Experimental Ukrainian firearms. Part 5. GOPAK and Askoria sniper rifles

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In previous articles about the Ukrainian experimental weapons you can get acquainted with pistols, submachine guns and machine guns, so we come to another class of weapons, namely sniper rifles. In my opinion, these developments are the most interesting, since each sample is different from the other and there is no monotony. Let's try to get acquainted in more detail with this weapon, namely with the GOPAK sniper rifle, created on the basis of AKM, and the Ascoria rifle, chambered for arrow-shaped bullets. We will consider various options for large-caliber rifles in another article.

Hopak Sniper Rifle



First of all, you need to make an explanation about the name of the weapon, in fact, this is an abbreviation derived from “Gvintivka is operationally portable based on AK”, so the reasoning that with this weapon you can force someone to dance the Hopak dance is nothing more than not the smartest joke. As is clear from the name of the rifle, the Kalashnikov assault rifle, namely the AKM, served as the basis for it. That is, we are talking back about weapons that were obtained by altering the AK.

In this case, it would be entirely appropriate to leave my personal opinion on what the workers of the Mayak plant did, but with great effort of will, I will refrain from this.

Experimental Ukrainian firearms. Part 5. GOPAK and Askoria sniper rifles


In the process of turning the machine gun into a sniper rifle, the workers of the Mayak plant removed the gas outlet assembly, depriving the weapon of automation and making the reloading process manual. It is not entirely clear what they did with the barrel, however, this is not so important. The standard buttstock was changed to a new one, apparently from a PC, a new landing site for an optical sight and bipod installation appeared. Speaking of the optical sight, in most of the photos of this weapon you can see the Schmidt-Bender optical sight, it is not possible to see exactly which model it is, but we can say with confidence that this sight costs at least $ 2500.

Also, in most of the photographs, a fairly voluminous silent-firing device is installed, in connection with this, the weapon is often perceived as silent-firing, however, in this case, with PBS, this is one of the weapon options, that is, the GOPAK rifle can also be found without a silent-firing device. Very often they draw an analogy with weapons chambered for 9x39 and even with a sniper rifle Exhaust. Perhaps, with the use of a silent shooting device, the niches of application for this weapon coincide, however, in terms of characteristics, such a comparison is absolutely incorrect. GOPAK is distinguished by the 7,62x39 cartridge, which in the subsonic version loses in many respects to the 9x39 cartridge options and, of course, 12,7x55, and in the version with a bullet speed exceeding the sound one, it makes the weapon not as quiet as we would like.



If you try to be objective, then the GOPAK sniper rifle is a very cheap attempt to equip the army with low-noise weapons, at the expense of old Soviet stocks. True, during such an alteration, in the literal sense, fully functional automata are destroyed. In addition, the question arises of a sufficient amount of ammunition with a subsonic bullet, but this is already on the conscience of those who came up with such an upgrade.

GOPAK sniper rifle design

As mentioned above, the weapon is obtained by removing the vapor node from AKM. The machine becomes a rifle with a manual reload, and the bolt group itself is not affected. The shutter handle has also been changed to a more comfortable one, according to Mayak plant workers.



The first question, which suggests itself, is to ensure the silent reloading of weapons when using PBS. Since the bolt group remains the same, and the weapon is essentially AK, it turns out that for silent recharging you will have to hold the bolt group in the process of moving forward, with all the consequences, or risk unmasking yourself before the shot.

The second question concerns the removal of the powder gases removal unit from the bore. Was it really necessary to solve the problem so drastically? It would be much more logical to install a gas regulator that allows you to completely block the removal of powder gases, but at the same time leaving the opportunity to use weapons with the original modes of operation. By the way, many have done such a “feint with their ears” and even with a positive result.

GOPAK sniper rifle features



The weight of the GOPAK sniper rifle is 4,7 kilograms, along with the device for silent shooting, without it - 3 kilograms. The total length of 720 millimeters without CBE, with CBE - 870 millimeters. Weapons can be fed from stores with a capacity of 5,10 or 30 7,62x39 cartridges.

Сonclusion



At the moment, the weapon is being tested in the army, it is likely that the GOPAK rifle will be put into service, since when it is created, nothing is added to the design of an already finished weapon, but only taken away. That is, the speed of conversion from AKM is very high and with a minimum of costs. Perhaps, given the lack of such weapons in the army, such a step is really justified, but still it is somehow wrong.

