The IZh-12 (ИЖ-12) is a Soviet double-barreled

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...

History

IZh-12 was designed in early 1960s as a successor to the IZh-59 "Sputnik", in 1962 first shotguns were made. Since 1963 began its

serial production Serial may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media The presentation of works in sequential segments * Serial (literature), serialised literature in print * Serial (publishing), periodical publications and newspapers * Serial (radio and televisio ...

. In January 1965, the price of one standard IZh-12 was 158

roubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...

. The price of one custom IZh-12 shotgun (with engravings, walnut stock and walnut fore-end) was between 250 and 270 roubles.Отечественные ружья // журнал «Охота и охотничье хозяйство», № 1, 1965. стр.36-37 In 1967, a detachable

diopter sight A diopter sight is an Iron sight#Aperture sights, aperture sight component used to assist the aiming of ranged weapons, mainly firearms, airguns, and crossbows. Diopters function to precisely align the shooter's eye with the front sight and the ...

was proposed for IZh-12 shotguns. In 1974, production was discontinued. In total, 311 633 shotguns have been made and 129 000 of them were sold to foreign countries.Виктор Гуров. Мой любимый ИЖ-12 // журнал "Оружие", № 2, 2003. стр.42-45"''Если до революции охотничье оружие и боеприпасы ввозились в Россию, то сейчас СССР стал экспортером охотничьего оружия более чем в 50 зарубежных стран ... в Англию идут ИЖ-54 и ИЖ-12. Экспортируем мы и готовые патроны, и гильзы, и бездымный порох «Сокол». Это свидетельствует о том, что качество выпускаемой нами охотничьей продукции находится на высоком уровне''"
Э. Штейнгольд. Советское охотничье оружие // «Охота и охотничье хозяйство», № 11, 1967. стр.28-31 In 1976, a new detachable diopter sight was proposed for IZh-12 shotguns.

Design

IZh-12 is an over and under

hammerless A hammerless firearm is a firearm that lacks an exposed hammer (firearm), hammer or hammer spur. Although it may not literally lack a hammer, it lacks an external hammer that the user can manipulate directly. One of the disadvantages of an expo ...

shotgun, with one barrel above the other. Both barrels are chromed and have

chokes Choking, also known as foreign body airway obstruction (FBAO), is a phenomenon that occurs when breathing is impeded by a blockage inside of the respiratory tract. An obstruction that prevents oxygen from entering the lungs results in oxygen d ...

at the muzzle end. It has a walnut or beech stock and fore-end.

Variants

* IZh-15 (''ИЖ-15'') - over/under

combination gun A combination gun is a firearm that usually comprises at least one rifled barrel and one smoothbore barrel, that is typically used with shot or some type of shotgun slug. Most have been break-action guns, although there have been other design ...

with a rifled

5.6×39mm The 5.6×39mm, also known in the U.S. as .220 Russian, is a cartridge developed in 1961 for deer hunting in the USSR. It fires a 5.6mm projectile from necked down 7.62×39mm brass. While it originally re-used 7.62x39 cases, once it became popula ...

barrel over a 16 gauge smoothbore barrel. It has plastic or rubber

recoil pad A recoil pad is a piece of rubber, foam, leather, or other soft material usually attached to the buttstock of a rifle or shotgun. Recoil pads may also be worn around the shoulder with straps, placing the soft material between the buttstock and t ...

on its

shoulder stock A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which is also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock, or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun that provides structural support, to which the barrel, action, and firing mechanism are attac ...

and can be equipped with

optical sight A sight or sighting device is any device used to assist in precise visual alignment (i.e. ''aiming'') of weapons, surveying instruments, aircraft equipment, optical illumination equipment or larger optical instruments with the intended target. ...

Э. В. Штейнгольд. Всё об охотничьем ружье. 2-е изд., испр. и доп. М., «Лесная промышленность», 1978.

Users

* * - unknown number of shotguns were sold as civilian hunting weapon

References

{{Reflist

Sources

* Спортивно-охотничье ружьё ИЖ-12. 1964. - 24 стр. (заказ No. 2525-64) * Двуствольное охотничье ружьё ИЖ-12 // Спортивно-охотничье оружие и патроны. Бухарест, "Внешторгиздат", 1965. стр.32-33 * Е. Стайченко. Опыт подгонки ружья // журнал «Охота и охотничье хозяйство», No. 7, 1972. стр.24 * Л. Е. Михайлов, Н. Л. Изметинский. Ижевские охотничьи ружья. Ижевск, изд-во «Удмуртия», 1976. - 175 стр. : ил. * Л. Е. Михайлов, Н. Л. Изметинский. Ижевские охотничьи ружья. 2-е изд., испр. и доп. Ижевск, изд-во «Удмуртия», 1982. * Ижевское оружие. Том 1. Ижевские ружья / Н. Л. Изметинский, Л. Е. Михайлов. - Ижевск, издательство Удмуртского университета, 1995. - 247 стр. : ил. * ИЖ-12 // В. Н. Трофимов. Отечественные охотничьи ружья гладкоствольные. М., ДАИРС, 2000. стр.263-265 Double-barreled shotguns of the Soviet Union Izhevsk Mechanical Plant products