Jackhammer weapon. Pancor Jackhammer self-loading revolver shotgun

Of modern combat shotguns, one of the most original is undoubtedly Pancor Jackhammer. Its prototype was presented by the American company Pancor Corporation in 1978, and the first sample (Jackhammer Mk.3A1) - in 1985. Initially, this drum shotgun was intended for use in the army and police, as well as for arming combat swimmers. For this, a special version of the Pancor Jackhammer was developed with a sealed waterproof container for transportation. In the early nineties of the last century, the shotgun was repeatedly tested, but never became the subject of armament of public services. But it is successfully used by special forces units.

Combat gun Pancor Jackhammer- This is a self-loading revolving shotgun, made according to the "bullpup" scheme chambered for 12-gauge. The cartridges are placed in the chambers of a removable drum cassette. The zigzag annular groove on the outer surface of the "cassette" makes it look like the drum of the British Webley-Fosbery automatic revolver. Spare cassettes are covered with a thin film that is removed during loading. Changing a cassette takes no more time than changing a magazine in assault rifle. The main ones are two types of cartridges: with a wad-container for 10 pellets and a shock “Black Jack”, which gives a sharp and loud (up to 130 dB) sound and a bright flash. For use in special-purpose units, a disposable silencer and a sealed case have been developed that provide the weapon with buoyancy when overcoming water obstacles or landing on water.

The design of the weapon includes 7 main parts: a body with a cocking mechanism; trunk; return spring; muzzle; body of the trigger mechanism with forearm; butt; cassette. Widely used plastic "Rainit SST" (cast polyethylene, reinforced with fiberglass) - it is made of the case, the body of the trigger mechanism, buttstock, fore-end and cassette. The barrel, return spring and stem are made of steel. The axis of rotation of the cassette is fixed on the body of the firing mechanism.

Sights are located on the carrying handle and include a front sight at its front end and a permanent sight with a triangular slot at the rear. All weapons are given the most streamlined shape. Automation Pancor Jackhammer It works by moving the barrel forward under the pressure of gases on a special muzzle. When the barrel moves forward, the rod associated with it enters with its rear protrusion into interaction with the groove of the cassette and turns it 1/10 of a turn. When the barrel moves back under the action of a return spring, the rod cocks the percussion mechanism. Having reached the extreme rear position, the barrel engages with the cassette in such a way as to ensure the alignment of the bore and the chamber and prevent the breakthrough of powder gases between them. The operating time of the trigger mechanism allows the shooter to make up to 40 shots per minute. Manual reloading is done by moving the forearm. A short movement of the forearm back also discards an empty cassette. The muzzle with a beveled front cut also plays the role of a compensator.

Cartridges are fed from drums of two types - with conventional chambers equipped with reinforced 12-gauge ammunition, and "cartridge cassettes" (Ammo Cassette) - drum cartridges equipped at the factory, and the components of the cartridge - capsule, gunpowder, striking elements - are infected directly in drum chamber, without a sleeve in the usual sense. By the way, this loading method was also first used in capsule revolvers. As conceived by the designer, such a drum was delivered to the customer in a plastic package, opened immediately before the drum was installed, and after its “use”, the drum was either thrown away or returned to the manufacturer for recharging. On the basis of the latter, an infantry mine "Bear Trap" (bear trap) was also developed, which is a drum with a fuse attached to it, which, when exposed, simultaneously fires the entire ammunition of the drum. The cassette can also be used separately as an anti-personnel mine "Bear Trap" with ready-made submunitions - a detonator is inserted into the "cassette" and it is covered with a pressure cap.

The problem of loading the drum was unprecedentedly solved - for this, up to half is squeezed out trigger, the fore-end with the barrel and the tubular axis of the magazine is moved forward, fixed in the forward position, the drum is replaced with a new one, after which the fore-end with the barrel and the axis of the drum returns to its original position, the rod, interacting with the figured cutout in the drum, will install one of the chambers opposite the barrel. In this case, the USM is cocked for the first shot. For re-cocking (in the event of a misfire), or safe descent from a combat platoon, a special handle is provided in the design, located in the butt cutout.

And finally, another feature of the automatic shotgun Pancor Jackhammer is the ability to quickly change the barrel - for this you need to remove the muzzle, rotate the barrel around the axis by 90 degrees, remove it together with a return spring ... and the installation of a new barrel is carried out, as is customary to say in such cases - in reverse order. Perhaps this decision was incorporated into the design of the shotgun for greater tactical flexibility - i.e. the ability to use trunks of various lengths.

