Gunsmith: submachine gun R9-Arms
Representatives of criminal circles for more convenient management of dark affairs are trying to get one or another small weapon. Often, they use handicrafts that do not differ in perfection and high performance. However, illegal weapons workshops can produce more successful samples. Thus, over the past few years, the R9-Arms submachine guns have regularly appeared in reports of the European police. This weapon is of unknown origin, but obviously factory-made enjoys a certain popularity among criminals.
Historical reference
For the first time, law enforcement officers ran into a previously unknown weapon model in 2006. The Croatian Police and the Bureau for the Fight against Corruption and Organized Crime of Croatia have discovered another underground shop for the production of small arms with a small warehouse of finished products in Croatian Zagorje. The illegal enterprise belonged to Mirko and Ivan Vugrek - famous amateur gunsmiths. They developed and produced their first samples during the civil war and, apparently, did not refuse to continue work in this direction.
One of the first seized R9-Arms
At the “enterprise” of the Vugrek family, they found and seized a large amount of weapons and ammunition of various types. In this case, one of the finds greatly surprised the police. During the search, a submachine gun of an unknown model was found that had not yet been encountered by the police of Croatia or other countries. In the existing reference books, this weapon was also absent. The find attracted the attention of specialists and weapons lovers, and soon received a well-deserved fame.
The unknown compact submachine gun had a whole set of markings, but they did not help to establish the origin of the weapon, the time of its production, etc. The inscription “R9-ARMS Corp.” was on the left side of the movable shutter casing. USA. ” On the left side of the frame there was a marking for the translator of the fire: the inscriptions Single and Auto. On the right of the casing was a large inscription 9х19; on the frame there is a place for a serial number with the letter “No.”. However, on all known samples the number was not knocked out.
Marking suggested that the submachine gun was manufactured by some company R9-Arms from the United States. However, the United States has never had a weapon enterprise with such a name, and the American regulatory authorities did not know anything about such weapons. It is obvious that the inscription on the casing was made exclusively “for the view”. The exact name of the unusual submachine gun is still a mystery, but in the weapons circles it was called R9-Arms - on the marking on the movable casing.
Top view of the frame
In the future, European law enforcement officers from different countries several times removed new samples of the R9-Arms submachine gun from criminals. Of particular interest is the 2012 incident of the year. British police detained a truck driver from the Netherlands who tried to smuggle drugs into the country. The detainee was found a submachine gun R9-Arms, and equipped with a silencer. It was the first sample of this kind.
In 2015, the police again searched the former Vugrek “factory” in the Croatian Zagorje, and again found an arsenal. Among other samples were numerous R9-Arms products with stores and silencers. Two cases of detection of submachine guns in one place became the reason for the relevant suspicions. According to one of the most popular versions, such a weapon was made in Croatia. However, while this assumption has not received decent evidence.
In favor of the version of Croatian origin, the fact that significant quantities of R9-Arms were seized from the gunsmiths Mirko and Ivan Vugrekov speaks for it. However, the detainees did not admit to the independent manufacture of weapons and involvement in the production of R9-Arms. The police did not find any evidence of their participation in the proceedings. There were grounds to believe that the suspects only resold the ready-made weapons of someone else’s assembly.
Shutter casing, bottom-side view
Submachine guns of unknown origin are still in the reports of the European police. The last case of detection of R9-Arms took place just a few months ago. In early September, a truck with a batch of illegal weapons was discovered in the port of British Dover. Together with the factory samples in it found one submachine gun R9-Arms.
The existence of submachine guns R9-Arms became known 12 years ago. Since then, at least a dozen of such products have been seized, but the situation with information has not changed. The exact origin of the submachine guns remains unknown - although there is a fairly plausible version. As a result, R9-Arms still remain one of the main mysteries in the weapons field. When the answers to all your questions appear - it remains only to guess.
Design features
First of all, R9-Arms submachine guns are distinguished from other types of small arms of illegal origin by high quality and production culture. In their manufacture, metalworking machines of various types were used, clearly controlled by trained specialists. In addition, clandestine gunsmiths did not use the simplest automation options characteristic of artisanal weapons. As a result, R9-Arms are of interest not only because of their unusual history.