About Ascoria's sniper rifle and similar weapons in general

Unlike the previous rifle, this weapon is more interesting, but there is very little information about it. But there was a lot of tales and legends around, because this part of the article is not so much about a particular rifle, but about weapons with similar ammunition in general.

First of all, you need to start with the ammunition that is used in this weapon, and this is a cartridge with an arrow-shaped bullet based on the 13,2x99 cartridge from the Hotchkiss machine gun, according to one of the versions. It seems to me that the domestic cartridge 12,7x108 served as the basis for the ammunition, which is more logical, since there were a lot of Soviet ammunition, and it would be unprofitable to use "scarce" cartridges in the development of experimental weapons.



Separately, it is worth mentioning that very often in the materials about this weapon you can see images of cartridges that were used when working on the AO-27 project, which is obviously not entirely correct. The only correct image of ammunition for the rifle is in the photo of this weapon and it is obvious that this is a slightly different cartridge than those used to create the Soviet machine gun, for ammunition with arrow-shaped bullets. Based on this, one can safely question the veracity of virtually all sources that mention this rifle.

Does not add confidence in the veracity of the information and constant references either to a friend who saw this weapon in the Caucasus, or to the cousin of the girl's stepbrother, who was lucky enough to hold this weapon in his hands. Based on this, instead of reprinting false information, let's try to give such a weapon an assessment in general, and not specifically the Ascoria sniper rifle.



The main advantage of the weapon chambered with arrow-shaped bullets is the armor-piercing and flat trajectory of the bullet-arrow. Both the first and second are quite good, but arrow-shaped bullets have their drawbacks.

Since the bullet is an arrow, it means that either pallets or leading parts must be used that will cover the body of the arrow, increasing its diameter at least to the size of the plumage. Accordingly, there is a problem of separating these parts after the bullet leaves the bore. Everything is clear with the pallet in the back of the boom, it will somehow affect the position of the boom in space and change its trajectory. The two leading parts, between which the arrow-bullet is sandwiched, look more attractive in this regard, but everything is not so simple with them either, since it is necessary to ensure the simultaneous separation of the arrow from the body during the flight of the bullet. This is easily implemented with new ammunition that was collected a couple of hours ago, the separation occurs almost simultaneously, but what happens if such a cartridge lies in the warehouse for several years? If one of the leading parts “sticks” to the arrow and separates a fraction of a second later, then the arrow will fly in any direction, but not where the shooter was aiming. But, of course, it is possible to solve this problem, no doubt, the question is the cost of the solution.



Another problem is that the arrows of different cartridges must be not just the same, but in fact clones of each other, otherwise it will be very difficult to hit even two shots. Suppose this, too, can be implemented in varying degrees, back, depending on the money spent.

The third problem with such ammunition is a small stopping effect. Due to its high speed and great length, the arrow will not tumble in the body when it hits, as many argue, but will pass right through leaving a straight wound channel, with a temporary cavity, of course, but this is clearly not enough. It was for this reason that Dvoryaninov made an inscription on the body of the arrow of his cartridge so that it would break when it hit soft tissues. That is, there is no longer my reasoning, but a conclusion based on the experience of a gunsmith.

But for this, we get a higher armor-piercing and flat flight path, right?

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of weapons, first of all, you need to determine its niche. In our case, this is clearly not shooting at tanks, and firing at lightly armored vehicles and opponents in heavy body armor. At the moment, large-caliber rifles and machine guns with a caliber of 12,7 millimeters are more than successfully coping with these goals, while the hit efficiency is such that I would not recommend viewing the results of such hits. In this regard, the question is, is increased armor-piercing necessary with a significant increase in the cost of ammunition, if, let's say, the armor-piercing potential is not fully used, and the hit efficiency will be lower?

Well, a significant advantage to allocate a more flat flight path in the modern world is somehow wrong. With an abundance of fairly advanced ballistic calculators, range finders, and so on, this is not so important.

In addition, the cartridge with a swept bullet will be very difficult to make incendiary, tracer, in fact it is only one type of ammunition - armor-piercing. In the case of both domestic and foreign ammunition caliber 12,7 millimeters nomenclature is very extensive.