Model Pancor Jackhammer Mk3-A2 received a number of changes: rounded contours were given to the body and butt, weight was reduced, and cooling was improved. A slightly modified contour of the cassette grooves softened the work of automation. The noise of the mechanisms has been reduced, a handle for manually cocking the percussion mechanism has been placed in the recess of the buttstock. Two swivels are placed on the butt top and bottom, the front swivel is made on a rotating ring behind the muzzle, so that the belt can take the most convenient position for the shooter.

Specifications Pancor Jackhammer
Caliber - 12
The principle of operation is automation based on the removal of powder gases, self-loading.
The locking system is a fixed bolt.
Food - replaceable cassette-drum for 10 rounds.
Weight - 4.57 kg.
The length of the weapon is 787 mm.
Barrel length - 525 mm.
Height - 230 mm.
Width - 125 mm.
The rate of fire is 240 rpm.
Effective firing range - 150 m.

Jackhammer automatic shotgun

Jackhammer - unique weapon so never got on the conveyor. For all the time since 1978, only a few samples have been released, each with its own characteristics. The descriptions found on the Internet, its Russian part, sin with some inaccuracies, which can be easily eliminated by reading the English-language literature. First and, probably, most importantly, this weapon did not enter service with any armies. Moreover, the Jackhammer was not produced, at least not in the factory, it was not mass-produced, and that's it. But there were several different models, or if you want prototypes, created during the 80s and 90s with an eye on the armament of the line infantry, police and special forces, but he never got to them. We can say this about these weapons: they belong to that rare type that move the industry forward, while remaining unclaimed.

Further, we will talk about the Jackhammer, the first model of this weapon, which is in many ways inferior to the Jackhammer Mk 3-A2. To create this smoothbore gun, completely atypical design solutions for this type of weapon were used, which were subsequently applied in other samples. The impression is such that the developers did not set themselves the goal of releasing a serial sample. They used new solutions and materials for that time, then patented this business, on which, apparently, they made money, at least they tried. Of the obvious features, one can distinguish the layout according to the “bullpup” principle, as well as the unusualness of the store, presented in the form of a revolving drum with a capacity of 10 rounds of 12 gauge. And, of course, it is worth noting the overall futuristic design of the gun. Of the non-obvious, first of all, it is worth mentioning automation. It is based on the movement of the barrel, pushed by powder gases through a special muzzle, which in turn leads to the rotation of the drum - magazine by 1/10 of a turn. This is followed by a reverse movement of the barrel, leading to cocking the drummer, while the drum is turned until the axis of the chamber coincides with the axis of the barrel. Jackhammer, his first model, could only fire single shots, and the rate of fire was 40 per minute. In case of malfunctions with the mechanism, it was also possible to manually recharge the forearm movements using a special handle located in the recess of the drummer. For shooting, both cartridges filled with shot and special light-noise charges were used. The Jackhammer's low-stress parts were made of high-strength plastic, and the barrel, cartridge feed lever and spring were made of high-quality steel. It was proposed to supply a special case with a gun that protects against water and a disposable silencer. The front sight and a permanent sight with a triangular slot were located in the carrying handle.

Caliber, 12
The principle of operation of automation based on the removal of powder gases, self-loading
Fixed bolt locking system
Magazine capacity, rounds 10
Weight, kg 4.57
Weapon length, mm 787
Barrel length, mm 525
Height, mm 230
Width, mm 125
Rate of fire, rds / min 240
Effective firing range, m 150

Caliber - 12 (hunting)

Principle of operation - automation based on the removal of powder gases, self-loading

Locking system - fixed bolt

Food - replaceable cassette-drum for 10 rounds

Weight - 4.57 kg.

