Liberalization of legislation has seriously expanded the civilian market weapons the market, including in it such a category as “self-defense weapons” (at the moment it is increasingly called “tactical”).
Its potential buyers were not only citizens concerned about their security, but also emerging non-state security companies.
Foreign guns that appeared on the domestic market were clearly not enough, and they were not cheap. The situation was not saved by the domestic samples adapted for self-defense tasks by shortening the trunks, such as double-barrels and self-charging devices 21-12.
The demand for self-defense weapons in 90s clearly exceeded the supply, and all weapons companies sought to conquer the market by offering their own samples - “conversion” versions of products already manufactured or created from scratch.
Not all of them have managed to become a bestseller or even simply gain a foothold in the market - some of them died, one might say, at birth.
One of the practically stillborn devices is the RB-12, “Bondayevsky Gun”, a weapon developed by Alexander G. Bandaevsky, chief designer and president of Zlatoust CJSC “Uralmashproject”.
This gun can be attributed to the pump action, since its reloading is done manually, at the expense of the mobile forearm. Or rather, to be precise, due to the movement of the trunk connected to the wooden forearm. At the same time, the shutter remains motionless, and the barrel is “worn” on the cartridge supplied from below, from the box-shaped magazine.
As a result, the barrel does not move "back and forth", like a normal pump, but "back and forth." Bandaevsky himself claimed that he had chosen this option, since it was easier to keep the mobile forearm in its rear position when firing.
But in a similar design, another option is simply impossible and it is obvious that he was chosen by the designer in an effort to make his gun as compact as possible, as well as simple (and, accordingly, as budget as possible).
Accordingly, the USM in the gun is self-cocking, "revolving type" with an internal trigger. That is, when the trigger is pressed, the trigger performs a “cocking-blow” cycle; there is no pre-platoon function. That is, the effort to descend is somewhat greater than on a conventional pump. Although the descent on the gun, though long, but soft enough.
But filing the cartridge in the chamber does not imply setting the trigger on a combat platoon. That is, the gun can be at maximum alert without the danger of accidental firing. To start shooting, simply press the trigger guard.
In general, Bandaevsky tried to make the gun not only as compact as possible, but also to minimize the time and actions to bring it to combat readiness. Thus, when the patron is sent to the chamber, the folding butt is automatically “thrown back” into the combat position. The gun is also equipped with an automatic safety lock - a key in the back of the pistol grip. The fuse turns off when it is covered by hand.
TTX guns:
Caliber: 12 hunting.
Length with folded butt: 825 mm.
With folded: 610 mm.
Barrel length: 525 mm.
Weight unloaded: 3 kg.
Magazine capacity: 6 ammo.
The design of the gun is quite specific, although many find it quite acceptable and even “brutal” for tactical weapons. The heavy use of wood for a rifle of this class (pistol grip, handguard, lining of the receiver and butt) causes serious doubts. But this is not the main drawback of this curious weapon.
Let's start with the store. It is made of sheet steel and externally creates a sense of reliability. But the feeling is deceptive. Since there are no conventional jaws in it, the cartridges are fixed in it in a rather peculiar way: five cartridges are placed in the magazine, pressing them against the back wall, and the sixth is moving forward slightly. He then enters the special grooves and presses the remaining cartridges. If this is not done, the store will spit them out.
Magazine is inserted into the gun with a closed barrel, and thus it is necessary to hold the magazine latch key. If this is not done, the store will jump out after the first shot, and all the cartridges will fall out of it. The same thing will happen when you try to change the unused store to the end. That is, "tactical" reloading in this tactical gun is excluded.
But this is not the most fatal problem of RB-12. The shotgun had a number of significant flaws: due to the unsuccessful design of the removable barrel retainer and locking assembly, the gun has a tendency to disassemble upon vigorous reloading: that is, the barrel with forearm in one hand, and everything else in the other.
In addition, there was a tendency to jamming the trunk in the front and rear position.
Such blatant insecurity led to the fact that the gun was removed from production. Works on RB-12 have been discontinued, no attempt has been made to correct the deficiencies. Perhaps because after the appearance on the market of such guns as “Saiga”, “Izh-81”, “Bekas” and “MP-133” his commercial prospects were doubtful.
In total, about a hundred Bandaevsky guns were fired, and some of them still appear on the secondary market, and their prices vary widely. What is not surprising: someone considers RB-12 as a rarity, and someone - as an unreliable and problematic weapon.