The approaching centenary of the end of the bloodiest wars of the early XX century, which destroyed four empires and claimed the lives of more than 20 million people. A significant role in this war was played by the soldiers of the Imperial Russian army, armed with three line rifle model 1891.
The lack of Mosin rifle production in Tula, Izhevsk, Sestroretsk and Chatellerault, factories, Winchester, and Westinghouse has forced the Supreme command of the army to search for weapons of different systems.
And the choice fell on the Winchester model 1895.
This rifle the Winchester company was converted into a Russian trilinear cartridge 7,62x54r, noticeably changing its appearance: it was like a three-line, although perezarazhenie with staples, Henry preserved.
The advent of smokeless powder, primer Berdan Central ignition, the increase in initial speed of a bullet to 700-800 m/s, resulting in a sharpening of its shape to reduce drag, – all this made it impossible to use tubular magazine the Winchester clip Henry because of the notorious inertial Nicola the capsule.
Place tubular magazine and the Elevator of the cartridge in the receiver took store the box, and massive hinge bracket Henry instead of a monolithic form, has received two “horns”, envelope box store.
For the same reason, the clip Henry had lost the axis of rotation, becoming in the likeness of two levers borchardt-Luger, closing the shutter of her dead center (closing but not locking).
Of course, for reliable locking in the powerful cartridge that is not enough, and in fact the locking occurs vertically moving in box liner, prop up the rear gate.
The first sack came on the model 1894, in contrast to the earlier 1892, in which the shutter was locked by two wedges at each end, is pivotally connected directly with the bracket. To prevent accidental opening bracket is received a spring-loaded latch.
Thus, the introduction of box store was forced to completely revise the entire layout and design of the mechanisms of the receiver. Finally the ability to clean the barrel of a Winchester breech: the breech is pulled back without disassembling the trigger and remove the trigger, only rasstegivat with the front hinge bracket Henry.
Originally conceived as multicaliber under common in those years, and appeared somewhat later ammo .405 Winchester, .38-72 WCF and .40-72 WCF, 35 WCF, .30-40 Krag, .30-03, .30-06 Springfield, .303 British, 7.62 mm×54 and .50 Express Win at the personal request of Roosevelt, he had an oversized receiver, which can be summed up shop under any of these calibers.
Using any type of rifle ammunition (flanged and flangeless) has provided the use of the store with elastic retention sponges.
And no one knows what happened safer: thin elastic sponge shop, protected by powerful walls of the receiver, or cutoff reflector Sergei Ivanovich.
Model 1895 first gained fame as a hunting weapon. Not coincidentally, while this model was on the Assembly line, the company “Winchester” released a few calibers of centre fire ammo for her .38-72 WCF and .40-72 WCF, .405 WCF, .35 Winchester, and the casings of the first two was designed for black powder, but was used mostly with smokeless.
This variety was enough to satisfy buyers for hunting any game.
Got massively into the civilian market, 1895 “Winchester” is still found in the sale on the secondary market in good condition, and that after nearly 80 years by the withdrawal from production (not counting limited series, released in 1984, and in 1995 by Browning and Winchester on the production capacities of Japanese corporations Miroku).
The use of centre fire ammunition eliminates the problem of some not manufactured now by perezarazhenie caliber cartridges, but, unfortunately, not in our country.
It also allows the hunter to use the most suitable bullets for a specific kind of game: expansive, hollow-points or even shell-less solid, for example in the “low” caliber .38-72 WCF and .40-72 WCF.
The widely advertised “Winchester М1895” sold in pre-revolutionary Russia before the First world war. Apparently that was donated to the Arsenyev Dersu Uzala, and it is because of him later brave hunter was killed by robbers-hunghutz.
The company “Winchester” rapidly promoted the model 1895, not only in civil market but also in the army.
Probably modification chambered for 7,62x54r for the Russian order was developed on the basis of the British model under .303 British, which, unlike commercial, long, almost to the muzzle handguard with bayonet mount for bayonet quick-release and barrel overlay, which has some interesting hallmarks, indicating that the barrel is made of alloy Nickel steel especially for smokeless powder.
Russian model also received detachable rails on the receiver for full-time action for five rounds for the “mosinka”. But you seemed to equip the rifle one cartridge, resting his crown in the feeder or bottom round in the magazine and Sasakawa jaws is rotated 90° by a bullet forward.
Longitudinal rolling shutter is a classic “American” plunger type: casing in the Cup shutter is continuously pressed plunger ejector and energetically leaves the box, once fully out of her, regardless of the speed of the arm on the bracket Henry. The descent is also made in the American manner: “glass rod” without freewheel.
It was strange to discover on this gun is dated more than 100 years ago, tactical quick release sling swivel, reversible with the butt at the base of the store.
Sector sight is marked in steps, you can use grazing fire, and volley for a canopy, turning the bar 90° and raising the slider for rear sight.
North American United States honestly fulfilled his contract, putting the Russian Empire more than 300 thousand winchesters. However, most of them perished in the two world wars, and after them the hands of hunters.
Getting little use as a modern military weapon rifle under massively common in our country, “freestuff” cartridge 7,62x54r, the hunters-fishers of the far North did not bother cleaning it with the breech: a small screw-plug in the receiver, closing the hole of a pin pivotally connecting the shutter with the lever, could easily be lost in terms of cleaning on my knees in the forest, and without it, razvalivshis from numerous extractions, fell out and lost the pin.
Abnormal cleaning from the muzzle led to the spreading of the output of the rifling and the loss of accuracy that were machine repairs. Across references about the alteration 1895-x Winchester under the “smooth” gauges with the replacement of the barrel and “off” of the store in the single-shot version, but also in the form of kulak edge.
And only slightly more than a decade ago a small number of Russian winchesters were discovered in warehouses of Finland, purchased, imported into Russia, and is certified as a hunting rifle.
To “Finnish” the winchesters are no hallmarks of the Russian military acceptance. The operation of the weapon still (or already) do not have time to spend in the country, where he was born February revolution, and the only Imperial stamp on the background of the American patent brands is hiz (Storage and Supply).
The last combat use of the now legendary model can be attributed to the battle for Leningrad, when from warehouses scraped all shooting (even the Gras rifle and the Berdan No. 2), and for use in “units” of the Volkssturm in April 1945 in Berlin, where the Russian winchesters chambered for 7,62x54r came from Finland and occupied Poland at the beginning of the Second world war.
Can call as many Russian Winchester is a bad gun. Indeed, reloading bracket Henry lying harder than the classic “bolt” shutter or “Pramod” Schmidt-Rubin.
Minimal gaps and a large area of interfacing moving parts such as the receiver-gate, have raised concerns in their reliability when contaminated or insufficient lubrication in the cold.
However, this weapon admire its technical perfection. The complex form and configuration of parts, particularly the shutter, minimum clearances, and precision pairing by and large their area – and this in the end of XIX century mass production!