Izhmash Los
The Izhmash Los (Russian: "Лось" meaning "moose") was a hunting and sporting rifle originating in the Soviet Union (USSR). It was designed by A.S. Shesterikov and was in limited production from 1961, and went into mass production around 1965. It was first produced by Izhmash, which became Kalashnikov Concern, who discontinued the rifle in 2017(?).
Throughout many years of production, it was offered in many chamberings including 9x53mm, 9.3x64mm, 7.62x51mm A Soft Point (proprietary cartridge not compatible with 7.62 NATO or .308 Winchester...?), .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield and 7x65mm.
Its smaller-caliber counterpart was the Izhmash BARS, which came chambered in 5.6x39mm (aka .220 Russian), 7.62x39mm and .223 Remington. Along with the Los, the Bars was discontinued and replaced with the Baikal 145 Los.
Specifications
- Chamberings: 9x53mm, 9.3x64mm, 7.62x51mm A SP (proprietary?), .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, 7x65mm.
- Action Type: Bolt-action.
- Capacity: 5-rounds (non-detachable magazine).
- Sights: Iron sights, or optics (dovetail mount?).
- Barrel: 21.65 inches (550 mm)
- Overall Length: About 41" to 42.5" (1,040 mm to 1,080 mm).
- Weight: 7.28 lbs (3.3 kg)
Design
Other design information:
The "Los" has staggered column non-detachable internal box magazine.
All variants of "Los" rifles have iron sights and they are equipped with scope base for optical sight.
All Soviet rifles had a wooden stock and fore-end, although custom aftermarket variants are known.
Variants
- Los («Лось») - first model, 9×53mmR, it has barrel with six grooves (320 mm twist rate). The standard optical sight for this model was TO-4. The last rifle was made in 1976.
- Los-4 («Лось-4») - 7.62×51mm A, in production since 1975 until 1990. It has barrel with four grooves. The standard optical sight for this model was PO-4×34 (ПО-4×34) made by Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant.
- Los-7 («Лось-7») - 7.62×51mm A
- Los-7-1 («Лось-7-1») - "Los-7" variant with detachable magazine, 7.62×51mm A (.308 Winchester..?)
- Los-9 («Лось-9»)
- Los-9-1 («Лось-9-1») - 9.3×64 Brenneke, with 5-round detachable box magazine
- Los-9-2 («Лось-9-2») - .30-06 Springfield
- Los-9-3 («Лось-9-3») - 7x64 Brenneke
- Baikal 145 Los (Baikal 145 «Лось») - .308 Winchester and .223 Remington, with Picatinny rail. The rifle was announced in 2017. In June 2018, Kalashnikov Concern announced the start of its production.
- BIL-6,5 (БИЛ-6,5) - 6.5mm target rifle based on "Los" design.
- AVL (АВЛ) - 7.62mm target rifle based on "Los" design (chambered for 7.62×54mmR "Extra"). It was used on shooting contests, including Olympic Games, until the rules changed and rifles were limited to small caliber only.
Ammunition
Serial production of Soviet 7.62×51mm A cartridges with 9.7 g (150 gr) expanding bullet began in 1974.
Soviet 7.62×51mm A cartridges do not appear to be interchangeable with foreign 7.62×51mm NATO military cartridges, or .308 Winchester commercial cartridges..?
Users
- Soviet Union – was allowed as civilian hunting weapon.
- Belarus - is allowed as civilian hunting weapon.
- Russia - is allowed as civilian hunting weapon.
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