VPO-220 Lancaster smoothbore shotgun - characteristics, photos

Lancaster guns loudly declared themselves and, in fact, became the beginning of a revolution in the world of rifled artillery. The VPO-220 Lancaster model is a relatively recent Russian development chambered for the famous type of 9.6x53 mm bullet cartridge.

It has become one of the most discussed versions of long-barreled magazine weapons, which, due to the original method of cutting the barrel, is on the same level as smooth-bore weapons within the framework of Russian legislation. What's so special about it?

History of the VPO 220 Lancaster carbine

At one time, oval-screw rifling did not receive further development, since it was inferior in shooting accuracy to more modern types.
However, 150 years later, gunsmiths from Russia remembered it and created the VPO 220 carbine based on it, guided by the fact that this caliber has more powerful ballistics, which the usual “paradox” cannot cope with, which leads to the bullet breaking off the rifling . In addition, it requires the use of a different type of drill, such as Lancaster, in which the bore does not have sharp edges, which means it will last longer and will be more convenient to clean.

A brief excursion into history suggests that the method was first used by Charles William Lancaster in 1850, when he proposed making the barrel channel oval. These .577 caliber M1855 oval-screw guns were in service with the Royal Corps of Engineers and were used by the British Army and Navy in the Crimean War in conjunction with 68-pounder guns.

For us, VPO 220 9.6 53 had a slightly different story:

It was a remake of the old-style Mosin rifle by replacing its standard barrel.
The new, free-floating barrel was made by reduction - cold rotational forging.
It had a chrome-plated channel, bolt and chamber, and an M16x1 thread on the muzzle for a compensator brake and other attachments.
The trigger mechanism, as well as the design of the locking unit, have not undergone major changes.
The exceptions are the reloading handle, which was bent down like on the Mosinka due to the installation of optics and the dimensions of the permanent magazine in accordance with the dimensions of the new cartridges.

Today, the VPO 220 Lancaster can be purchased in a new stock manufactured by Art-Deck Art, located in St. Petersburg. It is made of walnut and equipped with a pistol neck, new sights designed for a firing range of up to 300 m. In addition, the model has a rubber dowel and butt plate that redistribute the recoil force over its entire area, a special side rail with a dovetail mount for installation optics.

Advantages and disadvantages

Most of the positive aspects of the VPO-220 carbine are in one way or another related to the advantages of the Lancaster drill. Here is a list of just those features that the manufacturer himself calls for attention:

Certification. VPO-220 is classified as a smoothbore gun. This means that to purchase it it is not at all necessary to have five years of experience as a hunter. It is enough to obtain permission to purchase and store firearms and pneumatic weapons, which is issued even to beginners who have recently received a hunting license.
Ballistics. Despite the fact that the carbine is classified as a smooth-bore weapon, its technical characteristics are as close as possible to a rifled weapon. This means that the VPO-220, unlike other guns, can be used for shooting at long distances (100-200 meters), and can also hunt even very large game (more than 200 kg).
The versatility of cartridges. The .366 TKM caliber today has several types of ammunition with different powder weights and bullet sizes. This means that the weapon can be used both for catching small fur-bearing animals and for hunting game birds and shooting predators.
Ease of maintenance. But this is the full merit of the VPO-220 prototype - the Mosin rifle. Considering that the three-ruler has a simple design and is also unpretentious in maintenance, cleaning and lubricating a carabiner with a Lancaster drill bit will not be difficult - even a “new guy” will be able to cope with this task.
Ergonomics. The stock of the VPO-220 carbine is made of walnut. At the same time, it has a shape that is quite convenient for shooting, and to soften recoil there is a rubber shock absorber on the back of the butt. In addition, some parts of the rifle (forend, handle) have laser notches that ensure a secure grip.
Tuning. Despite the fact that the prototype of the VPO-220 is not the most popular model in terms of modification (it was difficult to attach a body kit to the Mosinka), the designers tried to make sure that almost any accessories could be installed on the carbine: optics, collimator , bipod, night vision devices, thermal imager and so on.
Standard sight. It’s a little unusual to see on the Mosinka design a sighting device that can be adjusted vertically and horizontally. Although it should be noted that it is almost impossible to imagine modern weapons without this function, since the sight can become confused during operation.