Trigger mechanism close-up. The trigger is lowered, there is no fire interpreter
From a structural point of view, a compact submachine gun is similar to various self-loading pistols, but it has some characteristic features. The simplest automation based on the free gate, which is under the movable casing, was used. It uses not the most common among pistol-machine guns trigger-type trigger mechanism. In general, R9-Arms does not look like a direct copy of any existing sample and is an independent development, even if based on well-known and well-developed solutions.
The basis of the submachine gun are the frame and casing of the bolt, similar to the details of "classic" pistols. The frame is made in the form of a milled part of the T-shaped profile. It has an upper tray to accommodate parts of the necessary parts. The reception shaft of the store was placed in the handle, and the back part of the frame contains the main part of USM parts. The layout of the casing bolt borrowed from self-loading pistols. Inside its front there is a fixed stem with a return spring. Located behind the gate with a spring-loaded drummer.
The submachine gun received a rifled barrel caliber 9 mm long 130-140 mm. The chamber is designed for ammunition 9x19 mm "Parabellum" - one of the most popular pistol cartridges of our time. The barrel during the shooting remains in place and does not move. It is held in place by the transverse pin of the frame, which is included in the semicircular notch on the tide under the cartridge chamber. The muzzle of the barrel is threaded to install the necessary devices.
The shutter of the submachine gun is made as an integral element of the casing. It has a longitudinal channel for the striker and its spring. During the recharge cycle, the shutter reciprocates with the case. When the cover is moved backward, its front wall compresses the return spring mounted around the barrel.
The back of the frame and trigger. Below is the mine shop
Behind the store's receiving shaft there is a hammer-type firing mechanism in the frame. A characteristic feature of the USM are relatively large size and weight of the trigger. Behind the trigger is supported by a twisted combat spring, worn on the guide rod. The control of triggering is carried out with the help of a traditional trigger, passed in front of the shop’s mine. With the help of longitudinal barrels on the sides of the shaft, the U-shaped sear was driven. The USM design allowed firing single or bursts. The choice of fire mode was carried out using the flag in the back of the frame.
The R9-Arms submachine gun must use 9x19 mm cartridges supplied from detachable box magazines. Underground designers did not begin to create the shop and borrowed this device from a serial submachine gun Uzi. Such a box magazine is placed inside the pistol grip and secured by a latch on its bottom. Together with R9-Arms, shops of various capacities were withdrawn, up to several dozen rounds of ammunition. Apparently, different operators can use these weapons with magazines on both 25 and 50 cartridges - depending on the needs and access to serial products.
In terms of ergonomics, the R9-Arms is similar to some other submachine guns or self-loading pistols. The weapon is held by a vertical handle with a straightened front surface, in front of which there is a trigger and a protective bracket. The handle has a plastic lining with corrugation. For ease of cocking, there are vertical notches on the casing of the slide. The back of the frame has some recesses. It is possible that the R9-Arms can be equipped with a removable wire butt.
A submachine gun with a silencer seized from a smuggler driver in 2012.
The weapon is equipped with the simplest sights. From above in front on a casing there is a large front sight. The rear is the rear sight with side protection. The sight is designed for use at ranges up to several tens of meters - standard for such weapons.
The product can be completed with additional devices. In front of the frame, the designers provided a short bar for mounting the necessary accessories. Several samples taken were equipped with a laser target designator. The muzzle of the barrel provides for the installation of a muffler of handicraft production. With its absence, the thread is closed with a special nut.
Submachine gun R9-Arms has a length of about 240 mm. The height of the product without the store is about 180 mm. Mass unknown. According to available data, the applied automation allows you to get a technical rate of fire up to 850-900 shots per minute. Effective range - up to 20-30 m.
Underground benefits
It is easy to see that the unknown authors of the R9-Arms submachine gun used a number of already known and well-developed solutions in their project. At the same time, they connected them in an original way and got curious results. In addition, the weapons of their development were made with due accuracy and this compares favorably with other underground products.
The results of one of the operations of the police of the Netherlands
From the point of view of the general features of the design, R9-Arms does not look original. All major solutions of this project are known by existing samples. At the same time, some features of the submachine gun attract attention. First of all, it is interesting to reject the free shutter with a fixed drummer in favor of the trigger mechanism with the trigger. On closer examination, such a solution looks literate and logical.
