During the International Military-Technical Forum ARMY-2018, Russian TsKIB SOO of Tula has introduced two new civilian firearms that are based on the company’s military products. The two guns are the civilian versions of the PP-2000 SMG and the OSV-96 .50 caliber rifle. Let’s take a brief look at each of these firearms.
OTs-126: The Civilian PP-2000
The news about the civilian PP-2000 has been first reported by TFB back in June 2017. This firearm is called OTs-126. It is chambered in 9x19mm Luger and it is a semi-auto only firearm. Currently, this gun is going through a legal certification process after which it should hit the shelves of Russian gun stores.
As you can see in the images, TsKIB SOO made a new upper receiver for this gun covered with Picatinny rails and they also made it compatible with AR-15 stocks. I would say that this is a rather controversial solution. To me, the selling point of such firearms is their similar appearance to their military counterparts. That being said, I think it would be a more desirable and better-selling package if they just made it look like the PP-2000 with a longer barrel (to comply with the law) covered by a fake suppressor.
Civilian OSV-96 .50 Caliber Rifle
In an interview given to TASS Russian News Agency, Aleksey Sorokin, the CEO of TsKIB SOO, has announced that they are currently developing the civilian version of the OSV-96 rifle. According to Sorokin, they are also developing a civilian cartridge for this firearm. The original OSV-96 is a semi-auto rifle chambered in 12.7x108mm. Possibly, by saying “civilian cartridge”, Sorokin means a different load of the same cartridge that would be available for civilians. According to the company, there is a demand for such a weapon for long range hunting and for defense against predators in remote areas such as mines, pipeline construction yards, and geological prospecting areas. I think that the overwhelming majority of the customers will be the firearms enthusiasts because who doesn’t want a .50 cal rifle?
I wonder if these company’s products are banned from importing to the US along with the products of Kalashnikov Concern and MOLOT Oruzhie?