Unfortunately, the VPO-220 gun is not without its shortcomings. However, there are not as many minuses as pluses, and they don’t sound as loud, so you shouldn’t pay special attention to them. However, before buying a carbine, it is still better to familiarize yourself with what you can expect:

need to refine the trigger - the trigger travel is a little “dry” and hard;
inconvenient fuse - located in the rear of the receiver in the form of a button;
the inability to install a polymer stock - while the weight of the gun is not small;
limited edition - at the moment the plant has produced only 1000 VPO-220 carbines.

Do the positives outweigh the negatives? Considering that the price tag for the gun is only 55 thousand rubles, the answer will be obvious - yes. However, you should not expect that a carbine with a Lancaster drill will produce the same performance characteristics as a rifled rifle.

Briefly about drills

Paradox, also known as Forsbury drill, and Lancaster are drill bits for firearms. Drills, invented in the nineteenth century, were designed to fire shot and slugs from a single barrel. Paradox and Lancaster have many differences in design, but their effect is approximately the same - the weapon shoots more accurately and accurately.

v Forsbury drill is a design of a smoothbore gun that has a groove on a small section of the muzzle. This section increases accuracy and destructive power almost to the level of a rifle, and the distance that a bullet can travel up to two hundred and fifty meters.

v Lancaster is a special type of gun, the muzzle channel of which is formed not by a circle, but by an oval, and the barrel always has two grooves.

The weapons industry developed, and drills lost their former popularity. It seemed that everyone had forgotten about them, but at the beginning of the 2000s they received mass recognition. The explanation for this is quite simple - according to the laws of the Russian Federation, the right to purchase rifled weapons is given only after five years of using a smooth-bore weapon, but rifled weapons do not fall under this.

The dream of a novice hunter, of course, is a rifle. However, due to the impossibility of purchasing it, one has to look for analogues. In the tenth years of the twenty-first century, Vyatskaya began production of pseudo-rifled carbines VPO, SKS and AKM. Most of these carbines are caliber 366TKM or 9.6 53 Lancaster. In terms of their characteristics, they are as close as possible to real rifles.

Carbine VPO-220

The carbine was first demonstrated at the Moscow International Exhibition “Weapons and Hunting” in 2022 at Gostiny Dvor. According to representatives of the Molot-Weapon concern, the developers of the 220 Lancaster set themselves a unique goal: to create a universal model for the above-mentioned cartridge, which would allow even novice hunters not to wait for 5 years of experience in owning a smoothbore. At the same time, they sought to ensure that the new model made it possible to purchase, under the same license, a more advanced weapon, superior in shooting accuracy at a distance of up to 120 m and lethality to any smooth-bore gun.

In addition, the creators’ goal was for the new weapon to correspond to a full-fledged rifled weapon in terms of its performance and parameters.

This idea was translated into reality; you can buy the VPO 220 under a standard license for long-barreled smooth-bore weapons, since given the type of its cartridge, by law it is not rifled and does not require a minimum of five years of experience in handling smooth-bore weapons upon purchase (Figure 1).

It is worth noting that the VPO 220 shotgun:

It was planned in a limited edition of one thousand copies.
It was created for a new Russian bullet cartridge with a caliber of 9.6x53 mm, developed by JSC Tekhkrim on the basis of a 7.62x54R cartridge case, the barrel of which was rolled out to a bullet diameter of 10.3 mm.
The idea of the new ammunition is based on the same concept as the .366 TKM, which received the designation “Lancaster”.

Figure 1. External features of the weapon
The carbine is produced on the basis of the famous three-line rifle of the Mosin-Nagant system of 1891\1930.

Smoothbore weapon VPO-220 9.6x53 Lancaster (550) HAMMER (Vyatskie Polyany)

