Biathlon Rifle: Types and Features

Of all the types of winter sports, most often distinguish the two most spectacular. This is hockey and biathlon. The USSR, and then Russia, have always been proud of their merits and achievements in these sports. Take at least the same Kharlamov in hockey or Tikhonov (four-time Olympic champion) in biathlon. With the equipment of the hockey player everything is clear - skates, a stick, a helmet. With biathlon everything is much more interesting and attractive, since in fact it is a double sport - skis and shooting. Regarding the inventory for movement, too, everything is clear: the main thing is to guess the grease on the weather, but with the biathlete's weapon, which is a rifle, it's not so simple. The participant will have a difficult choice in the part of the brand, since the result of successful shooting depends on this. Therefore, experienced athletes thoroughly approach the choice of weapons. And what does a biathlon rifle look like? Her photos will be presented to the attention of the reader in the following article. In the meantime, we will make a short digression into history and find out when and under what circumstances this kind of sporting weapon appeared.

A bit of history

At the end of the Second World War, the most popular were the competitions of military patrols, in essence it was the prototype of modern biathlon. Equipment at that time was an ordinary army rifle Mosin, to which, in the kit, there was also a bayonet-knife. By the way, they were in service with the Soviet Army during the war with Germany.

After long debates of the International Olympic Committee, in 1960 there was a long-awaited debut performance of biathlonists at the Winter Olympic Games. For Soviet athletes, the Izhevsk machine-building plant produced a rifle Biathlon-59 on experimental production. The sight of the biathlon rifle was at that time dioptric. It was also equipped with portable belts and a special protective cover. The weight of the biathlon rifle at that time was not strictly regulated.

The course on modernization and improvement

After the winter Olympics in 1960, the weapon designer Sherstyakov, taking as a basis the Mosin rifle, produces a new weapon for biathlon. The sample, which resulted in the result, was produced in two versions and had names that depend on the caliber: Biathlon Bi-7.62 and Biathlon Bi-6.5 (cartridges to them measured 7.62 mm and 6.5 Mm respectively).

The use of this weapon brought the first Olympic successes to the Soviet biathlonists, in particular Vladimir Melanyin won the first gold medal in biathlon at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck in 1964.

At the beginning of the seventies, a new rifle Biathlon Bi-4 was launched, firing from which was carried out with rounds of ignition. The model had much less weight. The next novelty was released only a year after the release of the previous one and was called Biathlon Bi-5. The shooting was conducted by the cartridges of the central battle, which had a caliber of 5.6 mm. It was with this rifle that the victorious golden procession of the four-time Olympic champion Alexander Tikhonov began.

Arms of competitors

Not only in the Soviet Union were able to make weapons for biathlon. It should be noted and foreign manufacturers. The most famous are such companies as "Anschutz" and "Walter" from Germany, "Sako" of Finnish production and Austrian "Stayer Manlicher".

The best known and untwisted biathlon rifles are Anschutz. It was the management of this company that the German Army team applied to biathlon with the request to develop a rifle for biathlon, which will fully suit the German athletes by such criteria as convenience and strength of bestowal. Thus, to create a new weapon, the best small-bore rifle, which at that time was "Antshutts-54", was used, improving it for a small-pulse central-explosion cartridge, having a caliber of .222.

Change of priorities

1978 is considered an important milestone in the development of biathlon. The transition to small-caliber weapons made this sport accessible and mass. And the initiator of this significant event was the same German firm "Anschutz", which commissioned its compatriots and designed such weapons. Countries whose athletes were the best in this sport, namely the USSR, Norway, Finland and the United States, did not want to lose their positions in the world biathlon and move from military weapons to small-caliber.

Therefore, the vote that was held with a view to moving to a new caliber, there were not particularly ardent supporters of new weapons. And then there was a "political blackmail" by the Austrian side, which refused to host the World Biathlon Championships in 1978, unless new weapons are adopted. Three of the voting participants changed their original decision, and the scales bowed in favor of the new model.

Thus, the German manufacturer and athletes broke out into the leaders of the world biathlon, each in its own field. A peculiar standard of sports weapons was formed: the mass should be not less than 3.5 kg, the biathlon rifle caliber - 5.6 mm, better known as .22lr. Cartridges must be with ring ignition.

The consequence of the transition to small-caliber weapons was a reduction in the distance to the target - now it was 50 m. German biathletes won seven of the nine gold medals at the World Biathlon Championships in 1978, conducted under the new rules. The head coach of the USSR national team Alexander Privalov, the former prize-winner of two Olympic games, laid the blame for the failure of the USSR team's performance not on the replacement of weapons, but for a new kind of skis used and incorrectly selected lubricant.

Adequate response to changing rules

Gunsmiths and designers at Izhmash (Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant) urgently introduced a new rifle Biathlon Bi-6, using round-ring cartridges, in accordance with new requirements.

The secret of such a rapid release of new weapons is explained quite trite: just as in the early sixties, using the base of the Mosin rifle, samples were developed of Biathlon Bi-7.62 and Biathlon Bi-6.5, and in This time the designers took ready-made variants of "Ural-5-1" and "Ural-6-1" and by means of profound modernization created "Biathlon Bi-6".

