The "Los" (" ''Лось''") is a Soviet bolt-action hunting rifle."Лось" // журнал «Охота и охотничье хозяйство», № 8, 1987. стр.32

History

The "Los" was designed in early 1960s, the first rifles were made in 1961, although

serial production Serial may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media The presentation of works in sequential segments * Serial (literature), serialised literature in print * Serial (publishing), periodical publications and newspapers * Serial (radio and televisi ...

began since 1965."''К 1965 г. после тщательной отработки конструкции и всесторонних испытаний был подготовлен к серийному производству охотничий карабин модели "Лось" под наиболее популярный патрон 9×53. До окончания выпуска (1976 г.) удостаивался государственного Знака качества. На базе этого карабина были разработаны и выпускались спортивные винтовки БИЛ-6,5 и АВЛ для современного зимнего двоеборья "Биатлон" и стрелковых упражнений "Армейский стандарт".''"
И. Дерюшев. Охотничьи карабины "Ижмаша" // журнал «Охота и охотничье хозяйство», № 12, 1985. стр.16-17 The rifle received

State quality mark of the USSR The State quality mark of the USSR (russian: Государственный знак качества СССР, translit. ) was the official Soviet mark for the certification of quality established in 1967. Symbol The sign was a pentagonal s ...

. In March 1965, the price of one standard "Los" rifle was between 90 and 100

roubles The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. , currencies named ''rub ...

. In the first half of the 1970s, experimental

9×53mmR The 9×53mmR rifle cartridge was designed for hunting in the USSR. It is a 7.62×54mmR necked up to accommodate a larger bullet. History It was offered for export to other countries Since 1971 two bullet types are available: * Type A - SP for ...

cartridges with hollow bullet for immobilization of wild animals for "Los" rifle were made and tested. In 1993, Kazan Optical-Mechanical Plant began production of night-vision device for "Bars", "Los-4" and "Los-7" hunting rifles. In late 1990s, first "Los-9-1" rifles were made.Николай Аксенов. Новинки-2000 // журнал "Оружие", № 8, 2000. стр.20-28

Design

The "Los" has staggered column non-detachable internal box magazine. All variants of "Los" rifles have iron sights and they are equipped with scope base for optical sight. All Soviet rifles had a wooden stock and fore-end, although custom aftermarket variants are known.

Variants

* "Los" (''«Лось»'') - first model,

, it has

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

with six grooves (320 mm twist rate). The standard optical sight for this model was TO-4.Отечественные ружья // журнал «Охота и охотничье хозяйство», № 3, 1965. стр.26 The last rifle was made in 1976. * "Los-4" (''«Лось-4»'') - 7.62×51mm A, in production since 1975 until 1990. It has barrel with four grooves. The standard optical sight for this model was PO-4×34 (''ПО-4×34'') made by

Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant (russian: Загорский оптико-механический завод) is a company based in Sergiyev Posad, Russia. It is part of Shvabe Holding of Rostec. The Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant is a produc ...

* "Los-7" (''«Лось-7»'') - 7.62×51mm A :* "Los-7-1" (''«Лось-7-1»'') - "Los-7" variant with detachable magazine, 7.62×51mm A * "Los-8" (''«Лось-8»'') - 9.3×64mm Brenneke * "Los-9" (''«Лось-9»'') :* "Los-9-1" (''«Лось-9-1»'') - 9.3×64mm Brenneke, with 5-round detachable box magazine :* "Los-9-2" (''«Лось-9-2»'') -

.30-06 Springfield The .30-06 Springfield cartridge (pronounced "thirty- aught-six" ), 7.62×63mm in metric notation, and called the .30 Gov't '06 by Winchester, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and later standardized; it remained in military use ...

:* "Los-9-3" (''«Лось-9-3»'') - 7×64mm Brenneke * Baikal 145 "Los" (''Baikal 145 «Лось»'') -

.308 Winchester The .308 Winchester is a smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge widely used for hunting, target shooting, police, military, and personal protection applications globally. It is similar but not identical to the 7.62×51mm NATO ...

and

.223 Remington The .223 Remington (designated as the 223 Remington by the SAAMI and 223 Rem by the CIP) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It was developed in 1957 by Remington Arms and Fairchild Industries for the U.S. Continental Army Command ...

, with

Picatinny rail The Picatinny rail ( or ), or Pic rail for short, also known as a MIL-STD-1913 rail, 1913 rail or STANAG 2324 rail (cancelled), is a military standard rail interface system that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It was o ...

. The rifle was announced in 2017. In June 2018, "

Kalashnikov Concern JSC Kalashnikov Concern (), known until 2013 as the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant (), is a Russian defense manufacturing concern and joint-stock company headquartered in the city of Izhevsk in the Republic of Udmurtia as well as the capital ...

" announced the start of its production * BIL-6,5 ('' БИЛ-6,5'') - 6.5mm target rifle based on "Los" design * AVL (''АВЛ'') - 7.62mm target rifle based on "Los" design (chambered for 7.62×54mmR "Extra"). It was used on shooting contests, including

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, until the rules changed and rifles were limited to small caliber only. * ROM-20 (''РОМ-20'') - a 20 gauge bolt-action shotgun (smoothbore version of "Los-7-1"). In March 2002, one test prototype was shown at the "IWA-2002" exhibition.

Ammunition

Serial production of Soviet 7.62×51mm A cartridges with 9.7 g

expanding bullet Expanding bullets, also known colloquially as dumdum bullets, are projectiles designed to expand on impact. This causes the bullet to increase in diameter, to combat over-penetration and produce a larger wound, thus dealing more damage to a liv ...

began in 1974. Soviet 7.62×51mm A cartridges are not interchangeable with foreign 7.62×51mm NATO military cartridges and

commercial cartridges.

Users

* – was allowed as civilian hunting weapon * - is allowed as civilian hunting weapon * - is allowed as civilian hunting weapon * - the import was allowed"''ANNEX A. Firearms Permitted to Be Imported into the United States from the Russian Federation ... LOS-7 Bolt Action Rifle''"AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION ON EXPORTS OF FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION FROM THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
/ref>

References

{{Reflist

Sources

* Охотничий карабин "Лось" // Спортивно-охотничье оружие и патроны. Бухарест, "Внешторгиздат", 1965. стр.46-47 * Г. Карагодин. Отечественное охотничье оружие // журнал «Охота и охотничье хозяйство», No. 3, 1979. стр.32-34 * М. М. Блюм, И. Б. Шишкин. Твоё ружьё. М., "Физкультура и спорт", 1989. стр.86-87

External links

Izhmash Los
/

Internet Movie Firearms Database The Internet Movie Firearms Database (IMFDb) is an online database of firearms used or featured in films, television shows, video games, and anime. A wiki running the MediaWiki software, it is similar in function (although unaffiliated) to the Int ...

Bolt-action rifles of the Soviet Union Bolt-action rifles of Russia 9×53mmR firearms 7.62 mm rifles Izhevsk machine-building plant products Hunting rifles