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Why would anyone reload an AK-47 with one hand? Why should a soldier brandish his weapon? And how to gain an advantage in shooting competitions? Here are some unconventional ways to keep shooting. Iraqi reloading. If there were a " greatest of all time" among firearms, it would be the AK-47 and its derivatives. It is cheap, reliable and is found wherever it is needed. It has become the main weapon for both states and rebels with limited budgets. Despite all its advantages, it has one drawback. Recharging can be a hassle. Do n't get me wrong, it's not that difficult, but it can be a bit inconvenient. The magazine latch is located behind the receiver; it must be pressed and the magazine must be pushed
forward at the same time. Compare this to its big rival, the M-16, which has a button on the side of the body. Pressed it - the magazine fell out, and the weapon was ready for a new one. This can be overcome with a little training, but faster is always better. So, Iraqi reloading. No one knows for sure who coined the term, but it likely came from coalition soldiers working with Iraqi forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom. When the last round has been fired, use your right hand to pull and hold the slide back, pressing the stock against your shoulder. With your left hand, grab the new magazine and use it to knock out the old one.
Insert a new one, grab the butt, and then release the bolt. Is this elegant? Not at all. Is it effective? Perhaps. Such handling could damage the bolt or other parts, but this is an AK, so if any weapon can withstand rough handling, it's this one. HK-slap. The H&K MP5 is one of the most successful submachine guns, popular with the police, the army, and very famous in movies. It was there that many learned about the unconventional way of charging it. After firing the last round, the bolt is manually pulled back and locked in the recess. Then a new magazine is inserted, and the bolt must be removed from the lock and released. If
the bolt is stuck in the groove, H&K recommends striking it. And yes, that's the term they use in the MP5 manual. This will return the bolt to the ready-to- fire position. Smoothly tracking the shutter forward prevents this situation. And let's be honest, it also looks cool. Tactical, emergency and fast reloading with magazine retention. Although not specific techniques, tactical and emergency reloading are widely practiced, studied, and discussed by shooters around the world. Emergency Recharge is exactly what the name suggests. Bullets are flying, and ammo is running out. Usually, when changing the magazine, the empty one is hidden. After all, they are reusable. In an emergency, they forget about this.
The magazine is unloaded, a new one is inserted as quickly as possible, and the next round is sent into the chamber and fired instantly. It's not fancy, just pure practicality in a stressful situation. When the situation is a little calmer, tactical reloading is used. After a few shots, if there is a pause in the battle, a new magazine is taken out, the partially empty one is thrown away, and a fresh one is inserted when the cartridge is already in the chamber. There is no need to [__] the shutter. That way, if things go wrong, you'll have a full magazine ready to use in the middle of a fight. Tactical reloading can be performed while simultaneously manipulating new and half-empty magazines. Take the new magazine with your other hand, bring it up to
the shaft, eject the old magazine and catch it, then insert the new one before removing the partially used one. This can be a little awkward and takes some practice. Reloading with retention is similar, but involves removing the old magazine, storing it properly, and then inserting a full magazine. A little slower, but much easier. With both tactical and conservation reloading, the rounds in half-empty magazines remain accessible and ready to use when needed. A full magazine is better than a half-empty one, but a partially loaded one is better than none.
Firearms instructors may use different methods and mix up terminology, but they are all ways to quickly reload. Paired charging. Removable box magazines simplify loading the weapon. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions, shotguns do not use detachable magazines. Most pump-action shotguns are loaded from a tubular magazine built into the weapon that cannot be removed, so cartridges can only be loaded one at a time. If only there was a way to speed up this process. Humans are competitive creatures and will find any
way to win. Participants in three-weapon shooting competitions use rifles, pistols, and shotguns to engage targets, and are judged on accuracy and speed. When fractions of a second decide the fate of victory, the pair loading method was born. Instead of loading shotgun shells one at a time, the competitor takes two shells and aligns them in his hand. The front cartridge is held with the little finger, and the rear cartridge is held with the index finger. The thumb aligns the cartridges and helps hold them in place. The shotgun is then raised to shoulder level and flipped over; This is called the " violinist's position" because it resembles playing this stringed instrument. In this position, the loading hole, which is usually directed downwards,
is on the right side for right-handed people. After that, the cartridges are simultaneously pushed into the tubular magazine. In some cases, the cartridges are held in a special device called a "caddie" attached to the buttstock next to the loading port. There is also a practice called "quad- reloading": it is similar, but as the name suggests, the shooter takes four rounds and stacks them in pairs on top of each other. The first pair is inserted into the magazine, then the second, and all this is done in two quick movements. These methods can be quite complex, but with enough practice, the tedious process of reloading a shotgun can be turned into a quick and efficient one. Although it's not easy, double and quadruple loading is faster than single-
shot loading. " Vic's Click." The standard way to reload a semi-automatic weapon is to press the magazine release, let the magazine fall out, and then insert a new one. The driving force that pushes the empty magazine out is gravity . This is perfectly acceptable, but sometimes you want to add a little style. Some participants in pistol and three-barreled shooting competitions help the magazine exit the weapon with a sharp movement of the wrist, adding momentum to remove it more quickly. This may be slightly faster, but has a drawback: the weapon moves off the line of sight, forcing the shooter to adjust the sight.
