The PP-19 Bizon (Russian: ПП-19 «Бизон», PP-19 Bison) is a 9mm submachine gun produced during 1993 by the Izhmash company. It was designed by Victor Kalashnikov, the son of Mikhail Kalashnikov, and Alexei Dragunov, the youngest son of Yevgeny Dragunov, the designer of the Dragunov sniper rifle.
Overview
The Bizon was designed for Russia's law enforcement personnel. One of the defining operational traits of the Bizon is the weapon's helical-loading magazine, which was most likely influenced by the American Calico designs produced earlier, none of which were very successful. Helical-loading magazine aside, the rest of the gun is very similar to that of the AK-74; the receiver and charging handle look nearly identical to those found on its larger assault rifle relatives.
For its relatively small size, which can be made even smaller with the stock folded, the Bizon can pack a lot of firepower with its 64-round magazine, which also forms the gun's foregrip area under the barrel.
Bizon Attributes
The Bizon has been quoted as having the following characteristics,
- High hit probability;
- Excellent controllability in fully automatic fire;
- Enhanced accuracy of rapid (instinctive) fire;
- Compact envelope and a possibility of carrying in concealment;
- Large capacity of magazine;
- Variable operational range of fire.
See also
- PP-19-01 Vityaz, variant of the PP-19.
- PP-90M1, unrelated Russian submachine gun with similar design.