Izhevsk Mechanical Plant
Izhevsk Mechanical Plant (russian: Ижевский Механический Завод, ''Izhevsky Mekhanicheskiy Zavod'') or IZHMEKH (ИЖМЕХ) was a major firearms manufacturer founded in Izhevsk in 1942 for manufacturing small arms.
Histo ...
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It weighs at around when unloaded, and has a
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
capacity of 18 rounds. The pistol is a sport/civilian version of Yarygin PYa (MP-443) pistol which has been used by Russian military since 2003. MP-446 is short
recoil-operated
Recoil operation is an operating mechanism used to implement locked breech, autoloading firearms. Recoil operated firearms use the energy of recoil to cycle the action, as opposed to gas operation or blowback operation using the pressure of the p ...
, locked breech pistol. The key differences between MP-446 and MP-443 are the frame material (
polyamide
A polyamide is a polymer with repeating units linked by amide bonds.
Polyamides occur both naturally and artificially. Examples of naturally occurring polyamides are proteins, such as wool and silk. Artificially made polyamides can be made through ...
rather than steel) and barrel construction: the barrel of the MP-446 was intentionally weakened to prevent safe use of high-powered armour-piercing military rounds (i.e. Russian 9x19mm 7N21 type, 9x19mm NATO) or civilian " +P" or "+P+" cartridges.
Variants
* MP-446 "Viking" (export variant) - with 18-round magazineГалина Валеева. Ещё раз о пистолете Ярыгина // журнал «Калашников. Оружие, боеприпасы, снаряжение», № 1, 2013. стр.52-54
* MP-446 "Viking" (
civilian
Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...
9mm Luger sport pistol) - with 10-round magazine
* MP-446C "Viking" - sport modification of МР-446 "Viking" pistol. It was developed according to requirements of the
International Practical Shooting Confederation
The International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) is the world's largest shooting sport association, and the largest and oldest within practical shooting. Founded in 1976, the IPSC nowadays affiliates over 100 regions from Africa, America ...
(IPSC). In 2003 МР-446С "Viking" was included in the official list of weapons used in the international competitions according to IPSC rules (upgraded shooting accuracy and patterning in comparison with a base variant; opportunity to adjust trigger travel after a shot; Adjustable sights; 120 mm barrel length version is available)
* MP-446C "Viking-M" - an improved version of the MP-446C, with considerations for a modern civilian markets, such as a standard Picatinny rail on the underside of the frame, removable sights that are compatible with aftermarket
Glock
Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...
examples, a longer barrel likely for the option of threading for aftermarket devices with reinforcement in stressful areas, increased part durability to a claimed 50,000 rounds, improved feed ramp, and improved magazines while retaining the ability to function with older examples.
Users
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* - adopted as training pistol
* - since 2003 adopted as training pistol"''2.2.1/002 Пистолет спортивно-тренировочный МР 446 ВИКИНГ''" Постановление Правительства Республики Казахстан № 1305 от 28 декабря 2006 года "Об утверждении Государственного кадастра гражданского и служебного оружия и патронов к нему на 2007 год"
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See also
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List of Russian weaponry
The following is a list of modern Russian small arms and light weapons which were in service in 2016:
Handguns
Revolvers
Pistols
Special purpose
Submachine guns
Special purpose
Shotguns
Rifles
Bolt-action
Semi-a ...