This technique was used only occasionally, it was quite niche. And then, in 2014, the action movie "John Wick" was released. The film, like its sequels and spin-offs, received rave reviews for its proper handling of weapons and relative realism. In preparation for his role as a former assassin, Keanu Reeves trained extensively with weapons and martial arts, mastering the three-weapon competition shooting style. Movies show the real capacity of magazines, and reloading has become an important part of gunfights. When Reeves needed to reload, he would eject the magazine with a quick flick of his wrist. This once- little-known technique was called the "
Vic Click," and many gun enthusiasts have tried it simply because it looks cool. When bullets are flying in a hail and ammunition is urgently needed, people come up with all sorts of ways to keep firing. If you're not cheating, you're not trying. And the soldiers don't need to repeat it twice. Of course, weapons could be used as usual, but some resourceful soldiers used them creatively, insidiously, and even cunningly, which gave them an unexpected advantage on the battlefield. Sometimes it was possible to shoot at the enemy without even being in position. Drop rifle. During World War I, Australian and New Zealand troops fought against the Ottoman Empire in the Gallipoli Campaign, which was a complete disaster. After 8 months of fruitless
fighting, it was decided that the ANZAC troops would retreat. Evacuation in the face of the enemy is dangerous, and an Ottoman counterattack could result in significant losses during the retreat. Corporal William Skerry enters the scene. He came up with the concept of the drop rifle. The spare rifle was positioned so that it was aimed at the Ottoman positions. A metal can filled with water was hung above the rifle. A hole was punched in the can, and the water drained into another container connected to the enough water filled the tank, its weight pressed down on the hook, firing the shot.
These rifles were placed along the trenches for sporadic fire, creating the illusion of the presence of soldiers. But because they were rifles with a longitudinally sliding bolt, each could only be fired once. That wasn't the only part of the deception. Effigies in ANZAC uniforms were placed in abandoned trenches, and instead of real guns, mock-ups made of wagon wheels and corrugated iron were used. During the retreat, the Ottomans were certain that there were still men in the trenches, which was facilitated by this chaotic shooting from drop rifles along the front line. For his efforts, William Skerry was promoted to sergeant, awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, and later retired with the rank of captain. Quaker cannons. During the
American Civil War, the Confederacy had supply problems and did not possess production capabilities equal to those of the Union forces. So they did the only thing possible-they won through bluff. After the First Battle of Manassas, or Bull Run, the Confederacy could threaten Washington. Cavalry commander Jeb Stewart advanced 6 miles to the city and erected a series of formidable gun positions. The problem was that he had virtually no artillery. Therefore, he installed " Quaker cannons". These were fake artillery guns, made to resemble real ones. According to General James Longstreet, "We collected a few old wagon wheels and mounted
them with stovepipes of various calibers until we had formidable- looking batteries, some of them of sufficient caliber to threaten Alexandria and even the national capital and the presidential estate." End of quote. After two months of sowing panic, the Confederates abandoned their positions, abandoning their "Quaker guns" to their fate. Northern newspapers wasted no time ridiculing the Union leadership, especially General George McClellan, for being so easily fooled. "Quaker guns" were used in other episodes of the war, such as during the siege of Galveston in Texas, although the masquerade was revealed after a storm that overturned several guns, each of which allegedly weighed over two tons, but was put in place by only two men.