“Molot-Weapon” demonstrated the VPO-220 gun for the first time at the Moscow International Exhibition “Weapons and Hunting” 2022 in Gostiny Dvor. The main goal of creating this weapon, as well as other models chambered for the above-mentioned cartridge, is to enable Russian hunters, without having to wait five years of experience in owning a smoothbore weapon, to purchase, under a license for the purchase of a smoothbore weapon, a model that is accurate in shooting at a distance of up to 120 meters and the lethal effect of a bullet is superior to a “smoothbore” and is more consistent with a rifled weapon. At the same time, buyers of the VPO-220 receive not just a hunting rifle, close to the capabilities of a rifled carbine, but also a piece of history, since it uses a receiver, a bolt, a magazine box with a trigger guard and feed mechanism parts, a cut-off reflector and a sector rear sight from original old rifles of the 1891/1930 model. In addition, basic historical samples, while maintaining the loading and unloading manipulation method, have a stock with hunting ergonomics, which is extremely important for those who will use this weapon for its intended purpose while hunting. Barrels for the VPO-220 are manufactured anew, and made freely suspended, in order to obtain higher shooting accuracy due to the uniformity of vibrations when firing. The barrels are made by cold rotary forging. The bores are chrome-plated, with Lancaster oval-screw drilling. The barrel life is about four thousand shots. When the resource of the barrel is used up, it can simply be replaced for a fee at the factory. The weapon is equipped with a muzzle brake-compensator mounted on a 16:1 thread. The bolts on the VPO-220 guns are left from the original rifles, while the bolt handles are bent back like a sniper rifle mod. 1891/30 In order to reliably supply cartridges, the magazine boxes of the original rifles have been expanded to accommodate the new 9.6/53 Lancaster cartridge. Unfortunately, the manufacturer does not retain the original stamps during alterations. However, at the exhibition “Weapons and Hunting” 2022, representatives of “Molot-Weapon” claimed that VPO-220 with faceted receivers manufactured before 1938 would probably be produced in a small series. According to the manufacturer, the shooting accuracy is 50 mm at a distance of 100 meters. Hunting-type stocks are made by St. Petersburg from walnut wood with a rubber butt pad-shock absorber. Sights consist of an original sector rear sight and an adjustable new-made front sight. In addition, the weapon was equipped with a side strap with a dovetail mount. This mount allows you to install optical, night and side-mounted collimator sights on the gun, including with the help of adapters to the Weaver rail. As for the 9.6/53 Lancaster cartridge used for shooting from the VPO-220 smoothbore shotgun, made on the basis of the 7.62x54mm R cartridge, no less famous than the rifle, for shooting from smoothbore weapons and intended for hunting medium and large animals and amateur shooting, the FMJ 15 jacketed bullet weighing 14.8 g has an initial speed of 750 m/s with a muzzle energy of about 4000 J. These figures for the 9.6/53 Lancaster are comparable to the American .30-06 Springfield cartridge for rifled weapons, which is considered one of the best in its caliber and is one of the most versatile and popular hunting cartridges in the world. Thanks to its design, the VPO-220 shotgun has high operational reliability, long service life, high strength of parts, ease of use and maintenance. There are also disadvantages. For example, the fuse of the original “three-line” is extremely inconvenient to use, which has been repeatedly noted by many of those who have used it. Placing the trigger on the safety cock and back to the combat cock requires relatively more effort, due to which it is performed slowly. In addition, the manufacturer did not modify the trigger mechanism, as a result of which the trigger remained long and heavy, which has a significant negative impact on shooting accuracy. And if the buyer can modify the trigger mechanism independently or by contacting a specialized workshop, then nothing can be done with the fuse. Be that as it may, the holder of a “green” license for the purchase of smoothbore hunting weapons has the opportunity to buy a reliable and simple weapon, practically equivalent in its combat qualities at close shooting distances to a powerful rifled hunting carbine, without having to wait five years of experience in owning a “smoothbore”. Characteristics: • Caliber: 9.6/53 Lancaster • Weapon length: 1050 mm • Barrel length: 550 mm • Weapon height: 200 mm • Weapon thickness: 75 mm • Weight without cartridges: 3.6 kg • Magazine capacity: 5 rounds

Ammunition for Lancaster VPO 220

A small number of sufficiently large-caliber cartridges in the magazine does not particularly affect the effectiveness of the hunt (Figure 4).

Ammunition for VPO 220 9.6x53 is not cheap:

Lancaster cartridges have been produced in Izhevsk since September 2017.
They are loaded with FMJ jacketed bullets with a lead core and a brass jacket, weighing 14.8 g in a bimetallic sleeve.
They are intended for hunting medium and large animals, but are designed for hunting small animals with a reduced initial speed, from 750 m/s to 600 m/s.
Such US projectiles give less recoil and extend the life of the weapon.