Rifle arrangement

The pneumatic biathlon rifle is approximately the same for all manufacturers and differs only in the construction of the units and in some separate positions. In any case, all the differences are regulated and tightly controlled. Biathlon rifle, the device of which consists of standard units and mechanisms, has a barrel, a wooden bed, a bolt, a trigger, a sight and a shop. The design of the stock allows, if necessary, to change its linear dimensions by installing additional gaskets. Also needed a belt for a biathlon rifle. Only the shoulder design is used, as this is the most practical option. The sight of the biathlon rifle should only be dioptric, the use of optical rifles is prohibited.

Individually, it is possible to adjust and adjust other parts of the rifle, for example, the "cheek" (the upper part of the stock) and the belt that has the hook for the antabuse. The position of the center of the mass of the weapon can be adjusted by adding or reducing the balancing weights. Rapid reloading of the rifle, without changing the position of the athlete, is carried out using a crank mechanism, which locks the barrel bore with the help of vertical rotation axes.

Protective covers fulfill their function of protecting against various kinds of contamination of the barrel channel, the sight of the weapon and its fly. The design of the trigger mechanism allows you to optimally adjust the pressure of the trigger trigger trigger, as well as the nature of the descent without disassembling the weapon. From the very beginning of the biathlon, its rules were stipulated: only the sliding longitudinally rotary bolt of the biathlon rifle is permissible, and only after the events of 1978 were allowed to use models with a different design of this mechanism.

The design of the shutter firm "Anschutz"

Each company that produces sports rifles, develops and manufactures weapons with its own shutter design. The German firm "Anschutz" uses a shutter, the design of which was developed back in 1935, constantly improving it.

Until 1984, all weapons of this brand were produced using a construction with a swivel mechanism. After 1984, gunsmith P. Fortner installed a shutter mechanism on the rifle without warning, and this design is used on all models of the company "Anschutz" to this day. A distinctive feature of these devices are the more compact dimensions, the lack of warheads needed for powerful cartridges.

Recharging the rifle is very simple, with two fingers: pulling the index finger by the handle, the cock is cocked, and its reverse stroke is performed by pressing the rear part of the mechanism with your thumb. Also, the reliability of the weapon during recharging is influenced by the ejector and extractor, which, due to their design, reliably perform their functions at low air temperatures.

Other gate designs

The Finns first used a new shutter design in their Finnbiathlon model, manufactured by Tampeeren Asepaja. The mechanism had a longitudinally sliding stroke, and it did not need to be rotated.

Following them in the Soviet Union also appears biathlon rifle "Bi-7", the gate of which has the same design. It is impossible not to note the merits of the outstanding weapons designer Susloparov. In a short time he was able to prepare for the Moscow-hosted Olympic Games prototype "Bi-7-2", which continued the development of sports weapons of the most famous series "Biathlon". Speaking at the Olympics with a new model, the well-known Alexander Tikhonov won his fourth gold medal in the relay race. By the way, and at the next two Winter Olympics, biathletes from the Soviet Union with the help of this rifle were taking gold in the relay race.

Development of rifles series "Biathlon"

Based on the most famous rifle "Bi-7-2" in the early 90-ies are developed and adopted by biathlonists models "Bi-7-3" and "Bi-7-4." The life cycle of these brands with continuous improvements will last until the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Since 1991, the main supplier of weapons for biathlon athletes, Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant, has begun production of a new model of "Bi-7-2". The shooting from the biathlon rifle of this series is conducted by .22lr caliber cartridges having annular ignition, according to the generally accepted standards in 1978. Submission comes from removable stores, the capacity of which is calculated for five rounds. Also in the standard set includes devices for additional ammunition, in the number of three pieces. Four stores during the race are in a special cassette, which is attached to the butt of the rifle.

Locking of the barrel of the given pneumatics occurs on the hinge-lever scheme.

The main criterion for shooting in biathlon is the rapid re-charging of weapons without changing the position of the biathlete and wasting precious time for a new aiming. Feeding of the cartridge into the barrel of the rifle "Bi-7-2" is carried out by means of reciprocating motion due to a special handle. The bolt moves during a recharge in a small arc.

The rifle undergoes balancing, which is regulated by adding or removing corrective weights. Also, the descent force and the working stroke of the trigger are subject to adjustment. The cheek on the butt and its length are adjusted and adjusted individually for each athlete, as the accuracy of the shooting depends on the convenience of the athlete. The barrel, sight and sight of the rifle are equipped with special quick-hinged covers, the main function of which is to protect the weapon from snow, dirt and other contaminants that may affect the accuracy of the shooting.

As already mentioned, the production of the rifle of this brand has been going on for a long time, and throughout this time it has been improved and modernized. For example, today they produce "Bi-7-4A" models. The letter A in the title says that this rifle is equipped with a barrel of the famous German company Anshutz.

Elite Rifles

To elite belong the samples made under the order under the concrete sportsman. The rifle "Bi-7-4" in the ninth modification has an absolutely new bed, the settings of which can satisfy the requirements of any biathlonist; A new dioptric sight from the competing firm Anshutz; An annular flies which can be adjusted. To protect against corrosion and improve performance, the receiver and barrel are chrome plated. Among other models of elite rifles, there are "Antshutz 1827", which is called "the best of the best" by many champions and prize-winners-biathletes.