MAG-7: pump-action shotgun with the appearance of a submachine gun
In the First World War, several classes became famous. weapons, and it was not only machine guns. US soldiers quickly noticed that the Winchester Model 1897 pump smoothbore rifle was more than effective in the trenches. Regardless of the ammunition used - shot or bullet - the stopping effect of this weapon was beyond praise. True, this very action looked very, very inhuman, though effective. With the advent of machine pistols, and then machine guns, the use of pump-action rifles in armies almost disappeared, and they were finally established in the status of hunting and police weapons.Particularly liked the "pompoviki" special forces: for example, during the storming of the building (conditions, to some extent close to the trench) one shot was enough to disable the offender. But all of the pump-action shotguns had several characteristic flaws for this class. First of all, these are dimensions and weight - you don’t really run up the narrow corridors with a long rifle. The second problem is the lack of automatic fire. The first disadvantage was solved by installing on already existing models of a folding butt, or refusing it in general. With the second fighters had to put up.
In 95, a new MAG-7 rifle was released. It was developed by the South African firm Techno Arms (PTY) Ltd. commissioned by South African police. Like other police, South African required special weapons to work in confined spaces, with all its inherent features.
The issue of dimensions was resolved in a very original way: instead of the traditional tubular magazine for pump-action weapons, the MAG-7 shotgun received a box-shaped one. And it is located not somewhere, but in a pistol grip, like in machine pistols like the Israeli Uzi or the English Ingram MAC-10. Perhaps this is the main reason why MAG-7 has an unusual appearance for the “pump”. However, the size of the rifle cartridge is large, and the handle should be of a size suitable for use. The Techno Arms designer conducted a number of studies and concluded that for use in this weapon, you can shorten the cartridge sleeve of the 12 caliber to 60 mm and slightly reduce the powder charge. In their opinion, such an alteration, coupled with the whole of the barrel in 320 mm, should not have seriously degraded the rifle weapons, in any case, at “assault” distances - to 20-25 meters. In the situation where you want to shoot further, you can usually use other guns, with a "long" cartridge. The magazine placed in the handle has a capacity of five rounds, while it does not strongly protrude beyond the lower part of the handle. The developers considered more capacious versions of the store, but after consulting with the police special forces and comparative tests, it was decided to stop at five cartridges. The “shortage” of ammunition was compensated by the rapidity of its replacement, which is characteristic of such a placement. However, because of the six-centimeter cartridge, the handle has an appropriate width, and does not fit in every hand. On this occasion, there is even a joke, they say, MAG-7 was created not only under the demands of the police, but also under the hands of the special forces.
Due to the short sleeve and a few know-how in mechanics, the designers managed to reduce the course of the forearm, necessary for ejecting the spent cartridge and filling the new cartridge. The plastic handguard has an anatomical shape that ensures the retention of the weapon and the convenience of reloading. Handguards, as well as the side caps of the pistol grip, are the only plastic parts in the MAG-7 design. Everything else is made of metal, in particular the receiver - steel stamped.Loading and reloading MAG-7, like the other "pumps", occurs by moving the shank. The latter is connected to the gate by a flat plate and has a special button that blocks its movement. The barrel of the gun is locked by a massive bolt with a swinging larva. The trigger and trigger mechanism has a fuse, a flag which is displayed on the left side of the gun. The barrel MAG-7 is mounted on the thread and has a muzzle compensator with slit slots. According to the manufacturer, the latter allowed almost one and a half times to improve the accuracy of the fight, although not very “friendly” with the shot.
Sights rifles in some way original: the rear sight is located closer to the eye than other types of weapons. Due to this and the relatively large front sight, the effect of a dioptric sight with all its advantages is created. However, even with such a sight, it is necessary to shoot without resting on the shoulder - in the basic configuration the gun does not have a butt. But at the request of the customer on the MAG-7 can be mounted frame butt, fold up.
Let's return to the ammunition. The designers from Techno Arms understood that the use of a non-standard cartridge may cause some inconvenience, primarily related to the purchase. Therefore, the MAG-7 chamber allows using not only regular 12 / 60, but also cartridges with a sleeve length of 70 mm. However, in this case, they will have to be charged one by one manually through the window for the extraction of liners. Whether really taking care of users, or quietly mocking, the developers advise after shooting to collect 70-mm sleeves, cut them to six centimeters, re-equip with powder (to 2 g), bullet or shot (to 35 g) and use again. Frankly, a controversial solution to the problem of a shortage of ammunition, although someone, perhaps, these tips were useful.
In life, MAG-7 once happened the same thing that sometimes happens with other types of weapons, regardless of their perfection and characteristics. Warehouses of the customer - South African police - turned out to be filled with guns in the right quantity. Techno Arms did not intend to stop the production of MAG-7 and for this they decided to enter the civilian market. However, the original version of the gun could not be certified in many countries, for example, in the United States, the barrel of a civilian smooth-bore weapon should be no shorter than 16 inches (408 mm) by law. The problem was solved simply and with taste: they extended the trunk to 500 mm and installed a fixed fixed butt of wood on the gun. The total length of the gun was now 945 mm, and the weight without a magazine increased to 4,7 a kilogram against four in the original version. The civilian version of the gun was called MAG-7A1 and successfully entered the market of several countries.Later a modification of the MAG-7 Dual Riot was developed. The mechanics of the original model on this gun did not change, but a fixed metal butt and a 37-mm grenade launcher, made on the basis of the Milkor Stopper, were added.
The design of MAG-7, especially that part of it, which provides the gun power supply, can be called a bold, if not revolutionary. However, this model did not receive a long combat life - by the middle of the 2000-s almost all copies of the South African police were sent to the warehouses. Their place was taken by submachine guns. MAG-7A1 civilian gun was more fortunate: it is still in production and used by amateur arrows around the world. Even in spite of the fact that a small range of fire forces us to use it only for self-defense and entertaining shooting. And in this case, the combat characteristics are not so decisive factor in the purchase, as an interesting "ultrasound-shaped" appearance.
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