The RGS-50M is a

smoothbore A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. Some examples of smoothbore weapons are muskets, blunderbusses, and flintlock pistols. ...

single-shot In firearm designs, the term single-shot refers to guns that can hold only a single round of ammunition inside and thus must be reloaded manually after every shot. Compared to multi-shot repeating firearms ("repeaters"), single-shot designs have ...

break-action Break action is a type of firearm action in which the barrel(s) are hinged much like a door and rotate perpendicularly to the bore axis to expose the breech and allow loading and unloading of cartridges. A separate operation may be required for ...

Russian

grenade launcher A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially designed, large caliber projectile, often with an explosive, Smoke screen, smoke, or tear gas, gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary gre ...

manufactured by

Degtyarev Plant Degtyaryov Plant (, English: Open Joint Stock Company " V. A. Degtyaryov Plant") or ZiD (Zavod imeni Dеgtyaryovа) is one of the most important weapon and vehicle producing enterprises of Russia. The company is named after Vasily Alekseyevich D ...

. It is mainly intended for

less than lethal Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than conventiona ...

(

riot gun In current usage, a riot gun or less-lethal launcher is a type of firearm used to fire Non-lethal weapon, "non-lethal" or "less-lethal" ammunition for the purpose of suppressing riots or apprehending suspects with minimal harm or risk. Less-leth ...

) and

door breaching Door breaching is a process used by military, police, or emergency services to force open closed or locked doors. A wide range of methods are available depending on the door's opening direction (inward or outward), construction materials, etc., ...

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

roles, but it is also capable of firing

lethal Lethality (also called deadliness or perniciousness) is how capable something is of causing death. Most often it is used when referring to diseases, chemical weapons, biological weapons, or their toxic chemical components. The use of this term ...

projectiles.

Ammunition

Rubber baton, rubber buckshot, teargas grenade, FRAG grenade, Smoke grenade: * GS-50

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...

* GSZ-50 flashbang * EG-50 shock-effect rubber

baton round Baton rounds, also known as kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs), are a less lethal alternative to traditional bullets. Baton rounds are designed to impact rather than to penetrate and are typically used for riot control. Common types of baton round ...

* EG-50M shock-effect rubber pellets

buckshot A shotgun cartridge, shotshell, or shell is a type of rimmed, cylindrical (straight-walled) ammunition used specifically in shotguns. It is typically loaded with numerous small, spherical sub-projectiles called shot. Shotguns typically use a ...

* GO-50 lethal fragmentation grenade * GK-50 lethal

shaped-charge A shaped charge, commonly also hollow charge if shaped with a cavity, is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Different types of shaped charges are used for various purposes such as cutting and forming metal, ...

grenade * GV-50 door-buster * GD-50 instantaneous smoke screen * BK-50 glass-breaking * GS-50M improved tear gas grenade * GS-50PM training grenade

History

The development of the RGS-50M started in the mid-1980s with the first few production models made in the late 1980s, back then known as the RGS-50. In the 1990s, the development of the RGS-50M started with a folding foregrip installed.

Variants

*RGS-50 - Original version *RGS-50M - Upgraded version with improved trigger, stock and recoil buffer

Users

Current

* : Known to be ordered in 2014 for Ministry of Interior.

Former

* : RGS-50s bought by the KGB.

References

{{commons category, RGS-50M Grenade launchers of Russia Riot guns Riot control weapons Teargas grenade guns Degtyarev Plant products