Submachine gun uses a relatively powerful cartridge. Recoil when firing a queue may be too strong for a weapon without a stock, resulting in accuracy and accuracy will leave much to be desired. Designers underground found an elegant solution to this problem. When rolling back, the bolt and cover should compress the return spring, as well as displace the massive trigger and compress its combat spring. The recoil momentum is distributed between several parts and is suppressed more efficiently.
Thus, unknown gunsmiths sacrificed simplicity of design for the sake of improving fire performance. It is not difficult to imagine how a submachine gun with such an arrangement and ergonomics, equipped with a simplified trigger mechanism, would have behaved when fired.
Arsenal found in 2015 from the Vugrek family
Other technical features of weapons borrowed from other samples are not without reflection and refinement. In addition, the authors of the project took into account the specifics of the use of weapons by the criminal element. The result was a light and compact weapon with a sufficiently high firepower. It also allows for covert wearing and use - when using the optional silent shooting device.
Mystery of the century
Submachine guns R9-Arms were first discovered back in 2006, and at the same time the first versions of their origin appeared. In the future, such weapons were repeatedly withdrawn from criminals, but the situation with information has not changed much. Existing versions of the authors of an interesting sample received only indirect evidence, but direct confirmation is still lacking.
For obvious reasons, it is unknown not only the manufacturer of the weapon, but also the volume of its production. In recent years, more than a dozen serial products have been seized and, apparently, large quantities of such weapons remain in illegal circulation. Whether it will be possible to reveal and withdraw all these submachine guns is a big question. It is unlikely that their owners will surrender voluntarily and carry their unusual weapons to the police. Therefore, law enforcement agencies in different countries have a lot of work to do, especially considering that in addition to the R9-Arms submachine guns, the criminals have a lot of other weapons.
Perhaps in the future there will be new information about the origin of the unusual artisanal submachine gun. Will become known to the authors of the project and manufacturers of mass weapons. However, it is possible and less optimistic developments, with the result that the details will remain secret. Anyway, the lack of detailed data on the origin of the weapon draws attention to it. It is obvious that the submachine gun R9-Arms gained fame not only because of the original design, but also because of its mysterious origin.
On the materials of the sites:
https://thefirearmblog.com/
https://forgottenweapons.com/
http://smallarmsreview.com/
http://sadefensejournal.com/
http://ar15.com/
Historical reference
For the first time, law enforcement officers ran into a previously unknown weapon model in 2006. The Croatian Police and the Bureau for the Fight against Corruption and Organized Crime of Croatia have discovered another underground shop for the production of small arms with a small warehouse of finished products in Croatian Zagorje. The illegal enterprise belonged to Mirko and Ivan Vugrek - famous amateur gunsmiths. They developed and produced their first samples during the civil war and, apparently, did not refuse to continue work in this direction.
One of the first seized R9-Arms
At the “enterprise” of the Vugrek family, they found and seized a large amount of weapons and ammunition of various types. In this case, one of the finds greatly surprised the police. During the search, a submachine gun of an unknown model was found that had not yet been encountered by the police of Croatia or other countries. In the existing reference books, this weapon was also absent. The find attracted the attention of specialists and weapons lovers, and soon received a well-deserved fame.
The unknown compact submachine gun had a whole set of markings, but they did not help to establish the origin of the weapon, the time of its production, etc. The inscription “R9-ARMS Corp.” was on the left side of the movable shutter casing. USA. ” On the left side of the frame there was a marking for the translator of the fire: the inscriptions Single and Auto. On the right of the casing was a large inscription 9х19; on the frame there is a place for a serial number with the letter “No.”. However, on all known samples the number was not knocked out.
Marking suggested that the submachine gun was manufactured by some company R9-Arms from the United States. However, the United States has never had a weapon enterprise with such a name, and the American regulatory authorities did not know anything about such weapons. It is obvious that the inscription on the casing was made exclusively “for the view”. The exact name of the unusual submachine gun is still a mystery, but in the weapons circles it was called R9-Arms - on the marking on the movable casing.
Top view of the frame
In the future, European law enforcement officers from different countries several times removed new samples of the R9-Arms submachine gun from criminals. Of particular interest is the 2012 incident of the year. British police detained a truck driver from the Netherlands who tried to smuggle drugs into the country. The detainee was found a submachine gun R9-Arms, and equipped with a silencer. It was the first sample of this kind.