Weapon length - 787 mm

Barrel length - 525 mm

Height - 230 mm

Width - 125 mm

Rate of fire - 240 rpm

Effective firing range - 150 m

Of modern combat shotguns, one of the most original is undoubtedly the Jackhammer Mk3. Its prototype was presented by the American company Pancore Corporation in 1978, and the first sample (MKZ A1) - in 1985. This is a self-loading revolving shotgun made according to the bullpup scheme chambered for 12 gauge. The cartridges are placed in the chambers of a removable drum cassette. The zigzag annular groove on the outer surface of the "cassette" makes it look like the drum of the British Webley-Fossbury automatic revolver. Spare cassettes are covered with a thin film that is removed during loading. Changing a cartridge takes no more time than changing a magazine in an assault rifle. The main ones are two types of cartridges: with a wad-container for 10 pellets and a shock “Black Jack”, which gives a sharp and loud (up to 130 dB) sound and a bright flash. The design of the weapon includes 7 main parts: a body with a cocking mechanism; trunk; return spring; muzzle; body of the trigger mechanism with forearm; butt; cassette. Widely used plastic "Rainit SST" (cast polyethylene, reinforced with fiberglass) - it is made of the case, the body of the firing mechanism, buttstock, handguard and cassette. The barrel, return spring and stem are made of steel. The axis of rotation of the cassette is fixed on the body of the firing mechanism. Sights are located on the carrying handle and include a front sight at its front end and a permanent sight with a triangular slot at the rear. All weapons are given the most streamlined shape. Automation "Jackhammer" Mk3 works by moving the barrel forward under the pressure of gases on a special muzzle. When the barrel moves forward, the rod associated with it enters with its rear protrusion into interaction with the groove of the cassette and rotates it by 1/10 of a turn. When the barrel moves back under the action of a return spring, the rod cocks the percussion mechanism. Having reached the extreme rear position, the barrel engages with the cassette in such a way as to ensure the alignment of the bore and the chamber and prevent the breakthrough of powder gases between them. The operating time of the trigger mechanism allows the shooter to make up to 40 shots per minute. Manual reloading is done by moving the forearm. A short backward movement of the forearm also ejects the empty cassette. The muzzle with a beveled front cut also plays the role of a compensator. The MkZ A2 model received a number of changes: rounded contours were given to the body and stock, weight was reduced, and cooling was improved. A slightly modified contour of the cassette grooves softened the operation of automation. Reduced noise works mechanisms, in the recess of the butt there is a handle for cocking the percussion mechanism manually. Two swivels are placed on the butt top and bottom, the front swivel is made on a rotating ring behind the muzzle, so that the belt can take the most convenient position for the shooter. For use in special-purpose units, a disposable silencer and a sealed case have been developed that provide the weapon with buoyancy when overcoming water obstacles or landing on water. The cassette can also be used separately as an anti-personnel mine "Bear Trap" with ready-made submunitions - a detonator is inserted into the "cassette" and it is covered with a pressure cover

Consists - in the US special forces units.

The Pancor Jackhammer is one of the most interesting semi-automatic shotguns ever designed. Its creator, John Andersen, an American gun designer, developed this shotgun for arming the police and the army, but neither one nor the other paid due attention to this gun, and mass production was not adjusted. Perhaps this was largely provoked by the non-standard design of the shotgun, which scared away the conservative-minded employees of state bodies - the police and the military. But, despite this, Jackhammer was and remains a very interesting specimen among the whole variety of firearms.

The Jackhammer shotgun was first produced under the Pancor Corporation brand, and then moved to the Mark Three Corporation brand. The weapon turned out to be interesting, and the features of this shotgun would allow it to be used for military purposes. The first tests were carried out in 1990. This shotgun was often used in different areas- in video games, films, and in many ways influenced popular culture.

Specifications

The Pancor Jackhammer is a smoothbore semi-automatic shotgun. At the same time, its drum is designed for two types of cartridges: 12 mm Magnum and shock, called Black Jack. It also has a loud 130 dB pop that stuns the enemy.
This weapon has the following technical indicators:

• caliber - 12 mm;
• barrel - 525 mm;
• gun length - 787 mm;
• weight - 4.57 kg;
• rate of fire - 240 / min;
• effective firing range - 150 m,
• drum capacity - 10 rounds.

Pancor Jackhammer with scope

Peculiarities

One of the features of the Jackhammer shotgun is that the barrel of this shotgun can be quickly replaced if necessary. To do this, you need to remove the muzzle, turn the barrel ninety degrees and move forward to remove it along with the return spring. Then you need to do the same in reverse order with a new barrel.

The layout of the shotgun is made according to the bullpup type, which, although it is a very common structure scheme in the usual small arms, but which is quite rare among shotguns.

Manual reloading for the first shot, or after a misfire, is carried out when the forearm moves. At the same time, special hooks move the barrel in the direction forward and then back, carrying out full cycle and triggering the reload mechanism and cocking the gun.

Jackhammer has two types of stores. The first is loaded with a regular 12-gauge cartridge, and you can easily load it yourself. To do this, you need to disconnect the drum from the shotgun by half-pressing the trigger, and then move the forearm forward to the maximum. The drum will separate during the forward movement of the barrel and the cassette mounting axis. The forearm and barrel will be secured by a latch, which is attached to the front of the trigger guard. Thus, after removing the drum from the weapon, holding the weapon by the handle, insert a new charge.