You can consider this weapon in the perspective of the further development of personal protective equipment. But here there are some nuances. First of all, I hardly see a person who can transfer the bullets of the 12,7x108 cartridge to the armored plate without consequences, at a distance of aiming fire. Of course, progress does not stand still, and periodically skips news about the development of body armor, which redistribute the impact when hit, but so far the development has not been going for a couple of decades, which indicates either low efficiency or the cost of the final product.

Based on this, we can conclude that the weapon is chambered with arrow-shaped bullets, at the moment is certainly interesting. It is interesting to study and develop certain experiences that can be used in the future, with the spread of more advanced means of individual armor. The use of such ammunition in combat handguns does not make sense yet. However, the type of ammunition itself has a considerable prospect in the civilian market when used in smooth-bore guns, significantly expanding the effective range of use of the latter, even with a low quality of manufacturing bullets, to several hundred meters.

As for the Ascoria rifle, then, as I see it, after calculating the cost of ammunition, the project was simply closed, and it cannot be said that this decision was wrong.

Sources:
infogun.ru
silovik.net
zbroya.com.ua
modernfirearms.net
zonwar.ru
112.ua
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  1. +7
    April 13 2018 06: 32
    Since Gopak, they've been neighing for 2 years now. I will add - that in general the presence of subsonic cartridges in the APU - it is extremely doubtful where to make them? Lugansk plant for 4 years, as dill does not work)))
    1. +1
      April 13 2018 11: 43
      Yes, this Chernobyl mutant with a box from AK and a butt from a PC is quite suitable. Despite the fact that in the process of riveting one to another they drank a barrel and a gas outlet, garbage - we must learn to scary Scream “Whole! Whole!” and "Piu-piu", and the enemy runs in a panic, then you can even not insert a suction cup into the barrel
    2. 0
      21 August 2018 18: 50
      One picture of everything that happens there ...

  2. +3
    April 13 2018 06: 33
    It was also possible to add to the article how Ukroboronprom tried to make a sniper from a machine gun DK (not DShK). Also, everyone in the topic - lying around
    1. +6
      April 13 2018 12: 18

      Something like this.
    2. +6
      April 13 2018 15: 29
      They also made a large-caliber sniper rifle based on the KPVT, now in the process of searching for material on these products. I am quite calm when they try to modernize weapons, introduce something of their own, change the same layout, and so on, this is even good, people are gaining experience. But when they take and spoil a completely workable and full-fledged one, in order to get something obviously not the most successful, well, this is somehow wrong.
      1. +2
        April 13 2018 16: 42
        KPVT is already a different generation, DK - well, you google, from the trunk with fins, short by the way, and by the way - extremely fig quality, why single - you only get into the sky. Look at the box at the recreation center. Yes, it is trite - in order to recharge the DC - you need to get up, otherwise - you will not reach. And all this is like a sniper.
        By the way, I haven’t heard about the KPVT option. Definitely not confused with Kovrov?
        1. +5
          April 13 2018 17: 09
          XADO Snipex 14.5

          Definitely accurate. Especially I am confused by the mount of the sight, no matter how small it is No.
          1. +4
            April 13 2018 17: 28
            Quote: AlexMark
            XADO Snipex 14.5

            hi Here is this karamultuk, from a shock absorber from a car, is something done .. (bolt group)? ... Or did they sculpt from a pipe from scratch? recourse
            1. +5
              April 13 2018 17: 38
              "Intended for firing up to 3300 meters ..." Give Lobayev's contact details, he urgently needs to know about a competitor.
              Damn, and because people believe this information, the main thing is to convincingly tell.
              Regarding the design, by the way, very well - cheap and cheerful, although there are very controversial points. The question is only about the quality of the barrel of the weapon, the ammunition used and the immodest statements.
              1. +2
                April 13 2018 17: 56
                Regarding the design, by the way, very good

                ... Only the shutter wedges. (see from 6.00 min.)
                1. +3
                  April 14 2018 08: 50
                  If the weapon has not really been tested yet, then the inertial movement all behave this way at the beginning, even the Benelli can refuse at the first shots, especially with weak cartridges, not to mention sending the cartridge into the chamber with handles. Another thing is that before taking the weapon to the exhibition, they could break it in so that such situations did not arise.
          2. +2
            April 13 2018 18: 05
            Quote: AlexMark
            ... no matter how small No.

