Russian High-caliber Revolver

Has anyone heard of the Russian RSh-12 revolver chambered in 12.7mm x 55mm rounds? All the information I can find on it is that it has a lower barrel firing from the bottom of the cylinder, it is double action, 357mm (14.1 inches) long, 2.2 kilograms (4.9 pounds), is 159mm (6.3 inches) tall, has a 53mm (2.1 inch) wide cylinder, it holds five of said rounds, and is said to be the most powerful revolver in the world. Anyone know anything else?

This is the only verified photo of the RSh-12 revolver.

 

There are some really big bears in Russia. And too, some of the Russian Mafia crew are big boys -- big critters with loads of tattoos.

 

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/09/17/meet-rsh-12-powerful-revolver-world-russian/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASh-12.7

http://modernfirearms.net/en/assault-rifles/russia-assault-rifles/ash-12-7-eng/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12.7×55mm_STs-130

https://www.revolvy.com/page/12.7×55mm-STs%2D130

 

This is all very interesting as a historical proof of existence..but it is not a item I would want to own.

Mostly because the ammo is so not carried by anyone out there without special ordering....special availability...meaning expensive.

Ammo would have to be manufactured...particularly the brass cases.

Articles on he 12.7 x 55mm ammo indicates it is fabricated via .338 Lapua casings...by a laborious and detailed process.

I have an older book titled...."The Handloaders Manual of Cartridge Conversions" wherein it is detailed how to fabricate brass for many firearms...

This 12.7mm x 55mm loading seems to be a newer development as it is not listed in this book.

Thanks,
Watcherchris

 

Yes, this round is indeed newer. Designed in 2002 most of my sources say.

One other somewhat interesting detail is that very soon after it was "revealed" (not much of a reveal) the Smith & Wesson Performance Center .500 revolvers were released and were deemed much more powerful and no one heard of this Russian revolver again, so it seems fair to say that Russia may have felt that they had lost to America - AGAIN - and gave up on this project. OR it was meant to be a secret government program for special forces or the President's security detail or whatever and they didn't want any more info slipping again. I have seen American articles about the RSh-12 from before the .500 was released and the say that they have heard that S&W intend for it to be really powerful. Either way the S&W .500 was more powerful when it was released (as sources say... S&W=3,888J ; RSh-12=2,567J) and it was more readily available so people buy that.

Interesting book btw. I found a copy at a Barnes and Noble near me and might go pick it up.

 

Yep I took a look at all these pages when gathering my info. Have you ever had to fight one of those big annoying Russians without an unfair advantage (knife, gun, etc.) before? It ain't fun unless you take the knees out quick.

 

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/09/17/meet-rsh-12-powerful-revolver-world-russian/

This thing looks like a monster! The underslung barrel should make it so that the recoil is more straight back than the flip up of a standard revolver. With a cartridge of this size I don't know if that is a good thing or not. One thing I read talked about it being used as a lock breaching tool! Bet it kicks like a MULE!

 

Yep I noticed that about the barrel too. Like a Mateba Italia Unica 6 or a Chiappa Rhino.

 

Me, I think the only reason the handgun exists is to chamber the same subsonic round used by the Russian military in an automatic rifle of theirs, the ASh-12.7 rifle.

Y'know, it's one of those "Wouldn't it be neat if ... " concoctions.

 

Here's a "Look what I can do" video:

 

That thing is a Bisley buntline handcannon!! Now I know what to use if I ever want to hunt dinosaurs with a handgun!

 

Yeah...I knew another fellow like me.....dumb enough to buy a Thompson Contender in a rifle caliber....

You know the type......lets unzip to see who has the biggest one ..so to speak. Pardon the crudity.

Well this fellow purchased his Thompson Contender in .444 Marlin. I thought my .35 Remington is a mule and it is......But it is not a .444 Marlin.

This Russian Revolver ..the same thing.

In addition to expensive...I expect it is not very forgiving.....in like manner to my .35 Remington or the .444 Marlin...in the Thompson Contender.

I also think that follow up shots can be rough.

Just my .02,

While interesting from a historical standpoint...not something to which I would ever aspire to own.


Watcherchris
Not an Ishmaelite.

 

Yeah it seems to be made by the same weapons foundry (that's my own term for a company that supplies for a specific group from usually one specific factory) that makes that ASh-12, other than just the name and like you said, it is the same round, but I've heard chatter that it is the same foundry and that the image is a prototype for their military or whatever.

 

Yeah imagining shooting a rifle round in a heavy revolver is bad enough lol. But I think follow up shots may not be a huge issue since the barrel is lowered so the gun shouldn't jump upwards so much as backwards.... if logic is on our side right now. I also wouldn't want to own it unless I really needed to kill something really, really big. Or a building.

 

A TC in a 35 Remington is pretty cool but a 444 marlin or a 45-70 is just too much of a not so good thing. The 454 Cassul's recoil was so bad that they recommended never to load more than three cartridges in the cylinder when hunting dangerous game because the recoil would cause the bullet to move forward and lock up the revolver. American Derringer Co. makes an over and under derringer in 45-70!!! To me if a 44 mag won't do the job you need to move up to a rifle.

