The TOZ-55 «Zubr» (''ТОЗ-55 «
Зубр»'') is a Soviet
double-barreled 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 ...
for
big-game hunting
Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for meat, commercially valuable by-products (such as horns/antlers, furs, tusks, bones, body fat/oil, or special organs and contents), trophy/taxidermy, or simply just for recreation ("s ...
.
History
In the early 1970s N. I. Korovyakov began work on design the new model of double-barreled combination gun based on design of his
TOZ-34
The TOZ-34 (ТОЗ-34) is a double-barreled shotgun.
History
TOZ-34 is produced and sold by Tulsky Oruzheiny Zavod since 1964. In 1965, the shotgun was awarded the golden medal of the Leipzig Trade Fair.Э. Штейнгольд. Отечест ...
shotgun. In 1975, first TOZ-55 «Zubr» shotguns were made.
In April 1987, it was announced that
Tula Arms Plant
Imperial Tula Arms Plant (russian: Императорский Тульский оружейный завод, Imperatorskiy Tulsky Oruzheiny Zavod) is a Russian weapons manufacturer founded by Tsar Peter I of Russia in 1712 in Tula, Tula Oblast a ...
would begin mass production of new
TOZ-84
The TOZ-84 (''ТОЗ-84'') is a Soviet double-barreled shotgun.ТОЗ-84 // В. Н. Трофимов. Отечественные охотничьи ружья гладкоствольные. М., ДАИРС, 2000. стр.201-203
History
The sh ...
shotgun and this gun will replace in production TOZ-34, TOZ-55 and
TOZ-57
The TOZ-57 (''ТОЗ-57'') is a family of Soviet double-barreled high-quality skeet shotguns.М. М. Блюм, И. Б. Шишкин. Охотничье ружьё. М., «Лесная промышленность», 1983. стр.87
History
Deve ...
. After this, production of TOZ-55 was discontinued.
[М. М. Блюм, И. Б. Шишкин. Твоё ружьё. М., "Физкультура и спорт", 1989. стр.77]
However, even in December 1988 TOZ-55 was most common hunting firearm in 9×53mmR caliber in the Soviet Union.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, some unfinished TOZ-55 shotguns and their spare parts remained in Tula Arms Plant. In 1990s it was announced that new TOZ-55-2 «Zubr» combination gun will be made.
[«''ружьё двуствольное комбинированное ТОЗ-55-2 "Зубр" кал. 9х53 и 12/70''»]
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 Russian Federation in 1992 production of 9×53mmR ammunition was discontinued and TOZ decided not to make this model and to continue production of TOZ-34.
Design
TOZ-55 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 ...
shotgun, with one barrel above the other.
All TOZ-55s were equipped with three pairs of detachable
chrome plated barrels
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, u ...
* a pair of 9mm rifled barrels (600mm)
* a pair of 12/70mm smoothbore shotgun barrels (675mm)
* a rifled 9mm barrel over a 12 gauge smoothbore barrel
All TOZ-55s have iron sights and they were equipped with scope base for optical sight.
* PO-4×34 (ПО-4×34),
TO-6P (ТО-6П)
and TO-6PM (ТО-6ПМ) scopes were standard optical sights, although custom aftermarket variants are known.
All TOZ-55 have a walnut stock and fore-end, some of them were decorated with engravings.
Variants
* TOZ-55-2 «Zubr» (''ТОЗ-55-2 «Зубр»'') - simplified and cheaper version of TOZ-55. It was equipped with one pair of detachable barrels (a rifled 9mm barrel over a 12 gauge smoothbore barrel)
* TOZ-56 (''ТОЗ-56'') - test prototype, a double-barreled combination gun (with rifled 9mm barrel and smoothbore barrel)
Users
*
*
*
* - the import was allowed
["''ANNEX A. Firearms Permitted to Be Imported into the United States from the Russian Federation ... TOZ-55''"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
* Новинки охотничьего оружия. Двуствольное ружьё ТОЗ-55 "Зубр" // журнал «Охота и охотничье хозяйство», No. 12, 1972. стр.29
* ТОЗ-55 // История Тульского оружейного завода, 1712 - 1972. М., "Мысль", 1973. стр.488
Double-barreled shotguns of the Soviet Union
Combination guns
Tula Arms Plant products
9×53mmR firearms