            ... It seems from the PTR blinded.
            1. +4
              April 14 2018 08: 51
              Not one hundred percent of the machine gun Vladimirov screwed the trunk.
  3. +4
    April 13 2018 06: 59
    A sniper rifle, this is not only a sight, but above all a barrel! The mass production AK barrel is not a good base ...
  4. +2
    April 13 2018 07: 22
    I don’t know what about the cartridge for ascoria, but the cartridge shown in the photo is clearly not related to the DShK, the cartridge is wound and looks more like an uncompressed 7,62x54 or Mauser 57R in the muzzle, this is the first thing that comes to mind, however, hunting cartridges with an index You can find the sea R, in any calibers up to 16 mm.
    1. +3
      April 13 2018 11: 14
      The photo shows the cartridge for AO-27. The author wrote that there are no reliable photographs of the Ukrainian cartridge.
      1. +3
        April 13 2018 15: 30
        Exactly. This is one of the variants of Dvoryaninov ammunition.
  5. +3
    April 13 2018 10: 23
    In the first part of the article, we can say briefly: "... Ukrainians suddenly invented ... SCS (from improvised materials)"
    Yes, I know that SCS is self-loading. But so disfigure AKM ...
    1. +4
      April 13 2018 11: 21
      Look at the optics. And think about it - the trunk was cut off nafig simply, where the stub is already in the best case holes, as in a colander, accuracy is drop dead. Well, for such and such accuracy, you need to hang a sight in which only the rings of Saturn are considered, a tank gun will envy such a sight)))
      Here are their weapons:
    2. +2
      April 13 2018 15: 36
      With SCS, AK has very little in common, or rather nothing. In the SCS, skewing is carried out.
      AKM was not mutilated in this case, but simply spoiled. It was possible to put a gas regulator with the possibility of completely blocking the removal of powder gases. If you need exactly noiselessness, then we drill holes in the barrel, attach the same PBS and get a weapon that can be self-loading and can shoot in a burst and, if necessary, becomes with manual reloading. And when replacing the barrel with a full-fledged one, we get back the same AKM. Difficult? It's not difficult at all in my opinion.
      1. +1
        April 13 2018 18: 41
        Just meant chopped off the fire bursts, trying to make nedokarabin.
  6. +1
    April 13 2018 16: 18
    Tell me, would a normal person call a Hopak rifle? Matyuk, God forgive me!
    1. 0
      April 23 2018 16: 25
      Quote: konstantin68
      Tell me, would a normal person call a Hopak rifle? Matyuk, God forgive me!

      And “Brass knuckles”, “Nona”, “Hyacinth”, “Cornflower”, “Ruta”, “Pinocchio” - is that how? If you know what it is lol And the author, in the preface, specially wrote, for the gifted, that this is an abbreviation wassat
  7. +2
    April 13 2018 16: 25
    Beautiful names - "Gopnik" and "Ascaris"
  8. 0
    April 13 2018 18: 36
    Well, yes, urgently the Shnobel Prize to them ...
  9. +1
    April 13 2018 20: 52
    Quote: san4es
    Regarding the design, by the way, very good

    ... Only the shutter wedges. (see from 6.00 min.)

    Modify with a sledgehammer and a mat.
    The monstrous quality of processing is visible to the naked eye.
    It is clear that Putin’s pests in Bandera factories are not asleep.
    But there is professional pride! How can this be released?
    The level of processing corresponds to a partisan workshop in the Belarusian forest.
    1. +1
      April 14 2018 08: 57
      Here it is not necessary here, we have already finished in the forests to AK in the shell from the AR wink However, judging by the absence of the fuse switch, the cocking handle is only in the form of a layout ... but we are working in this direction soldier
      1. 0
        21 August 2018 19: 31
        Above the "Frankenstein" in the photo is Strike On (Strizh) and he is wearing a FAB Defense KPOS G2 carbine kit.
  10. +2
    April 13 2018 22: 50
    "Designed for firing up to 3300 meters ..."

    And where are they going to get from her? What kind of sight is needed at such a distance, or will they point from a quadrocopter? And the wind, humidity, etc. .... True, I'm not a sniper, I might not know anything. hi
    1. +2
      April 14 2018 01: 36
      Yes, there is no need to be a sniper, everything is clear and so.

  11. +1
    April 14 2018 13: 51
    Quote: AlexMark
    Yes, there is no need to be a sniper, everything is clear and so.