Disassembled Pancor Jackhammer

The other store does not contain a cartridge, but a projectile of a different type, with buckshot or a bullet without a cartridge case. To load a shotgun, the shooter must first tear off a special film from the drum, and then load it into the weapon.

Also at the beginning of the design, the Jackhammer had an interesting feature - it was designed to move in water. The shotgun was accompanied by a container with perfect sealing, which prevented moisture from entering the gun.

Operating principle

Automation "Jackhammer" Mk3 works thanks to a gas cylinder and a piston rigidly fixed to the barrel. Gases from the combustion of gunpowder under pressure enter the cylinder, and then push the gas piston and move the movable barrel forward, compressing the return spring for the next shot. This happens due to the movement of the automation drive rod, which slides longitudinally along the barrel. Due to this, the barrel is disconnected from the drum chamber, after which the reloading mechanism is activated.

The drum cassette moves due to special grooves made outside it. They are affected by the drive rod of automation, causing the cassette to rotate - at the beginning, half a step forward clockwise, and then in the opposite direction when the rod and barrel move. Thanks to this mechanism, the drum rotates towards the barrel with a chamber with a cartridge for a shot. In order to avoid the exhaust of powder gases between them, at the end of the backward movement, the barrel hermetically enters the drum with a shank. Also during this process, the drive rod automatically cocks the trigger due to the movement of the rear end of the barrel, and the weapon can immediately be used in combat.

Design

The Pancor Jackhammer, a gas-operated smoothbore shotgun, has a bullpup design that also makes it different from typical shotguns that use a different build and mechanism. "Jackhammer" - the name of the gun is literally translated - a semi-automatic shotgun, and the mechanism of this gun has only an automatic fire mode. One can only be fired at by short pulls on the trigger. The shotgun fires fairly fast for a shotgun, at 4 shots per second, but it doesn't interfere with single shots. This also distinguishes the Jackhammer from other shotguns - the trigger device allows the shooter to make up to 240 volleys in 60 seconds. Stores at "Jackhammer" resemble a revolver drum. In its structure and principle of operation, it is vaguely similar to the drum of the old English revolver of 1896, which became the prototype for many similar guns - Fosbery manufactured by Webley & Scott.

The gun consists of seven main parts, which are made using both steel and plastic. This is polyethylene reinforced with fiberglass - "Rainit SST". You can carry the gun by holding on to the handle, specially designed for this. Also, a front sight and a rear sight are attached to it, open, as on a hunting rifle. Externally, the weapon is beautiful and in general has a rather futuristic design with as streamlined shapes as possible. It consists of a muzzle, a barrel, a body in which the firing mechanism is attached, a butt, a drum and a return spring.

The axis of rotation of the cassette - the magazine of this shotgun, the drum called "Ammo Cassette" - is fixed on the trigger. The special muzzle of the Jackhammer shotgun has a beveled cut in the front and is a compensator (this is not a reliable fact, as it is too large, but muzzle rise can indeed be reduced due to the action of the muzzle).

A particularly interesting part of the shotgun is a cassette drum - when a special detonator is installed in it, it turns into anti-personnel mine called "Trap Bear" - a bear trap. This mechanism was also developed by John Andersen along with the entire shotgun and also represents interesting feature this particular weapon.

Modifications

The prototype shotgun was first introduced back in 1978 by the Pancor Corporation, and it was called the Mk3. In the future, on the basis of this design, all other further modifications aimed at improving the weapon went.

The first modification of this shotgun, patented in 1984, was the Mk3 A1. This model received the most design changes and, in fact, this modification remains the only significant change ever made to the Pancor Jackhammer's design. As a result of this modification, the shape of the gun became even more streamlined, along with which the mass of the shotgun was reduced. This partly contributed to the improved barrel cooling. The action of the automation became somewhat smoother due to the change in the grooves of the drum, while the mechanism began to work noticeably quieter. And it was with this version in the shotgun that the possibility of manual cocking of the trigger appeared.

Changes made to its mechanism were made in 1987 and 1990. Jackhammer was not accepted for use by the US Army, very few copies of this weapon were produced, just a few working prototypes.

Conclusion

The Pancor Jackhammer is one of the most unusual and truly interesting shotguns ever made. It has both power and rate of fire, and, if necessary, the ability to use it as a mine against ground infantry. The Jackhammer was designed specifically as a military shotgun and is a truly versatile and unusual shotgun worth looking into. It differs in many ways from typical weapons on the market.