Union leaders were happy to point this out during subsequent prison escape weapon. Fake weapons don't have to be huge artillery to achieve an effect. In 1934, notorious outlaw John Dillinger was incarcerated in Lake County Jail in Indiana. But that didn't mean he would stand aside and simply await his fate. On March 3, he somehow obtained a fake gun. Dillinger claimed to have made it himself, but it was most likely Either way, this fake gun is unconvincing, to say the least Just under 6 inches long, the crude wooden frame had a handle from a safety razor as a makeshift barrel and two small nails in place of a sight. It was also covered in black shoe polish to complete the illusion, and of course, was completely non-functional.
However, the prison guards were unwilling to take any chances, and Dillinger bluffed his way through the prison until he and an accomplice obtained Thompson submachine guns, after which they escaped in a sheriff's car. He continued his short crime spree, but in July, John Dillinger was shot and killed by FBI agents. Traps and captured weapons. A simple way to use a weapon to mislead your enemy is to set a trap on it. Since the beginning of time, soldiers have always searched for souvenirs on battlefields, and enemy weapons are one of the most valuable trophies. This may seem obvious, but there is a risk involved. An enemy can attach a simple stretch cord to a grenade or improvised explosive device. So when a careless
soldier grabs the rifle, the device explodes. Soldiers are warned to be extremely careful when retrieving enemy weapons, especially those that are simply left in plain sight, as if begging to be taken away. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Captured enemy weapons can serve more than just souvenirs. Most modern firearms produce distinctive sounds that experienced soldiers can instantly recognize. If this weapon is used against its wielders, the familiar sound could make the enemy believe they are facing their own forces, potentially causing hesitation at a critical moment. However, this can backfire on you. If the enemy can be deceived, then it is possible to deceive your own people, who will think that the fire
is being directed by the enemy, and will open fire on your own people. It is generally not recommended to use captured weapons to avoid possible " friendly fire". Frontline default trick. The enemy can also be deceived by the strategic use of one's own firepower. On the front lines, the intensity of fire is a pretty good indicator of the number of soldiers in a given sector; Commanders can assess the volume of fire and understand where the enemy has thin defense lines and where there is a full formation. This can be used to deceive the enemy and lure them into a trap. Instead of shooting everyone during a battle, a significant portion of soldiers or artillery crews simply
do not open fire and wait patiently. The lower intensity of the fire suggests that there are fewer soldiers than there actually are, which may tempt them to attack. When they launch a large-scale offensive, an One example of this is Pickett's Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg. Before the offensive began, Confederate artillery began shelling the center of the Allied positions. Allied batteries opened fire in return, but soon began to fall silent. The Confederates took this as a sign of the effectiveness of their fire and the disabling of Allied guns.
The decision was made, and the infantry offensive began. In fact, the Allied artillery commander, General Henry Hunt, knew that the intensity of the enemy fire indicated that an infantry attack was imminent. To deceive the Confederates and conserve ammunition, he ordered his guns to cease fire. The Confederates bought into this trick and launched an offensive. As soon as their infantry entered the open field in front of the Allied positions, the silent guns moved into position and opened fire, tearing the Confederate line to pieces. This was not the only factor, but such cunning helped repel Pickett's attack, leading to victory in the battle. Similar tactics can be used both at the level of small units and on large fronts.
