Sviatoslav sent us this photo of a 1941 PTRD in recent use in Ukraine…
Note the empty 14.5mm cartridge case under the gun.
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IN USE BY LOCAL HOME GUARDSMAN, aka “TERRORIST” DEFENDING HIS HOMETOWN FROM ATTACKS FROM A FAILED GOVERNMENT…
Yep the Ukrainians need to defend themselves from the Russians as they always have. Putin gets them back they’ll be starving again.
First, the guy has no hearing protection. Crazy. Second, with the fifteen foot barrel outside of the window it probably wouldn’t be that bad. And third… I love how in these pictures you see tiny little things that remind you these people are just like everyone else. The little piece of bent wire on the cabinet handle to the left to keep a child out of trouble. War. War never changes.
Sadly, it has always been so.
He does not need hearing protection because it is staged.Don’t see any ammo,gun looks empty to me!
the ptrd is single shot so I don’t see how you could tell if its empty or not
The gun is a single shot how can you tell if its empty
I think he may have earplugs in. He’ll certainly need them firing that thing.
During the real war such details are omitted. The pain in ears is better than being dead.
Which is why most of the veterans you meet nowadays have to use hearing aids.
That thing looks as though it may weight more than he does. I also hope he has earplugs in. OUCH.
With a muzzle velocity better than 1i00m/s, this could make a serious sniper weapon…if you had scope on it!!!
Just such a weapon is used by a Czech hero in a series of ‘alternate history’ novels based on WW2 written by Harry Turtledove.
The PTRD with PU sight was tested in Russia. I can only link to Russian article:
http://fishki.net/1283692-ptrd-dlja-snajpera.html
but it contains photos: from top to from: Russian experimental mounts (x2), American soldiers with field-modified PTRD with optical sight captured during Korean War, bottom photo is not described. The main issue was the fastening the sight to gun – the PTRD has harsh recoil. I also doubt in accuracy of PTRD – it was designed as a stop-gap anti-tank rifle, notice the bipod mounted to barrel which prohibits the free-floating of barrel.
is: from top to from
should be: from top to bottom
That’s ok Daweo, no sweat.
Where do you find yourself, btw? In Russia proper?
I used to have one of those back in ’68. I was very impressed with the true MV of 998 M/S and a 64 Gram Projectile weight. But it shot like crap and the iron sights were more accurate than the rifle. As those things go, it was almost brand new, with a bright and sharp bore. But the entire BBL recoils in the stock and there is so much stuff jumping around that the best groups could be best described as “One minute of Tank”! If you know the old joke.
That puts the lie to Harry Turtledove’s knowledge of all things war like?
Bob:
1. PTRD is a single-shot firearm. It is empty likely because he’s just fired this shot.
2. If you look at this here archive picture of the PTRD, hearing protection is not always worn in combat:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-141-1273-24A%2C_Russland-Mitte%2C_Soldat_mit_Panzerb%C3%BCchse.jpg
Here’s a photo of another fighter in the region shooting a PTRS, where we can *actually see a spent cartridge going through the air* , you can see that the gun has just been fired and yet no hearing protection is worn:
http://seo-top-news.com.ua/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/10325289_774362855937346_8079999996762872064_n.jpg
I have also seen also PTRS in this blog: http://vk.com/strelkov_info
This picture is also one of those included here.
Lots of pictures right from action. If someone has some romantic vision of guerilla war, they are bound to loose it. It gets pretty graphic at times.
Thanks for the link, Denny — very interesting and informative, but also incredibly sad.
It seems that in spite of the obvious lessons of the past replicated in countless scenarios over the course of history, every generation in some part of the world or the other is doomed to repeat the same mistakes under the leadership of those who would take them in that direction for their own ends.
Yes Earl, very true, as you say.
This is all as it happens, in real time. I just watched live video from fighting in Donetsk airport area on 10/5/14 – from rebels side. All what we discussed here before right in front of your eyes. No H-wood, real thing.
Those guys are real cool lot.
Terrorist from the FSB – Girkin, looks cool. Great Malaysian Boeing shot down!
i have been reading up on the PTRD
apparently it has a Recoil operated chamber opening
here is a picture that shows how it is supposed to work http://i15.tinypic.com/4tp2ruh.jpg
now that just terrifying
From the diagram the empty case underneath the gun is fully consistent with having been just fired.
I did know the PTRD auto ejected a case but never knew it was straight underneath the rifle.
Always had a soft spot for Anti tank rifles. Such a short period they where useful and so few types ever produced.
Now, that is slick. Actually whole gun is moving while butt is ‘stationary’ and bolt is automatically unlocked by cam – really smart. The usage of these devices is really testimony to their ingenuity.
Thanks for posting!
What the drawing does not show is the cheek piece made from 1/8″ steel cover with a pad that sepparates your face from the path of the recoiling bolt. See picture above at the head of this article. Scares the crap out of you if you do not know how it works the first time you shoot it.
Ear plugs are not the most important protection you need when shooting it. The muzzle blast is so bad that the concussion will give you a migrane after ten to a dozen shots with out a motorcycle helmet with face plate! Not joking, try it sometime with a .50 BMG rifle with muzzle break and see if I’m wrong!
I remember an article about how the ‘big bore’ enthusiast at every gun magazine – the guy whose idea of fun was to test fire whatever came into the office in .458 mag or .470 Nitro – eventually developed a problem with detaching retinas. Probably the same with a 14.5.
Quite so — eeek!
Still a useful weapon for shooting at Light Vehicles, APCs and Helicopters
I have a PTRD (they’re actually not that rare in Canada) and shoot mild reloads in it – mild enough not to eject the case on their own. Not painful to shoot, but when you pull the trigger that rifle is moving and you’re moving with it. Definitely wouldn’t want to shoot it without muffs. Fascinating to say one still in action though – and probably still pretty effective against light armor.
The term “Minute of tank” comes to mind…..
And…. to top it up, here is video by Marstar Canada:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIU1eJk-P5A
Is that dude wearing a Paracord bracelet???
Soviet practice was to have an assistant gunner load the breech while the gunner kept the butt on his dislocated shoulder by his ruptured ear drums… Yes, the barrel pokes well outside the window, ’tis true. Can one imagine what touching off inside the kitchen would do the interior of the house?
Definitely more than a match for an automobile, truck, or SUV… And a thin skinned APC too.
Never used ear protection except cigarette filters. Can’t hear worth a damn but I can hear better than the folks who were on the other side ’cause they are dead. That’s all that really counts in the end.
BPB: First Counterinsurgency Warfare Group/USMC
vid of ptrd in ukraine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPHcxzJz-eU
http://youtu.be/N03e9S7ev7A
Ah and one more thing… There is no russian troopes in Ukraine… Only volunteers who are helping to protect the civilians from the corrupted government
Does it automatically eject the case or you have to operate the bolt? I read somewhere that it has a semi-automatic breech and the bolt opens upom firing
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Regarding hearing protection. During WW2 my dad would break off the filters of two cigarets and stuff te filters in his ears. “it’s called a “field expedient”