Video how Pancor Jackhammer works

The Jackhammer combat smoothbore automatic shotgun has been developed by the American John Andersen since the early 1980s specifically as a military model. In 1984, Andersen patented the basic design, on the basis of which all further developments of these weapons were based. In total, only a few prototypes were produced, which were tested in the 1990s, but did not arouse any significant interest among potential buyers - the military and the police.

To date, the status of the Jackhammer project, according to the Jaynes publishing house, is “development completed”, however, there is no question of the production of these weapons and apparently never will - Jackhammer will forever remain only in the form of a few prototypes (which, by and large, is not surprising, taking into account some of the features of its design, described below). The gun was originally advertised under the "sign" of Pancor Corporation, and later - Mark Three Corporation (which had in its arsenal a number of no less original and equally unsuccessful developments in the field of small arms).

The Jackhammer shotgun is a smooth-bore shotgun, built on the basis of a gas-operated mechanism with a barrel moving forward and fed from detachable magazines - revolver-like drums. The automatic gas engine consists of a gas cylinder formed around the barrel and an annular gas piston rigidly mounted on the barrel. After the shot, hot powder gases enter the gas cylinder through the hole in the barrel and, acting on the gas piston, push the movable barrel forward, compressing the return spring. In this case, the barrel first disengages from the fired chamber of the drum, and then through the longitudinally sliding lever located above the barrel (automatic drive rod) activates the mechanism for reloading and cocking the trigger. Special oblique curly grooves are made on the outer surface of the store-drum. Two protrusions at the back of the drive rod interact with these slots, causing the drum to rotate a half-step clockwise, first as the rod (and barrel) moves forward and then back.

Thus, before the barrel arrives under the action of the return spring in the rearmost position, the drum rotates towards the barrel with the next charged chamber. At the end of its return stroke, the barrel enters with its shank into the front part of the drum chamber, providing a tight connection that prevents powder gases from breaking out. At the same time, the rear end of the drive rod cocks the striker trigger mechanism.

The gun has only automatic fire mode, the implementation of single shots is possible with a short pull on the trigger due to the relatively low rate of fire. Manual reloading for the first shot or in the event of a misfire is performed by a movable forearm, moving forward and backward, while special hooks inside the forearm pick up the barrel and move it back and forth, carrying out a full reloading cycle. The change of stores - drums (originally bearing the brand name "Ammo Cassette" - an ammunition cassette) was also unusually performed.

To separate the magazine from the weapon, you need to half-squeeze the trigger and then move the movable forearm forward until it stops. In this case, the barrel will go forward, disconnected from the drum, the tubular axis of the magazine will also go forward from the drum, allowing it to freely fall out of the weapon. In the forward position, the forearm and the barrel will be automatically fixed by a special latch located in front of the trigger guard. Thus, while holding the weapon with one hand on the pistol grip, the shooter with the second free hand can insert into place new shop and then release the forearm by pressing the latch. In this case, the axis of the magazine will fall into place, the drive lever will automatically put one of the drum chambers in front of the barrel, and then the barrel will enter this chamber with its rear part. The USM will also be cocked automatically and the weapon will be ready for battle. In the opening of the butt behind the store there is a handle connected to the firing pin and allowing, if necessary, to manually cock the firing pin or remove it from the combat cocking.

Another feature of the Jackhammer shotgun is the ability to quickly change the barrel. To do this, remove the muzzle, rotate the barrel 90 degrees around its axis and pull it forward along with the return spring. Then insert a new barrel, rotate it 90 degrees so that it engages with the drive rod, then put the return spring on the barrel and install the muzzle in place. Two types of stores were provided to feed the Jackhammer. The first type had conventional chambers, designed for special reinforced 12-gauge cartridges.

After being removed from the weapon, such a store could be freed from empty shells and reloaded with cartridges. The second type of stores should be loaded in the factory, while the gunpowder, projectile (buckshot, bullet, etc.) and primer were loaded directly into the drum, without cartridge cases. A fully equipped drum ("Ammo Cassette") was hermetically packed in a plastic film and was supposed to be delivered to users in this form. Before loading, the shooter had to tear off the plastic wrapper from the drum and load it into the weapon, and after using up all the charges, throw it away (or, if the situation allows, save it for later return to the factory for reloading). On the basis of such stores, Andersen also developed a special anti-personnel mine Bear Trap (bear trap), which was a fuse attached to the store. When it was triggered, charges from all chambers were fired simultaneously, creating the effect fragmentation mine directed action.