Guns can focus on one area, attracting the enemy's attention, and then the attack can take place in a completely different location. It may seem obvious, but this tactic has been used time and time again throughout history, and will undoubtedly be used in the future-the " road agent U-turn." Of course, gun tricks could be used to avoid going to jail at all. In the Wild West, one of the most notorious criminals was John Wesley Hardin. One of the most famous sheriffs was James Butler Hickok, better known as Wild Bill. According to Hardin, they met in Abilene, Kansas, in 1871, where Hickok was the local sheriff. The city had a strict ban on guns, and Hickok made the remark to Hardin over a pair of pistols on his belt. Hardin took out his pistols and
handed them to Hikoku, but first, as the officer reached for them, Hardin performed a " traffic agent's turn," also known as a " border roll." He lowered the pistols, gripping the trigger guard with his index finger, and then turned them so that the barrels pointed at Hickok. Hickok apparently found this amusing, and the two of them had a drink at a local saloon. Although Hardin's weapon was taken away prematurely, because the law is the law. It is important to note that this was Hardin's own account, so the details may have been exaggerated, if not entirely fictional. These are just a few of the ways weapons were used to mislead, confuse, and deceive opponents- soldiers, criminals, or robbers. Anyone who uses a
weapon will find a way to deceive the enemy and survive to continue the fight. You are looking at a rifle that has already seen a lot. The coating had worn away and the edges had rounded from years of wear, of being put down, picked up again, and worn again. Dust seeped into every seam and corner. Nothing about it suggests precision engineering or laboratory perfection. And then you notice the rubber band: wide, pink, tightly wrapped around the butt. Under it, a small cloth pouch is pressed tightly against the metal. These are not bullets or tools, but a first aid kit-medical equipment attached directly to the weapon. Not because
someone intended it that way, and not because the instructions say so, but because a soldier once decided that if he were bleeding, disoriented, panicking, or barely conscious, the only thing he would almost certainly hold on to was his rifle. So he put the thing that could save his life on top of what he was fighting for. During the Soviet war in Afghanistan, soldiers were issued small individual first aid kits. On paper, they were supposed to lie in pockets or pouches. In fact, there is always little space on a soldier's body. Every pocket is already filled. Every result competes with something. Comfort is not a design priority. So a solution emerged that was not invented by engineers or theorists. They took a Smark tourniquet, a wide
elastic band for stopping critical bleeding, and used it like a giant rubber band. The first aid kit was attached to the butt of the machine gun, and a tourniquet was wrapped around both. Now the first aid kit was always at hand. It is easy to get, hard to lose, and impossible to forget. With a weapon like the AKS-74, it was even easier. Its folding metal skeleton stock had an empty triangular space. This hole was originally made to lighten the weight, but soldiers found it ideal for attaching a pouch.
Tightly wrapped in a tourniquet, the first aid kit was held during marches, climbs, and battles. There was an additional advantage. The bare metal of the butts becomes icy in the winter and scorching hot in the summer. Pressing your cheek against frozen steel for hours is a special kind of suffering. The rubber wrap created a thin layer of insulation-not much, but enough. It wasn't elegant or officially approved, it just worked. Although there were also some problems. Rubber exposed to sun, heat, and cold dries out and becomes brittle over time. A cracked turnstile could break when pulled, completely negating its purpose. The soldiers did it anyway because it solved several problems at once. And this detail says a lot about how war
actually functions. We are used to imagining modern warfare as a world of satellites, digital guidance systems, stealth coatings, and guided munitions. All of this exists, but there is another level beneath it. A level built from tape, rubber, rope, and wire. Cheap materials come in handy because the battlefield is a machine for destroying equipment. Everything is shaking from the vibrations. Everything is cracking. Everything gets worn out, bent, and broken. And waiting for perfect solutions costs people their lives. During World War II, Vesta Staudt, an employee at an American ammunition factory, noticed a small but dangerous flaw in the packaging of boxes of ammunition.
The boxes were sealed with paper tape covered with wax. A small tab was left at one end so that soldiers could quickly open the box. The tongue was constantly coming off prematurely. When this happened, the soldier had to take out a knife or bayonet to open the box. Lost seconds, distractions- it matters in combat. Staudt suggested replacing the paper tape with a strong, waterproof, At first, no one listened to her. However, she did not give up. Eventually, development began. The result was a strong, waterproof fabric tape, initially green in color, which was soon nicknamed "duck tape," and later reinforced because it repelled water and was made from cotton "duck" fabric. It wasn't invented to become famous. It was
created to eliminate a minor technical obstacle that was slowing down soldiers. As soon as it appeared, soldiers immediately began using it for everything. Well, you know, because things tend to break. Vehicles shake while driving. Electrical insulation is fraying. Rubber hoses crack. The plastic is cracking. The panels are coming off and the wires are hanging down. A perfect repair requires parts, tools, and time. None of this is necessary for the tape. A strip of tape can seal a small hole long enough to get to safety. It can insulate a bare wire. It will prevent the panel from falling off from vibration. This solution is so reliable that soldiers
jokingly called it the " 100 mph tape " or "1,000 mph tape." If the tape holds, the equipment can move on. Tape has also found its place in medical improvisation. It fixes bandages, fastens splints, and creates pressure where it is impossible to hold with your hands. No one is saying it's ideal, but war doesn't encourage ideals. War encourages functionality. The tape began to appear on the weapon almost immediately. One of the easiest ways to use it is speed. Recharging takes time. Even well-trained soldiers take a few seconds to dump an empty magazine and insert a new one. At close range, those seconds matter. Therefore, the soldiers taped the stores together.
