation commander.
2003, July
took part in joint exercises with the French Navy in the Norwegian Sea with
the 608th crew
(commander - Cap. 1st Rank S.E. Kavlis, senior on board - ZKD
24th DPL
Cap. 1st Rank V.M. Vorotnikov).
2004 from August to October
completed the tasks of the fourth combat service (commander - cap. 1st rank Kirichenko Yu.A., senior on board - ZKD
24th dpl
cap. 1st rank V.M. Vorotnikov), during which she took part in joint exercises with the French Navy in North-Eastern Atlantic Ocean and made an official visit to the port of Brest (France).
2005 from August to September
fulfilled the tasks of the fifth combat service (commander - cap. 1st rank Kirichenko Yu.A., senior on board - NSh
24th dpl
cap. 1st rank Kochemazov V.N.).
2005, December
at the end of the year, she won the prize of the Navy Civil Code “For long-term tracking of a foreign submarine”, was declared the best in the Northern Fleet and was awarded the challenge cup of the Governor of the Murmansk region for “The best submarine of the Northern Fleet”.
2007, April
took 1st place in the Northern Fleet in a tactical exercise on delivering a missile strike from a combat area in the face of anti-submarine forces (commander - Cap. 1st Rank Kumantsov D.N.).
2008, March
took 1st place in the Northern Fleet in the competition for the Northern Fleet commander's prize in torpedo training (commander - Cap. 1st Rank Kumantsov D.N.).
2008, September
performed the combat exercise “Attack of a formation of surface combat ships” with
the 266th crew
(commander - cap. 2nd rank Petrov E.A., senior on board - commander
of the 24th submarine rear
adm. Minakov A.N.) in the presence of on board the Chief of the Main Directorate of Combat Training of the RF Armed Forces, Lieutenant General. Shamanova V.A., rating – “excellent”.
2012 from August to November 2022
underwent factory repairs at the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Shipyard "Nerpa" in b. Kut.
2020 from January to April
with
the 266th crew
(commander - cap. 1st rank Sokolov G.V., senior on board - ZKD
24th submarine
capt. 1st rank Sokolovsky S.M.) completed the tasks of post-repair sea trials.
2020, from April to May
with
the 266th crew
(commander - cap. 2nd rank Pashovkin A.I.) completed a combat training course and was introduced into the permanent readiness forces.
2021 from April to June
completed the tasks of the sixth combat service with
the 266th crew
(commander - cap. 1st rank Pashovkin A.I.).
2021, from June to July
took part in the inter-naval transition as part of a group of ships of the Northern Fleet to participate in the Main Naval Parade in honor of Navy Day in the city. Kronstadt.
is part of the Navy
Side numbers: 885
(1995 – present)
The lineup
"Vepr - 308" (SOK-95)
The Vepr-308 SOK 95 carbine is a self-loading hunting carbine, which has been modified to accept imported 7.62 .308 Winchester caliber ammunition.
"Vepr-308" has the following characteristics:
- bullet caliber 7.62 mm;
- cartridges used: 7.62x51; 308Win;
- barrel length 520 mm; 590 mm;
- projectile flight speed 830 m/s;
- firing range 300 m;
- Magazine capacity – 7 rounds.
The design of the Vepr-308 carbine is almost the same as that of the conventional Vepr with a caliber of 7.62x39 mm. However, improvements in bullet caliber increased the performance of the SOK-95.
"Super"
The Vepr-308 Super carbine is an even newer modification of the previous type of weapon. The main difference in the appearance of this variety is that it has a solid stock. The Vepr-super carbine has a structural assembly that is most closely similar to that of an AK. The cartridges for weapons in this series are .308 Winchester and .35 Remington.
The lineup
- Vepr-Super / SOK-95-M / k.308Win
- Vepr-Super / SOK-97M-01 / k.223Rem
"Super-Sport"
“Vepr -308 – super sport” is the most recent modification of this type of weapon.
Weapons of the “Vepr-super-sport” type have the following characteristics:
- bullet caliber 8.89 mm;
- a variety of .35 Remington ammunition;
- barrel length 550 mm;
- ammunition flight speed 830 m/s;
- clip capacity 3, 5 or 10 rounds;
- weapon weight with a full magazine is 4 kg.
"Pioneer"
The Vepr-Pioneer carbine is a modification designed for a smaller bullet caliber.
"Vepr-Pioneer" has the following characteristics:
- bullet caliber 5.56 mm;
- ammunition used in weapons 5.56x43 (.222Rem); 5.56x45(.223Rem);
- barrel length 550 mm;
- sighting firing range 300 m;
- clip capacity 5 or 10 rounds;
- weapon weight with an empty clip is 3.6 kg.
Recently, the main barrel younger brother of the rifled version of the Vepr-Pioneer VPO-212 in .366 TKM caliber also went on sale.