In 2015, the police again searched the former Vugrek “factory” in the Croatian Zagorje, and again found an arsenal. Among other samples were numerous R9-Arms products with stores and silencers. Two cases of detection of submachine guns in one place became the reason for the relevant suspicions. According to one of the most popular versions, such a weapon was made in Croatia. However, while this assumption has not received decent evidence.
In favor of the version of Croatian origin, the fact that significant quantities of R9-Arms were seized from the gunsmiths Mirko and Ivan Vugrekov speaks for it. However, the detainees did not admit to the independent manufacture of weapons and involvement in the production of R9-Arms. The police did not find any evidence of their participation in the proceedings. There were grounds to believe that the suspects only resold the ready-made weapons of someone else’s assembly.
Shutter casing, bottom-side view
Submachine guns of unknown origin are still in the reports of the European police. The last case of detection of R9-Arms took place just a few months ago. In early September, a truck with a batch of illegal weapons was discovered in the port of British Dover. Together with the factory samples in it found one submachine gun R9-Arms.
The existence of submachine guns R9-Arms became known 12 years ago. Since then, at least a dozen of such products have been seized, but the situation with information has not changed. The exact origin of the submachine guns remains unknown - although there is a fairly plausible version. As a result, R9-Arms still remain one of the main mysteries in the weapons field. When the answers to all your questions appear - it remains only to guess.
Design features
First of all, R9-Arms submachine guns are distinguished from other types of small arms of illegal origin by high quality and production culture. In their manufacture, metalworking machines of various types were used, clearly controlled by trained specialists. In addition, clandestine gunsmiths did not use the simplest automation options characteristic of artisanal weapons. As a result, R9-Arms are of interest not only because of their unusual history.
Trigger mechanism close-up. The trigger is lowered, there is no fire interpreter
From a structural point of view, a compact submachine gun is similar to various self-loading pistols, but it has some characteristic features. The simplest automation based on the free gate, which is under the movable casing, was used. It uses not the most common among pistol-machine guns trigger-type trigger mechanism. In general, R9-Arms does not look like a direct copy of any existing sample and is an independent development, even if based on well-known and well-developed solutions.
The basis of the submachine gun are the frame and casing of the bolt, similar to the details of "classic" pistols. The frame is made in the form of a milled part of the T-shaped profile. It has an upper tray to accommodate parts of the necessary parts. The reception shaft of the store was placed in the handle, and the back part of the frame contains the main part of USM parts. The layout of the casing bolt borrowed from self-loading pistols. Inside its front there is a fixed stem with a return spring. Located behind the gate with a spring-loaded drummer.
The submachine gun received a rifled barrel caliber 9 mm long 130-140 mm. The chamber is designed for ammunition 9x19 mm "Parabellum" - one of the most popular pistol cartridges of our time. The barrel during the shooting remains in place and does not move. It is held in place by the transverse pin of the frame, which is included in the semicircular notch on the tide under the cartridge chamber. The muzzle of the barrel is threaded to install the necessary devices.
The shutter of the submachine gun is made as an integral element of the casing. It has a longitudinal channel for the striker and its spring. During the recharge cycle, the shutter reciprocates with the case. When the cover is moved backward, its front wall compresses the return spring mounted around the barrel.
The back of the frame and trigger. Below is the mine shop
Behind the store's receiving shaft there is a hammer-type firing mechanism in the frame. A characteristic feature of the USM are relatively large size and weight of the trigger. Behind the trigger is supported by a twisted combat spring, worn on the guide rod. The control of triggering is carried out with the help of a traditional trigger, passed in front of the shop’s mine. With the help of longitudinal barrels on the sides of the shaft, the U-shaped sear was driven. The USM design allowed firing single or bursts. The choice of fire mode was carried out using the flag in the back of the frame.
The R9-Arms submachine gun must use 9x19 mm cartridges supplied from detachable box magazines. Underground designers did not begin to create the shop and borrowed this device from a serial submachine gun Uzi. Such a box magazine is placed inside the pistol grip and secured by a latch on its bottom. Together with R9-Arms, shops of various capacities were withdrawn, up to several dozen rounds of ammunition. Apparently, different operators can use these weapons with magazines on both 25 and 50 cartridges - depending on the needs and access to serial products.