    Thanks Mark, one damn thing didn’t understand. wink
    But above, the Belarusian automatic? And the filling in it is really from AK. And somehow in more detail? hi
    1. +2
      April 14 2018 14: 45
      good afternoon hi
      The graph shows that the drop of a bullet already at 2000 meters for the 12,7x99 Hornady A-Max cartridge is already more than 5,5 meters, while the speed of the bullet drops to subsonic, that is, its further direction of movement is already difficult to predict, firstly, it loses its stability from a light breath of wind (I’m not flying where I want with 90-degree turns, but the deviations can be significant), and, secondly, to calculate its movement, you already need to use a different ballistic model than the one used on the first stages of its movement.
      On the domestic machine, while only the automation system and cartridge 7,62x39 is known, there is no more information request
      1. 0
        April 18 2018 17: 15
        Quote: AlexMark
        that is, its further direction of movement is already difficult to predict, firstly, it loses its stability from the light blowing of the wind (not in terms of flying where I want with 90-degree turns, but deviations can be significant)

        Not really, a grain is predictable, so far as subsonic is ... It’s easy to count the dialer, and advice, for example, go to the TOZ, with due perseverance and sociability, they will give you normal consultations on articles - like such a topic ...
        But in general - here on this type of application, real behavior - advise, find - if you want - you will find. And then it might be silly to go out
        Pisi: although, partially right - the sound is easy to count, it’s not very far, but not in the case of a groats. Krupnyak-subson is the topic) Although, of course, there are not those distances
  12. +1
    April 14 2018 15: 08
    Quote: AlexMark
    good afternoon hi
    The graph shows that the drop of a bullet already at 2000 meters for the 12,7x99 Hornady A-Max cartridge is already more than 5,5 meters, while the speed of the bullet drops to subsonic, that is, its further direction of movement is already difficult to predict, firstly, it loses its stability from a light breath of wind (I’m not flying where I want with 90-degree turns, but the deviations can be significant), and, secondly, to calculate its movement, you already need to use a different ballistic model than the one used on the first stages of its movement.
    On the domestic machine, while only the automation system and cartridge 7,62x39 is known, there is no more information request

    Good afternoon, Mark!
    Thanks again. Out of the fog looms at least some understanding. But still I won’t become a sniper. Although three hundred shot from the Blazer 94K and even hit the target.
    Does the machine have an automation system, sorry for the tautology, the same as AK? hi
    1. +2
      April 14 2018 18: 40
      So from my shooter like from a known substance bullet laughing Slowly began to pick up ballistics for common development, I learn a lot of new and interesting things. smile
      Yeah, the automation systems will be the same in principle, but, most likely, the layout will differ, and, accordingly, the shape of the bolt group details, otherwise Kalashnikov concern will have to be unfastened)))
  13. +1
    April 14 2018 23: 43
    Quote: AlexMark

    Yeah, the automation systems will be the same in principle, but, most likely, the layout will differ, and, accordingly, the shape of the bolt group details, otherwise Kalashnikov concern will have to be unfastened)))


    To be honest, I liked the design of the Belarusian typewriter. It will be a pity if they spoil it during the final fine-tuning. We had an employee Yura Shokorev in our department, maybe you came across some of his work on firearms (mainly on hunting and combat weapons until the middle of the XNUMXth century); so he said: "The Kalashnikov car is beautiful, but, damn it, there is absolutely no design!" Here I agree with him, he looks clumsy, but ... he served with him for three years (AKMS) and would not exchange for any super fancy units. I hope your machine will be successful in all respects.
    Happily! wink
    1. +1
      April 15 2018 11: 44
      Apparently we will sell this unit, but we are not going to refuse AK smile
  14. +1
    April 16 2018 00: 07
    Quote: AlexMark
    Apparently we will sell this unit, but we are not going to refuse AK smile


    All that is good is all good. Even a weapon.
    And if you manage to successfully upgrade, then you can already sell AK. Who knows ... Although so many people took part in the creation of AK, it is difficult to surpass it. And how do you feel about “inventing” a new cartridge for this old design? I mean something larger than 7,62 and with a new bullet. Anything heard about this?
    Happily. wink
  15. 0
    April 16 2018 20: 54
    Gvintorez "Hopak", machine gun "Gorilka", harmono "Fat" to Muscovites "Kyrdyk" !!!
    PS I forgot to say "Fat to the heroes, fat to the heroes!"
  16. 0
    21 August 2018 18: 48
    I see that I'm not the only one laughing at tanks from garbage containers and other "samples" ...

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