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Last updated: 14-Jun-2010 |
            
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About this site This site is dedicated to collectors of
historical Anti Tank rifles in the UK, and the poor souls who had to lug
these things about whilst being shot at! Anti Tank rifles were the
first attempt at stopping a tank with a portable weapon, quick to reload and
"easily" carried by one man. After moderate success by the German army
with the first large calibre anti tank rifle in 1918 it wasn't until 1935 that the
secret race
begun to produce another more effective rifle, each of the main European
armies had their own rifle, most went through a development process and as a
result several prototype rifles were manufactured. As WW2 continued various
improvements or even radical changes were introduced in an attempt to have
an effect on the larger tanks that were already on the scene in 1940. You
could argue that the rifles were out classed by tank armour as soon as they
left the production line but they still had other uses against lightly
armored vehicles or bunkers. It wasn't long before 20mm rifles were in use,
however they were much heavier and not quite as portable. This website
focuses primarily on these portable rifles below 20mm however I will mention
two other interesting developments, the French 25mm Hotchkiss and the German PzB41
28/20mm taper bore gun, although these are very small artillery pieces they
can be dragged around by one man but must be towed into position and were
usually operated by a crew. Technical/historical information on rifles of a similar or larger calibre can also be found here although certain details such as reloading data for Historical Anti-Tank rifles is virtually non existent and reloading should only be attempted by experienced shooters who fully understand the complex science of reloading for such large calibres, bear in the mind the age of these rifles and potential risk of injury to shooter and spectator, don't ever assume that just because a modern round of ammunition happens to fit your old rifle that it'll be safe to use, modern ammunition can generate far higher pressures than the old wartime stock, it could kill you. However the Swiss have recently been having fun reloading for the PTRS with good results, they claim that the recoil "isn't too bad at all....."! In the UK most anti-tank rifles are held as collectors items and are not to be shot, however with Police approval some people do perform accuracy testing and performance reviews to assist with historical research. The majority of UK ranges are not suitable for this purpose. Click here for a list of ranges that can be attended either as a member of a Home office approved club or as a guest of the club where firing 'may' be permitted, remember that the range needs to be cleared for your particular calibre, just because an MOD range has a safety template for 120mm it might not have one for 20mm or even 50BMG, and the chances of 14.5mm being listed are even more remote!
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This site was last updated 14-Jun-2010