Two stores next to each other, usually in opposite directions. When one is empty, the soldier disconnects it, turns the pair over, and inserts the second one. There's no need to jump to conclusions or fumble around. The next store is already in hand. This became common during World War II, especially among American troops fighting in the jungles of the South Thompson submachine guns, M3s, and M1 carbines. The terrain with limited visibility meant sudden collisions, and sudden rewarded speed. There are also disadvantages. The extra weight, altered balance, and an open spare magazine can collect dirt. For these reasons, many military officials disapprove of this
practice. Unofficially, many soldiers still do this, because gaining half a second on reloading is worth spending a little longer cleaning your weapon later. Speed is one concern, being noticed is another. Modern camouflage uniforms are designed for specific environmental conditions. Rifles are usually black. Black is simple and practical, but it stands out against the background of nature. So the soldiers simply wrap them with tape. Sniper tape is a matte adhesive fabric tape that reduces glare and blurs the contours of weapons. Wrapped around the stocks and forend, it masks the uniform color and removes shine. This also protects against scratches, and most importantly, helps the soldier
remain invisible. This is important for most snipers. A sniper lives and dies by camouflage. One of the easiest ways to reveal a hidden position is through reflection. The front lens of a riflescope can catch sunlight and flash like a tiny mirror. During the Vietnam War, a skilled enemy sniper was killing American soldiers at an alarming rate. Marine sniper Carlos Getkak was assigned to track him down. After a long chase, Gatcock noticed a faint glow in the distance. He shot. The bullet went straight through the enemy sniper's sight and killed him. The lesson was simple. Light reflects, and glare kills. To reduce this risk, snipers began taping the front lens of their scopes with tape, punching a small hole in the middle.
They deliberately made their optics worse: they became a little dimmer and narrower, because seeing less is safer than being seen. None of these modifications look impressive. They are not futuristic. They are not elegant and do not look good in photos. They exist in a quieter plane of war, where survival depends on noticing small problems before they become fatal. A soldier in Afghanistan attaching medical equipment to a rifle, a strip of tape keeping a vehicle moving, two magazines connected together, a deliberately closed scope lens. These are not acts of genius. This is attention to detail for the sake of survival. War is often described as a technology competition
between countries. It's also a competition of improvisation: seeing what's not working and fixing it with what's at hand. Sometimes it's a pink rubber band. Sometimes it's a roll of tape. In any case, it's rarely something anyone planned, and very often it's what saves someone's life. The need was for ingenuity, and rather than wait years for research and development, militaries that needed specific weapons often took matters into their own hands. Soldiers in World War I were typically issued bolt-action rifles, which were fantastic for long-range shooting but had a significant disadvantage in trenches, street fighting, or close quarters in general. If there was a country that picked up the idea of improvised weapons, it was Russia. The
Eastern Front did not have the protracted trench warfare of the Western Front, but they found another reason to cut down weapons to more convenient sizes. Partisans, bandits, revolutionaries, and even peasants who wanted to defend themselves needed weapons that could be easily hidden from prying eyes. The main rifle of the Russian troops was the Mosin-a very reliable and popular, but long weapon. Since pistols were hard to come by, the Mosin rifle began to be modified. saw"-it had no standard shape or size, and its appearance depended on the creator's needs or what he could do without ruining the rifle. These could be simple changes, such as
shortening the barrel to convert a rifle into a carbine, or drastic trimming to the size of a bolt-action pistol. Despite the shortening, the Mosin-based "obrez" still used the powerful 7.62 x 54 mm R cartridge. The recoil was extremely strong, and since the "obrez" had no front sight, accuracy at distances of more than a few steps was more of a dream than a reality. Despite these shortcomings, they were frequently used by all sides in the civil wars and independence movements that swept the Russian Empire and the newly formed Soviet Union. They were easy to hide under the floor, in the chimney, or under a long coat until the right moment. Although the Mosin rifle was the most common, other rifles were also converted in this way, such as German Mausers,
Japanese Arisakis, and whatever else was at hand. Trench warfare prevailed on the Western Front, where standard rifles were too long to use in the confined space of trenches. To fix this, pistols were used, but they were not always available. Therefore, soldiers removed the bayonets from their rifles and used them as knives, used sapper shovels as melee weapons, and sometimes created their own tools that looked like objects from the medieval battlefield. Batons made from furniture legs or other pieces of wood, studded with nails or wrapped with barbed wire. Knuckles with attached knives, maces, and even garden shears have appeared on modern battlefields, prompting some soldiers to wear homemade metal armor-something more appropriate at