Also read
Weapons chambered for .366 TKM "Vepr-Pioneer" VPO 212
Vepr 12 smoothbore carbine
Smooth-bore weapons include the Vepr 12-Molot . The Vepr smoothbore carbine has two types of flash suppressor – removable or non-removable. In addition, models of this type may also have different barrel lengths. The use of this type of carbines is not limited to hunting. They can be used for self-defense or in sports.
The clip capacity is either 4 or 8 rounds. The weight of the gun is 4.5 kg, which is considered heavy, but many reviews indicate that this drawback is hardly noticeable.
Vepr 1B rifled carbine
The Vepr 1B is designed in a military style with a plastic machine gun fore-end, a folding metal butt with a rubber shock absorber. The carbine has different barrel lengths from 360 mm to 590 and is available in the most popular calibers:
- VPO-125 / k.223Rem
- VPO-126/k.7.62x39
- VPO-127 / k.308Win
- VPO-129/k.7.62x54R
- VPO-147 / k.308Win
- VPO-148/k.5.45x39
Among the advantages can be noted:
- Menacing military look
- Reinforced machine gun box
- Thick barrel, allowing for more accurate shots
- It’s easy to upgrade the carbine to suit your needs
Of the minuses:
- Heavy weight
"Hunter"
The Vepr-Hunter carbine has a one-piece stock, which strongly resembles a classic one, and also has a semi-pistol grip. "Vepr-Hunter-308" has two types of front sight placement, either in the middle of the barrel, or nearby near the muzzle.
If the front sight is located on the middle part of the barrel, then the length of aimed fire increases. If the front sight is installed near the muzzle, the cantilever and radial vibrations are reduced.
The lineup
- Vepr-Hunter / VPO-101 / k.308Win
- Vepr-Hunter / VPO-101-M / k.308Win
- Vepr-Hunter / VPO-102 / k.30-06Spr
- Vepr-Hunter / VPO-102-M / k.30-06Spr
- Vepr-Hunter / VPO-124 / k.7.62x54R
"SOK-94"
"Vepr SOK-94" is one of the first models of weapons of this type, which has 7.62x39 caliber cartridges. Such weapons are used by military and guard units.
"Vepr-5.45" / SOK-98
“Vepr-5.45” or as it is also called SOK-98 is a rifle intended for export. The bullet caliber of this type of weapon is 5.45x39 mm.
Main advantages and disadvantages
Like any model, the “213” is not ideal, although, according to many hunters, it is almost approaching this.
The main advantages of this gun:
- The paradox is a worthy attempt at domestic strict gun laws. Such weapons are legally and essentially smooth-bore, but the shooting parameters are very close to those of a rifled firearm. At the same time, anyone wishing to purchase a carbine will not have to wait five years to obtain a license to carry a more “serious” weapon.
- Harmonious appearance and high reliability indicators.
- Possibility of use in any climatic regions and under different weather conditions.
- An affordable and convenient service that can be performed by simply sending a copy to the manufacturer. Of course, if you purchase weapons from a foreign country, it becomes impossible.
- Low cost for such a powerful weapon - within 30-32 thousand rubles, depending on the desired configuration and delivery region.
However, even this budget version of the RPK has a number of disadvantages.
The most significant include:
- Minor assembly flaws (unfortunately, a lot depends on the case: you can often buy a very durable copy, or you can fall for an outright “hack”).
- Poor quality of some small parts.
It is important to mention that Molot’s gunsmiths are constantly improving the model, so VPO shows better performance every year and earns rave reviews. However, already now it is impossible to deny that VPO 213 has become a real leader and a hit in its subset.
Hunting use
Hunting with the Vepr is most often carried out for medium or large game. This became possible due to the fact that the bullet caliber, firing range and shot power are very large.
Due to the high performance, a weapon of this type is quite capable of piercing the thick skin of a boar or elk, and a hit, even if not fatal, most often leads to the fact that the animal cannot go far, since this weapon leaves very deep wounds.
Tuning the Vepr carbine can involve installing powerful optics with a high zoom ratio.
Equipment and analogues
“Two hundred and thirteenth” began its victorious march in 2022 and has now gained wide popularity, acquiring an army of fans.
For just 31-31 thousand rubles you can buy, without exaggeration, a “monster” and its additions:
- 1 copy of the gun itself;
- passport for him;
- 10-round magazine;
- Spare parts kit for weapon care.
The shipping box is very reliable and is protected from dust and moisture.
It must be taken into account that the cost of a gun increases disproportionately depending on the length of the barrel. Thus, the classic version with a 420 mm barrel will cost 31 thousand rubles, while the version with 590 mm will cost 40 thousand. At the same time, the final price will be influenced by such nuances as the bullet itself, the type of fore-end, front sight and the presence of attachments.
Currently, the Lancaster “213” has no competitors among those powered by 366 ammunition. Analogues (in milder climatic conditions) can be other products of Molot, in particular other products of the VPO line.