 

I myself like rifles, much more accurate and powerful , all through handguns for personal protection are fast for up close stuff.

 

I got smart Texdanm...in using this .35 Remington in the Thompson Contender. I go to Home Depot and buy those nylon working gloves with a thin rubber coating on one side....that does the trick in handling a lot of the stout recoil..

I wont be buying anything like that again...though I am still looking for a 14 inch barrel in .41 Magnum. Now that I think I can easily handle.

We sometimes get to soon olde...and to late smart.!!!

Thanks,
Watcherchris.

 

The 35 Remington TC that I was shooting was a Super 14 and it seemed to tame it a little and made it shootable without leaving you with a sore hand after a days shooting. The same gun in 30-30 crossed that line and was not fun after a few shots. It was pretty impressive though how well a 30-30 shoots when you can reload it with pointed boat tail bullets.

 

Were you shooting a pistol version of the .30-30? I shoot .50 AE from a friend's Deagle Mk. I pretty regularly and double tap the trigger a lot with no issues on my hand. I don't know maybe it's just the way I hold the guns but I have yet to feel a sore hand from a pistol

 

Yes the Thompson Center Contender is a break action single shot pistol. The Super 14 is a longer barreled slightly heavier framed version of the standard Thompson Center. TC also makes break action rifles now but back then they were only pistols.

How many times have you gone out and shot 50 to 100 rounds through that 50AE? We were shooting silhouettes and shot a lot of rounds in a secession. It wasn't unusual for us to shoot 500 rounds of various handgun ammo in a day back then. We would reload all week and then head out Saturday for a day at the range. Some times we also were working on loads for rifles and actually set up a press and scales and loaded at the range seeking the elusive one hole group. I bruised the hell out of my shoulder once loading for a guy that was going to Alaska for a big brown bear. That 338 Winchester Magnum was loaded heavy and kicked like a mule. I probably shot about 40 rounds before I put a sand bag on my shoulder.

It is also possible that we are talking about a different type of shooting. If you are standing then your arm, shoulder and body all recoil together. This spreads the recoil out. I was either laying on a bench with the gun across bags while I was working for a load and then laying on my back with the handgun between my knees for the freehand shooting. Trying to hit the top of the ram at 300 meters with open sights requires a much firmer hold than off hand shooting and your hand takes a lot more of a beating. You want the gun, as much as possible to recoil back rather then flip up.

At the time I was doing gunsmith work, had a Federal Firearms License and was shooting an insane amount and doing custom reloading.

 

Yeah we usually shoot 50 rounds each every other week and every so often 100 rounds. We've ben doing that for a couple months now. He's getting a S&W .500 revolver soon and we're gonna get a few boxes for that. I've been told the recoil is alot worse on that than .50 AE, which makes sense.

Backwards recoil like the RSh-12, Mateba and Chiappa with the lower barrel. Hopefully I will be able to get the Mateba eventually. Those aren't cheap.

 

When you are going for sub minute of angle groups with longer barrels the less your muzzle jump the better. The TC being a breach action places the barrel lower into the hand. I never had much trouble with recoil causing sore hands when shooting off hand standing or really just casually shooting off the bench. The Remington XP-100 was a single shot bullpup bolt action pistol that in 35 Remington was fun to shoot at tiny targets a long way off too. In 223 it was a rat killer out past 100 yards!

 

I should explain a bit more about my Thompson Contender in .35 Remington and it's recoil effects.

What it does if I do not wear some kind of glove is that in it's recoil it pinches a nerve in my right wrist.

The glove helps reduce the effects of the recoil....these thin gloves from Home Depot.

I do not use them when shooting .223 or 7mm TCU calibrations...or of course the .22 long rifle.

But 35 Remington is quite stout in the recoil to the effect of pinching my nerve in my wrist.


I have never shot a XP 100 pistol but it certainly is a looker.


Thanks,
Watcherchris
Not an Ishmaelite

 

I use a few different gloves from a brand called First Tactical. Not necessarily shooting gloves but they work all around. Not on the cheaper end (both quality-wise and price-wise). Also the 5.11 Hardtime knuckle gloves.

 

I liked a fingerless leather glove with a wrist wrap.

 

Sounds like a good idea. I might try that this next weekend

 

When you get older you really wish that you had done more to take care of your body when you were young and tough. I know that at the least I would hear better and probably wouldn't have arthritis in all my joints as bad if I hadn't always been the tough guy that did lots of ignorant crap to show how strong and tough I was. Basically now I look back and mostly think STUPID! I shot every cannon that I could get my hands on and now my right shoulder hurts when I lay on it to the point that I can only lay and sleep for a few hours and then have to get up and move to my recliner. I'm thinking about a replacement.

 

Ah that sucks. Even though people say I'm "just a kid" I already have arthritis in 10 areas. Not that bad yet more of just a bearable pain for the moment so I have started actually trying to take care of my body. Yeah replacement might be a good idea at this point.