In 1993, an experimental design and technological laboratory was created at the Vyatskiye Polyany Molot Machine-Building Plant, to design civilian, service, and hunting weapons. Pyotr Mokrushin became the head of the laboratory and developed the Vepr hunting rifles.
The Vepr rifles are based on the design of the AKM (Kalashnikov’s Automatic Rifle Modernised) which the Molot plant began to produce back in 1959. Engineers of the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant helped to develop the prototypes since they had previously adapted the Kalashnikov firearm system for civilian purposes.
The first prototype was produced in 1994 and was named SOK-94 Vepr. Compared with Saiga, another popular hunting rifle model, SOK-94 was heavier by about a kilogram because it had a machine gun base. In 1995, with many foreign-made cartridges becoming available in Russia, the SOK-94 was modernized to replace the old cartridge with the .308 Win one (7.62 NATO).
In 1997-1998, the design of the Vepr carbines was changed. The familiar machine gun base was redesigned for the European market and the carbine acquired the classic shape of a hunting rifle. This is how the Pioneer and Super series appeared, which eventually became popular in the USA, Germany, Italy, and Chile.
The semi-automatic hunting rifle 308 Vepr from the museum’s collection is equipped with a separate stock — the fore-end and buttstock are separate parts connected by a metal receiver. The grip of the carbine is of the pistol type and is convenient to hold due to the thumbhole in the buttstock. The receiver features a device for attaching a telescopic sight bracket.
Automatic reloading of the carbine occurs in the following way — during a shot, powder gases escape from the barrel bore into the gas chamber and push the piston connected to the bolt carrier. After rolling back, the bolt carrier is returned to the forward position by the return spring. The cartridge is ejected into the chamber by a rammer, the barrel being locked by turning the bolt.
The hammer-type trigger mechanism allows to lock the rifle with the safety catch after the shot. For safety reasons, the bolt striker is spring-loaded, thus preventing accidental impact on the cartridge primer and a shot.
The Vepr rifles are based on the design of the AKM (Kalashnikov’s Automatic Rifle Modernised) which the Molot plant began to produce back in 1959. Engineers of the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant helped to develop the prototypes since they had previously adapted the Kalashnikov firearm system for civilian purposes.
The first prototype was produced in 1994 and was named SOK-94 Vepr. Compared with Saiga, another popular hunting rifle model, SOK-94 was heavier by about a kilogram because it had a machine gun base. In 1995, with many foreign-made cartridges becoming available in Russia, the SOK-94 was modernized to replace the old cartridge with the .308 Win one (7.62 NATO).
In 1997-1998, the design of the Vepr carbines was changed. The familiar machine gun base was redesigned for the European market and the carbine acquired the classic shape of a hunting rifle. This is how the Pioneer and Super series appeared, which eventually became popular in the USA, Germany, Italy, and Chile.
The semi-automatic hunting rifle 308 Vepr from the museum’s collection is equipped with a separate stock — the fore-end and buttstock are separate parts connected by a metal receiver. The grip of the carbine is of the pistol type and is convenient to hold due to the thumbhole in the buttstock. The receiver features a device for attaching a telescopic sight bracket.
Automatic reloading of the carbine occurs in the following way — during a shot, powder gases escape from the barrel bore into the gas chamber and push the piston connected to the bolt carrier. After rolling back, the bolt carrier is returned to the forward position by the return spring. The cartridge is ejected into the chamber by a rammer, the barrel being locked by turning the bolt.
The hammer-type trigger mechanism allows to lock the rifle with the safety catch after the shot. For safety reasons, the bolt striker is spring-loaded, thus preventing accidental impact on the cartridge primer and a shot.