Figure 4: Lancaster ammo required to load the gun

Along with this ammunition, many other variants of the same caliber are actively being tested and developed: with buckshot and shot loads, with double jacket and semi-jacketed SP bullets, as well as versions of the Etna and Hexa.

Hunting carbine VPO-220 chambered for 9/6x53 Lancaster cartridge

The 9.6x53 Lancaster cartridge is gaining popularity among Russian hunters. For this reason, almost all of them (Molo-ARMZ, Tekrim CJSC and others) have already developed and are producing, or are preparing for production, models for this caliber. The Molot-Weapon enterprise has developed the VPO 220 carbine based on the Mosin rifle.

Production Features

The VPO 220 hunting carbine is manufactured by converting a Mosin rifle from the thirties of the last century. The standard barrel of the weapon is removed and a new one is installed, in which Lancaster drilling is performed. The barrel is produced by reduction (cold rotational forging), which ensures its high consumer qualities and relatively low production costs. To add visual appeal and increase the service life of the VPO 220 carbine, individual parts (barrel bore, chamber and bolt) are chrome-plated.

The manufacturer has provided the possibility of installing a compensator brake on the muzzle of the weapon, as well as other types of attachments for the M16x1 thread.

The chamber locking assembly and trigger have not changed compared to the basic design of the Mosin rifle. The only difference is that the reloading handle is bent down, which allows the installation of optics and also increases the convenience of reloading. The magazine has also been modified to accommodate 9.6/53 Lancaster cartridges. An innovation in the design is the appearance of a new stock from (St. Petersburg), which is more convenient in the opinion of most testers.

The stock is made of walnut, has a pistol neck and a rubber butt pad with a dowel, which allows you to redistribute the load during recoil over a large area. As a result, the blow to the shoulder is significantly softened. The weapon also has new aiming devices: an adjustable front sight and a sector sight. All this allows for high shooting accuracy at a distance of up to three hundred meters. There is a special dovetail mount for installing optics.

Characteristics of ammunition

9.6/53 Lancaster cartridges since September 2017. They are loaded with specially designed brass jacketed lead core (FMJ) bullets that are housed in a bimetallic case. The entire bullet weighs 14.8 grams. With the help of such ammunition it is recommended to hunt large and medium-sized animals. Small animals can be hunted using the US cartridge, the initial speed of which has been reduced from 750 m/s to 600 m/s. Also, such a cartridge has less recoil, which increases the life of the weapon. In addition to the ammunition described, the company is developing and testing a large number of new cartridges with a caliber of 9.6/53, with shot or buckshot placed inside, a double shell, as well as SP, Etna or Hexa bullets.

Advantages and disadvantages of the VPO 220 carbine

The advantages of weapons include:

Similar

Types of shotgun VPO 220

At the moment, further development of the topic of “non-rifled” weapons is being intensively carried out. The basic model Vepr VPO 220 has a logical continuation of the line in modifications VPO-221, VPO-222, VPO-223 (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Main modifications: 1 – VPO-221, 2 – VPO-222, 3 – VPO-223

All these models are produced on the RPK platforms, the limited edition Misinki and the Jaeger carbine. They operate on the basis of the 7.61x54R cartridge, the same one used in the SVD with a muzzle energy of 4000 J. Modifications are made using Lancaster drilling, in which the rifling has an oval shape. At the same time, such weapons are not considered full-fledged rifled and the longest-range and most powerful among those that can be available under a smooth-bore license.

Speaking about VPO 220 01, it is worth separately noting other types of its execution:

Externally, the luxurious VPO-223 cannot be called a gun at all - it is a sniper rifle re-barreled and placed in a hunting stock, equipped with a muzzle brake.
There are also various versions of Vepr-1V in rifle caliber 7.62x54R.
Smooth-bore versions of caliber 9.6 by 53 mm - VPO 221/222 - were also made on this basis.

VPO 220 or VPO 221 Lancaster: which is better

The debate about which representative of the model line is better does not stop from the moment the rifle goes on sale.

As for question 220 or 221, it is quite difficult to answer - the trigger requires fine-tuning, and some carbine components are in direct need of tuning, so the choice is purely individual. However, most hunters opt for the 221 Vepr with a 520 mm barrel, as it has a more comfortable recoil, despite its loudness.

There are also plenty of attractive things about buying a VPO 220 Lancaster:

It is extremely difficult to find anything more powerful and accurate under a “smooth” license.
The weapon has pretty good characteristics for hunting.
It has managed to prove itself well for its survivability.

