KS-23

Infobox Weapon
name=KS-23


caption=
origin= flagcountry|Russia
type= Shotgun/Carbine
is_ranged=yes
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is_UK=
service= 1970s-present
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designer= TsNII-Tochmash
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manufacturer=Tulsky Oruzheiny Zavod
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variants=KS-23M
KS-23K
TOZ-123
spec_label=KS-23M
weight= 3.85 kg
length= 1.04 m
part_length= 500 mm
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caliber=23 mm
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action= Pump action
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feed= 3 rd underbarrel tube
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The KS-23 is a Russian shotgun, although because it uses a rifled barrel it is officially designated by the Russian military as a carbine. KS stands for "Karabin Spetsialnyj", "Special Carbine". It is renowned for its large caliber, firing a 23 mm round, equating to 6.27gauge using the American standard of shotgun gauges and approximately 4 gauge using the current European standards, based on the metric 'CIP' tables, making it the most powerful shotgun in use today. By comparison, the Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 cannon uses a 23 mm round, as does the ZSU-23-4 self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons system.

History

The KS-23 was designed in the 1970s for suppressing prison riots. It was created by TsNII-Tochmash, a key Russian weapons developer, for the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD). The barrel for the KS-23 was made from 23 mm anti-aircraft gun barrels that were rejected due to manufacturing flaws. These rejected barrels were deemed to be acceptable for the lower stress of firing slugs and less-lethal rounds, and thus were cut down in length for use as shotgun barrels. The KS-23 began to see use during the mid-1980s by several MVD forces. During the 1990s, research was made into improving the original design to make it usable in confined indoor areas. Two prototypes were proposed, the KS-23M and KS-23K, although only the M version saw use. Today, both the standard KS-23 and the KS-23M are in use by Russian law enforcement.

Ammunition

The KS-23 was created with the capability to fire several different types of ammunition, listed below:
* "Shrapnel-10" buckshot round with 10-meter effective range
* "Shrapnel-25" buckshot round with 25-meter effective range
* "Barricade" cartridge with solid steel projectile able to destroy the engine block of a car at up to 100 meters.
* "Wave-R" rubber less-lethal cartridge
* "Bird cherry" tear gas grenade with CN agent
* "Lilac" tear gas grenade with CS agent
* "Star" flash-bang round

Later, two add-on muzzle mortars were produced, the 36 mm Nasadka-6 and 82 mm Nasadka-12, bringing with them several new ammunition types:
* Blank grenade launching cartridge to be used with muzzle mortars
* 36 mm "Cheremukha-6" tear gas grenade
* 82 mm "Cheremukha-12" "high-efficiency" tear gas grenade for use on open areas

Variants

KS-23

The original KS-23 was developed jointly by NIISpetstekhniki(MVD) and TsNIITochmash in 1981, it was accepted for use by the Russian police in 1985. [ [http://www.gunsite.narod.ru/ks23.htm KS-23 description in Russian] ] The gun has a barrel length of 510 mm and an overall length of 1040 mm. The KS-23 has an underbarrel tubular magazine capable of holding 3 rounds, with one in the tube giving the gun a maximum round capacity of 4. The gun’s effective range is 150 m.

KS-23M

The KS-23M “thrush” (Carbine Special 23 mm modernized) was developed on the base of the KS-23. Development for it was started in October 1990. 25 carbines were submitted for testing on December 10, 1991. After which the winner, then designated S-3, became the KS-23M “thrush” and was accepted for use by the police and the internal troops of Russia. [ [http://www.gunsite.narod.ru/ks23m.htm KS-23m description in Russian] ] The KS-23M includes a detachable wire buttstock and shortened barrel, as opposed to the fixed wooden stock on standard KS-23s. The gun is still cambered in 23 mm. Its overall length with the buttstock is 875 mm, without, 650 mm,and the barrel is 410 mm long. The gun’s effective range is 150 m.

KS-23K

The KS-23K is a redesigned KS-23 that features a bullpup layout. The KS-23K was accepted in 1998 for the use of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs(MVD) [ [http://www.gunsite.narod.ru/ks23k.htm KS-23K description in Russian] ] . Development and adoption of this carbine was motivated by the fact that in the earlier accepted configurations of the KS-23 and KS-23M a major noted deficiency was that the tubular magazine did not make it possible to rapidly reload or change the type of ammunition being used, because of this a major design change for the KS-23K is that it has an extended box magazine that holds 7 shells instead of the 3 shells seen on the other models. The gun has a mechanical safety located on the left side, above the pistol handle and open non adjustable sights. The gun’s effective range is 100 m.

TOZ-123

This civilian version of the KS-23 named the TOZ-123 “drake” is made by Tulsky Oruzheiny Zavod and features a smoothbore design, making it more similar to a traditional shotgun, and is chambered in standard 4-gauge. The gun maker’s website has this as the description for the shotgun.

“The shotgun is multicharged, with a tubular underbarrel magazine of 3-cartridge capacity. Reloading is provided with a removable fore-end. The presence of the special barrel rear projection on the frame combined with the rear sight gives the possibility of mounting an optical sight. The shotgun is intended for the amateur hunting with shot cartridges.” [ [http://www.tulatoz.ru/en/toz123.html TOZ-123 product page] ]

References

External links

*
* [http://www.world.guns.ru/shotgun/sh30-e.htm Modern Firearms: KS-23 riot shotgun / carbine]
* [http://www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/3000/3077.htm Security Arms: KS-23 Shotgun]
* [http://www.bellum.nu/armoury/TOZKS23.html Bellum Armory: TsNII-Tochmash KS-23]
* [http://www.tulatoz.ru/en/toz123.html Tulsky Oruzheiny Zavod: TOZ-123]