The MTs 7 (''МЦ 7'') is a family of Soviet and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

double-barreled high-quality custom hunting shotguns,

combination gun A combination gun is a firearm that usually comprises at least one rifled barrel and one smoothbore barrel, that is typically used with shot or some types of shotgun slug. Most have been break-action guns, although there have been other desig ...

s and rifles."''Модели охотничьих ружей с индексом МЦ - самые дорогие и великолепно исполненные образцы отечественного оружия... Цена МЦ7-20 - 1500 руб., МЦ7-12 - 1700 руб., МЦ7-07 и 09 - 1800 руб.''"
Двустволки с индексом МЦ // журнал "Охота и охотничье хозяйство", № 12, 1987. стр.32-33

History

The first version of MTs 7 (MTs 7-1) was designed in late 1950s by

TsKIB SOO The Central Design and Research Bureau of Sporting and Hunting Arms, abbreviated TsKIB SOO (russian: ЦКИБ СОО) is a Russian small arms design bureau based in Tula, Russia. It was established in 1946, and it is currently managed as a branch o ...

as target rifle for

competition shooting Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such a ...

, although later it was redesigned and since 1960 it was sold as high-quality hunting weapon. MTs 7 custom guns were among the most expensive of all hunting firearms made in USSR. * In August 1981, the price of one custom MTs 7 smoothbore shotgun was 1,000

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 ...

and the price of one custom MTs 7 double-barreled rifle was 1,200 roubles * In December 1987, the price of one custom MTs7-20 shotgun was 1,500 roubles, the price of one MTs7-12 shotgun was 1,700 roubles, the price of one MTs7-07 or MTs7-09 rifle was 1,800 roubles. In 1990s it was announced that new MTs 7-17 combination gun will be made.«''2.3.1. Охотничье огнестрельное оружие с нарезным стволом... Ружьё двуствольное комбинированное МЦ 7-17 кал. 12/70 и 7,62х54R''»
Перечень служебного и гражданского оружия и боеприпасов к нему, вносимых в Государственный кадастр служебного и гражданского оружия (утверждён распоряжением Правительства РФ № 1207-р от 3 августа 1996 года) However, due to the economic crisis in the Russian Federation, production of all versions of MTs 7 was greatly reduced.

Design

MTs 7 is an over and under

hammerless A hammerless firearm is a firearm that lacks an exposed hammer or hammer spur. Although it may not literally lack a hammer, it lacks a hammer that the user can pull directly. One of the disadvantages of an exposed hammer spur is the tendency to ...

gun, with one barrel above the other. The barrels are detachable. It is equipped with

safety mechanism In engineering, a fail-safe is a design feature or practice that in the event of a specific type of failure, inherently responds in a way that will cause minimal or no harm to other equipment, to the environment or to people. Unlike inherent safe ...

and ejector. All guns have a walnut

shoulder stock A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which is also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun that provides structural support, to which the barrel, action, and firing mechanism are attach ...

(with or without cheekpiece) and fore-end, some of them were decorated with engravings. MTs 7 hunting rifles and combination guns can be equipped with optical sight 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 ...

Variants

* MTs 7-1 (''МЦ 7-1'') - first model, 6.5mm target rifle with 750mm barrels and

diopter sight The diopter is an aperture sight component used to assist the aiming of devices, mainly firearms, airguns, and crossbows. It is found in particular as a rear sight element on rifles. To obtain a usable sighting line the diopter has to have a com ...

(4 - 5 kg) * MTs 7-01 (''МЦ 7-01'') - second model, 6.5mm hunting rifle with 600mm barrels (3.25 - 3.75 kg) * MTs 7-02 (''МЦ 7-02'') - third model,

7.62×54mmR The 7.62×54mmR is a rimmed rifle cartridge developed by the Russian Empire and introduced as a service cartridge in 1891. Originally designed for the bolt-action Mosin–Nagant rifle, it was used during the late tsarist era and throughout th ...

hunting rifle with 600mm barrels (3.5 - 4.0 kg) * MTs 7-07 (''МЦ 7-07'') - 7.62×51mm hunting rifle with 600mm barrels * MTs 7-09 (''МЦ 7-09'') -

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 ...

double-barreled hunting rifle with 600mm barrels (3.4 - 3.6 kg). This model has been produced since 1968. It was equipped with PO-4-1 (''ПО-4-1'') optical sight and rubber

recoil pad A recoil pad is a piece of rubber, foam, leather, or other soft material usually attached to the buttstock of a rifle or shotgun. Recoil pads may also be worn around the shoulder with straps, placing the soft material between the buttstock and the ...

on its shoulder stock"''Нарезные ружья МЦ-10-09 и МЦ-7-09 выпускаются в штучном исполнении с 1968 года''"
Г. Карагодин, Н. Аксенов. Тенденции развития охотничьего оружия // журнал «Охота и охотничье хозяйство», № 5, 1970. стр.30-33 * MTs 7-12 (''МЦ 7-12'') - a 12/70 smoothbore double-barreled hunting shotgun with 750mm barrels (3.0 - 3.3 kg) :* MTs 7-12S (''МЦ 7-12С'') - a version of MTs 7-12 shotgun with new trigger mechanismРужья спортивные двуствольные МЦ7-12С
// TsKIB SOO official website * ''MTs 7-17'' (''МЦ 7-17'') - a combination gun (12 gauge smoothbore barrel and

rifled barrel) * MTs 7-20 (''МЦ 7-20'') - a 20/70 smoothbore double-barreled hunting shotgun with 675mm barrels (2.6 - 2.9 kg)

References

{{Reflist

Sources

* Охотничье двуствольное ружьё МЦ 7 // Охотничье, спортивное огнестрельное оружие. Каталог. М., 1958. стр.26-27 * Э. В. Штейнгольд. Всё об охотничьем ружье. 2-е изд., испр. и доп. М., «Лесная промышленность», 1978. * М. М. Блюм, И. Б. Шишкин. Охотничье ружьё. М., «Лесная промышленность», 1983. стр.89-90 * М. М. Блюм, И. Б. Шишкин. Твоё ружьё. М., "Физкультура и спорт", 1989. стр.78 * Ружьё двуствольное МЦ 7 // Охотничье и спортивное оружие. М., Внешторгиздат. 1989. * Виктор Рон. МЦ 7-12С: надёжность и универсальность // журнал "Оружие", No. 12, 2018. стр.63-64 - ISSN 1728-9203 Double-barreled shotguns of the Soviet Union Double-barreled shotguns of Russia Combination guns TsKIB SOO products 9×53mmR firearms