In terms of ergonomics, the R9-Arms is similar to some other submachine guns or self-loading pistols. The weapon is held by a vertical handle with a straightened front surface, in front of which there is a trigger and a protective bracket. The handle has a plastic lining with corrugation. For ease of cocking, there are vertical notches on the casing of the slide. The back of the frame has some recesses. It is possible that the R9-Arms can be equipped with a removable wire butt.
A submachine gun with a silencer seized from a smuggler driver in 2012.
The weapon is equipped with the simplest sights. From above in front on a casing there is a large front sight. The rear is the rear sight with side protection. The sight is designed for use at ranges up to several tens of meters - standard for such weapons.
The product can be completed with additional devices. In front of the frame, the designers provided a short bar for mounting the necessary accessories. Several samples taken were equipped with a laser target designator. The muzzle of the barrel provides for the installation of a muffler of handicraft production. With its absence, the thread is closed with a special nut.
Submachine gun R9-Arms has a length of about 240 mm. The height of the product without the store is about 180 mm. Mass unknown. According to available data, the applied automation allows you to get a technical rate of fire up to 850-900 shots per minute. Effective range - up to 20-30 m.
Underground benefits
It is easy to see that the unknown authors of the R9-Arms submachine gun used a number of already known and well-developed solutions in their project. At the same time, they connected them in an original way and got curious results. In addition, the weapons of their development were made with due accuracy and this compares favorably with other underground products.
The results of one of the operations of the police of the Netherlands
From the point of view of the general features of the design, R9-Arms does not look original. All major solutions of this project are known by existing samples. At the same time, some features of the submachine gun attract attention. First of all, it is interesting to reject the free shutter with a fixed drummer in favor of the trigger mechanism with the trigger. On closer examination, such a solution looks literate and logical.
Submachine gun uses a relatively powerful cartridge. Recoil when firing a queue may be too strong for a weapon without a stock, resulting in accuracy and accuracy will leave much to be desired. Designers underground found an elegant solution to this problem. When rolling back, the bolt and cover should compress the return spring, as well as displace the massive trigger and compress its combat spring. The recoil momentum is distributed between several parts and is suppressed more efficiently.
Thus, unknown gunsmiths sacrificed simplicity of design for the sake of improving fire performance. It is not difficult to imagine how a submachine gun with such an arrangement and ergonomics, equipped with a simplified trigger mechanism, would have behaved when fired.
Arsenal found in 2015 from the Vugrek family
Other technical features of weapons borrowed from other samples are not without reflection and refinement. In addition, the authors of the project took into account the specifics of the use of weapons by the criminal element. The result was a light and compact weapon with a sufficiently high firepower. It also allows for covert wearing and use - when using the optional silent shooting device.
Mystery of the century
Submachine guns R9-Arms were first discovered back in 2006, and at the same time the first versions of their origin appeared. In the future, such weapons were repeatedly withdrawn from criminals, but the situation with information has not changed much. Existing versions of the authors of an interesting sample received only indirect evidence, but direct confirmation is still lacking.
For obvious reasons, it is unknown not only the manufacturer of the weapon, but also the volume of its production. In recent years, more than a dozen serial products have been seized and, apparently, large quantities of such weapons remain in illegal circulation. Whether it will be possible to reveal and withdraw all these submachine guns is a big question. It is unlikely that their owners will surrender voluntarily and carry their unusual weapons to the police. Therefore, law enforcement agencies in different countries have a lot of work to do, especially considering that in addition to the R9-Arms submachine guns, the criminals have a lot of other weapons.
Perhaps in the future there will be new information about the origin of the unusual artisanal submachine gun. Will become known to the authors of the project and manufacturers of mass weapons. However, it is possible and less optimistic developments, with the result that the details will remain secret. Anyway, the lack of detailed data on the origin of the weapon draws attention to it. It is obvious that the submachine gun R9-Arms gained fame not only because of the original design, but also because of its mysterious origin.
On the materials of the sites:
https://thefirearmblog.com/
https://forgottenweapons.com/
http://smallarmsreview.com/
http://sadefensejournal.com/
http://ar15.com/
Information