Agincourt than in the 20th century. Although these melee weapons were used, soldiers desired something more reliable. Due to a shortage of pistols and an unwillingness to wait for the command to issue equipment for trench warfare, they took existing weapons and made their own modifications. These changes were not made by professional gunsmiths, but by desperate soldiers using hacksaws. One method of breaking the constant stalemate was to tunnel through "no man's land" directly beneath enemy trenches. The end of the tunnel was filled with explosives and detonated, destroying the enemy fortifications below. The diggers could encounter an
enemy underground, digging their own tunnels. The fighting was fierce, with both sides fighting on an underground battlefield. Rifles were useless in such conditions, so soldiers used pistols, sapper shovels, and other close-combat weapons. At least once the rifle was used, but not as the statutes provided. There is evidence that at least one British SMLE rifle, shortened to a minimum, was used. Details are scarce, but it appears that it was used by Canadian sappers near Ypres. The barrel of the weapon was significantly shortened, protruding only a few inches beyond the receiver, so its total length barely exceeded 60 cm.
It had no bayonet mount or front sight, which were cut off along with part of the barrel. One can only guess at the accuracy and range of this weapon, but in the tight tunnels it didn't matter. The battles in the tunnels were fierce but brief. The one who could apply more force faster won, and the shortened rifle gave a slight advantage in firepower. It could mean the difference between life and death. Of course, modifying the rifle was strictly prohibited by the command, but such trifles as the rules did not stop those who wanted to survive in the trenches.
Most likely, this particular SMLE was damaged or had lost its sights. And in the end, what the authorities don't know, they won't know. On the other side of the front, the Germans also used their own shortened weapons. The Maxim 08/18 is an unusual submachine gun, a simple shortened version of the MG 08 machine gun. Other than that, very little information is available. It appears to have been fed from a multi-row magazine and, although based on the MG 08, fired only 9mm Parabellum rounds. Judging by the few photos, there is no doubt that it was an improvised weapon. It is actually a wooden stock and two pistol grips mounted on a receiver with a short barrel.
Any other information about this weapon is unknown: rate of fire, number of units fired, range, accuracy, reliability, or whether it participated in battles. Even her name is unknown. The name "Maxim 08/18" was given because experts could not find a better option, and some simply call it SMG 08/18. Its existence, however, shows the importance attached to shortened improvised weapons during World War I. The Americans also wasted no time in learning the lessons of this conflict. Although there are no reports of shortened Springfield M1903s, US soldiers modified other rifles for trench warfare.
Shotguns, which had already been successfully used in the Philippines to suppress rebellions, were used with devastating effectiveness against the Germans. Capable of firing impressive volleys of buckshot at close range, these "trench guns" were significantly shorter than standard rifles. The soldiers who used them further trench brooms" by sawing off the barrels to even more compact sizes. This weapon was brutally effective and reportedly caused the Germans to officially protest its use. The Americans largely ignored threats of retaliation and continued to use them until the end of the war. Even after the war, the concept of "trimming" acquired mythical status and was used during the Spanish Civil War, World War II, and later. And even
today they are a popular collectible among firearm enthusiasts. For the most part, "sawn-offs" are rifles with a longitudinally sliding bolt, although other types of weapons were also shortened. Other semi-automatic rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, and almost everything else were shortened from their original size to make them easier to conceal or adapt to certain circumstances. Even today, unusual homemade patterns in the "obrez " style continue to be used. What can only be called a " Frankenstein weapon"-the Soviet PPSh-41, a standard submachine gun from was recently found in Iraq.
Its wooden stock was cut so that the curve turned into a pistol grip, and the barrel was shortened to a palm's width from the receiver. Even more unusual, the weapon was re-chambered for the 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge and adapted to fit the magazines of the German MP 40. It is small enough to be fired one-handed, but, as with all "sawn-offs", the recoil must be enormous, and firing bursts from one hand probably poses a serious health threat. This just goes to show that on the battlefield, a little ingenuity and access to a hacksaw can make a big difference.