When thinking about purchasing a VPO 220 Lancaster, price plays an important role. For VPO-221/222 you will have to pay a minimum of 42-43 thousand rubles, while the obvious high cost of ammunition compared to a smaller caliber is also characteristic. In addition, a beautiful and technically advanced VPO-223 will cost 55 thousand rubles.

You will find a more detailed overview of this firearm model in the video.

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About cutting VPO 220 Lancaster

British technology was successfully borrowed by Russian gunsmiths and received a new life in VPO 220 9.6 53 (Figure 2).

For it, the oval-screw drilling method was used:

There are only two wide grooves in the barrel, the edges of which flow into the fields.
As a result, the barrel appears oval rather than round.
The oval itself twists around its axis, like with rifled guns, which gives the bullet rotation, and with it greater accuracy, range, and stability.
On the one hand, this solution allows you to spin the projectile, and on the other hand, it reduces the resistance provided by a standard rifled profile, which increases the speed of the bullet.
The design greatly facilitates the care of the product, providing it with strength while taking into account the reduction in its weight.

Figure 2. For the manufacture of the gun, the oval-screw drilling method was used.
It is worth noting that they decided to resort to the idea embodied in the VPO 220 gun after so many years, not so much because of its technical qualities, but because of the peculiarities of domestic legislation.

For all its advantages, oval drilling is not widely used. By the beginning of the 20th century, it had become a rarity, replaced by traditional rifling. Our method allows us to equate the weapons he made with smoothbore ones.

And a few more words about the technology used in 9 6 53 VPO 220. Calling it drilling is not entirely correct - in reality, rotary forging is used. It reduces the cost of gun production, giving their barrels additional strength, and brings the performance of a conventional smoothbore closer to that of rifled guns - it ensures clear engagement of targets at a range of up to 250 m, after which a decrease in trajectory is observed.

Technical characteristics of VPO 220

The product fully covers the needs of any hunting use, and, as experience in armed conflicts shows, it is suitable for hitting targets with army snipers (Figure 3).

All this is ensured by the characteristics of the VPO 220 Lancaster:

Model: VPO-220-00, article 03-791;
;
Caliber: 9.6x56 Lancaster;
Mechanism: repeating weapon, rotary bolt with two lugs;
Barrel length: 550 mm;
Type of cutting: oval-screw Lancaster with a pitch of 750 mm;
Magazine capacity: 5 rounds;
Sighting range: 300 m;
Firing accuracy: 50 mm at 100 m, according to the passport - 150 mm;
Survivability in operation: 4000 rounds;
Stock: solid walnut;
Dimensions (LxWxH): 1050x75x200 mm;
Weight: 3600 g;
Cost: 52,300 rubles as of 07/08/2018 when sold from the factory.

According to these characteristics, the vpo 220 carbine has many advantages:

certification of smoothbore hunting weapons;
universal ammunition suitable for different types of hunting;
simplicity and reliability of design, ease of maintenance and use;
high accuracy of fire, comparable to rifled guns;
ergonomic stock with reinforcement, notches on the fore-end and neck, rubber butt pad;
adjustable sight and the ability to mount a variety of muzzle devices.

Figure 3. Model specifications

But the VPO 220 Lancaster 9.6 53 550mm also has its drawbacks: limited edition - 1000 copies, lack of a version with a polymer stock, inconvenient safety design and the need to tune the trigger mechanism.

Specifications

We talked about the ballistic properties of the .366 TKM ammunition, now it’s time to get acquainted in more detail with the technical characteristics that the VPO-220 gun itself can boast of. As always, detailed information on this matter is provided in the weapons passport:

Characteristic	Parameter
Caliber	.366 TKM (9.6×56 Lancaster)
Barrel length	550 mm
total length	1050 mm
Combat accuracy at 100 m	no more than 50 mm
Rifling pitch	750 mm
Sighting range	300 m
Magazine capacity	5 rounds
Weapon weight	3600mm

As for the survivability of weapons, the manufacturer gives the buyer a guarantee for 4 years or 4000 shots. It is not yet possible to check whether these numbers correspond to reality, since not much time has passed since the release of VPO-220. However, these indicators are quite acceptable for smooth-bore weapons.