The MP-444 "Bagira" pistol is a modern pistol designed in Russia at the
Izhevsk Mechanical Plant
Izhevsk Mechanical Plant (russian: Ижевский Механический Завод, ''Izhevsky Mekhanicheskiy Zavod'') or IZHMEKH (ИЖМЕХ) was a major firearms manufacturer founded in Izhevsk in 1942 for manufacturing small arms.
Histo ...
(IMZ); it was built to replace the
Makarov pistol
The Makarov pistol or PM ( rus, Пистоле́т Мака́рова, r=Pistolét Makárova, p=pʲɪstɐˈlʲet mɐˈkarəvə, t=Makarov's Pistol) is a Soviet semi-automatic pistol. Under the project leadership of Nikolay Fyodorovich Makarov, it ...
s. This handgun is available in three main chamberings:
.380 ACP
The .380 ACP (9×17mm) ( Automatic Colt Pistol) is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Moses Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case.Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pisto ...
,
9×18mm Makarov
The 9×18mm Makarov (designated 9mm Makarov by the C.I.P. and often called 9×18mm PM) is a Soviet pistol and submachine gun cartridge. During the latter half of the 20th century it was a standard military pistol cartridge of the Soviet Union an ...
and
9×19mm Parabellum. It also uses a detachable, box-type, double-column magazine.
History
The design of MP-444 is based on the design of MP-443 pistol.
In November 2000 one MP-444 pistol was presented at "INTERPOLITEX-2000" Arms exhibition in Moscow, and it was offered for export.
[Юрий Амелин. "Багира" происходит от "Грача" // журнал "Оружие", № 9, 2000. стр.38-43]
Design
The frame of the pistol is made of strong thermosetting plastic, with the operational steel elements, which makes this a lightweight weapon, built into a plastic construction. The travel of barrel in the close/open cycle is achieved by interaction of two slopes; a primary slope located on the lower part of the barrel and the secondary scope located on the base of the return/buffer mechanism. The buffer is made available to absorb and reduce shock loads of both barrel and slide in their extreme rear positions. The striker has a special cocking feature that looks like a hammer of a standard pistol. This construction allows the shooter to cock the striker manually, thus enabling a double-action operation or an operation with a preliminary cocked striker. An extractor has a dual function: that of extracting an empty case and the second case, which is an indicator of ammo in the magazine. If the extractor's front tip is slightly elevated, the pistol has ammunition. If the extractor is flush and even, this tells the pistoleer that he ran out of cartridges.
Users
*
* - since 2003 adopted as training pistol
Museum exhibits
* one MP-444 pistol is in collection of
M. T. Kalashnikov Museum in
Izhevsk
Izhevsk (russian: Иже́вск, p=ɪˈʐɛfsk; udm, Ижкар, ''Ižkar'', or , ''Iž'') is the capital city of Udmurtia, Russia. It is situated along the Izh River, west of the Ural Mountains in Eastern Europe. It is the 21st-largest city i ...
["''MK_OF-850 Пистолет МР-444 (№ 99 ОП 013)''"Электронный каталог]
/ M. T. Kalashnikov Museum official website
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:MP-444
Semi-automatic pistols of Russia
.380 ACP semi-automatic pistols
9×18mm Makarov semi-automatic pistols
9mm Parabellum semi-automatic pistols
Izhevsk Mechanical Plant products