The MP-444 "Bagira" pistol is a modern pistol designed in Russia at the
Izhevsk Mechanical Plant
Izhevsk Mechanical Plant (, ''Izhevsky Mekhanicheskiy Zavod'') or IZHMEKH (ИЖМЕХ) was a major firearms manufacturer founded in Izhevsk in 1942 for manufacturing small arms.
In 2013, it merged with Izhmash to form Kalashnikov Concern.
Hi ...
(IMZ); it was built to replace the
Makarov pistol
The Makarov pistol or PM ( rus, Пистолет Макарова, r=Pistolet Makarova, p=pʲɪstɐˈlʲet mɐˈkarəvə, t=Makarov's Pistol) is a Soviet semi-automatic pistol. Under the project leadership of Nikolay Fyodorovich Makarov, it beca ...
s. This handgun is available in three main chamberings:
.380 ACP,
9×18mm Makarov
The 9×18mm Makarov (designated 9mm Makarov by the C.I.P. and often called 9×18mm PM) is a pistol and submachine gun cartridge developed in the former USSR. During the latter half of the 20th century, it was a standard military pistol cartrid ...
and
9×19mm Parabellum
The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO or simply 9mm) is a Rim (firearms)#Rimless, rimless, Centerfire ammunition, centerfire, tapered cartridge (firearms), firearms cartridge.
Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer ...
. 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 or Ijevsk (, ; , or ) 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 in Russia, and the most populous in Udmurtia, with over 600,000 ...
["''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