"Sputnik" - Testing Rare Soviet Shotgun Slugs 

You did a great job on this video, Matt too for that Matter :) Thank you for linking to my channel!

Bullet "Vyatka" is intended for big game hunting - elk, deer, bear, wild boar

When you have unique slugs like this, you should make casts of them so you can test them multiple times.

Well, the vest will stop it, but it will cave in your fuckin chest cavity.

Here is a transalated chunk from the instructions for the bullet: Bullet "Vyatka" is intended for big game hunting - elk, deer, bear, wild boar. It consists of a lead frame and a plastic stabilizer. The body has a teardrop shape, six centering ribs, the inner hole and the central core. Stabiliser consists of a plastic cylinder having a narrow obturating belt . The end of the rod is expandable and this keeps the bullet togethere during its flight. Bullet "Vyatka" is easy to load and a plastic band provides reliable obturation when firing. "Vyatka's" strength is the increased flight speed, improved flight stability, better accuracy, increased penetration and expansiveness and reduced ricochet. Bullet can both be loaded into a paper and in plastic shell, cap - "Zhevelo" gunpowder - "Sokol" (falcon). A charge of gunpowder in sub-zero temperatures and plastic obturator for the 12 gauge - 2.3 g, with two cardboard strips total thickness of 3 mm - 2.5 g; at plus temperatures weighed in both cases should be reduced by 0.1 g Before you load the "Vyatka" cartridges, each bullet should be measured in the widest part, in order to ensure that the bullet passes through the choke. Centring fins are easily rumpled, thus passing through the choke. Weight of "Vyatka" bullets varies slightly in different batches - from 30 to 35 g for the 12 gauge and 24-26 g for the 16 gauge. This is a significant disadvantage, because bullets may behave differently based on the weight.

Need to be careful around them AR-15 Bazookas, they can give you PTSD ya' know.

You should start casting all the odd slugs so you can remake them later if you wanted.

Well Jeff, to give you some insight. During the space race, the USSR was a bit too eager to get there first, and they wanted to put a satellite up there to prove it. So wtihout having to build a rocket or any spacecraft, they simply named this the sputnik (in russian meaining satelite" and shot these up into the sky as many times as possible hoping one would get into space.

Found something bout that bullet on our russian gun forum :) Sorry for my english translation: The Food Program of the USSR for the period until 1990, the task "to ensure in the shortest possible time a steady supply of the population with all types of food " , including meat . Among the main areas of implementation of the Food Program of the USSR one of the most important is the " struggle for economy and thrift , reducing losses and improving the quality of agricultural products ."so that,that bullet was invented because of that

Tetris theme song in the background

Hopefully no one carries a valuable cd behind their vest! Another awesome video Jeff! :D

"I em Heavy Veppons Guy..."

Oh it's a small world! I'm actually subscribed to Survival Russia for 6 months now. He is a very good person.

I love the cooperations between channels on YT. Great video as usual!

NIKO! IT'S YOUR COUSIN! WANT TO GO BOWLING?

Thanks Lars! And awesome to see space and firearms combined, two of my favorite things in one vid ;).

Thanks Tao and crew, and thanks Lars for sending those. That plate shot was interesting, the slug acted more like it did a plastic flow upon impact. I don't recall seeing any other slugs do that.

I love these videos. I actually forgot all about this channel. I'm glad I came back.

Hey. It's always a pleasure to watch your videos. The lead plate is always a favorite to witness actual deformations. Everyone loves the monster gummy bear (of course) but... I just loved seeing those pickles go flying about - *THAT* was just marvelous! Thanx very much.

"AR-15 Bazooka" LOL! That's a good one!

Thank you for finding a new channel for me, that i probably would never have stumbled upon myself :)

It's an old "Vyatka" big-game slugs. They deal a lot of damage, but are known for having a different weight and ballistics for each batch produced. Last time i saw them on sale at around 2002.

The name of it is "Vyatka"

4:23 Crushing your sternum and stunning your heart into not beating.

And of course the Tetris music(I did not read the comments below, so no doubt I am the 100th person to mention this)! Thanks Tao, as always, a very entertaining one!

The line of truth was very kind today haha. Perfect music choice too.

"Why did it come towards us?" The bullet needs time to decelerate and ditch it's energy into the fluid, so the energy density of the interaction will increase towards the rear(That is until either A. the bullet comes to a stop, or B. The bullet exits.). That means the most force when it eventually explodes is at the far end away from you, so it propels the can towards you instead of away.

Finally something to watch besides test tubes.thanks for this. maybe shoot test tubes

.29 cents!.......obviously no expense was spared......I'm binging all your old videos this weekend and having a great time.

I think what detered the slug from welding to that lead plate was the lead oxide layer which had formed on the slug, you can see this pretty good in the shots you got from the slugs. It acts like a protective coating, which prevents reactions from happening.

As far as I know, Russian shotgun slugs are all pretty much intended for large game or boar or as a precautionary measurement for running into a bear while hunting something else. My guess for that slug not welding itself into the led plate is that pure lead is a sort of lubricate in itself. Hardening the lead mixing it for an example with antimon propably decreases the lubricative features of the metal. But then again, this is just an enlightened guess :) Thanks for the video guys! As a pump shotgun owner, building a Remington 870 Supermagnum to work both as a waterfowl- and a boar gun with just changing the barrel and putting a quick attach red dot, these videos offer me a ton of interesting info about shooting slugs and their ballistic behaviour both in flight and terminal.

an hour later I am finally back to watch this video...interesting channel.

Hey! Great video and I'm a subscriber of Survival Russia . I enjoy both channels as many others and thank you both.

I love that they are your typical American. But are super unbiased and love all rounds and firearms

Very cool slugs he sent you. Quite a bit force behind them. Even with a vest, you definitely don't want to get hit with one of those. I'll be sure to check out the guy's channel. Cheers and nice shooting as always

so let me get this straight. These sputnik rounds were designed and distributed so grandma babushka can have meat on the table without having to wait in line to get what probably isn't in the store? The USSR sounds a whole lot different than I heard when I was a kid.

o that comment you made right before 9:19 about how the shell usually bonds to the lead, that reminded me of something called explosive welding, where you can create new alloys of 2 metals that wouldn't normally be able to be alloyed. i'd love to see a youtuber that does that (subtle eh? :P) afterthought: it's usually done with extremely powerful plastic explosives though, so might not be the best idea :P

You guys should make molds for these type of rounds. Their odd, in this case historic, and people would probably pay good money for newly made slugs or just the molds themselves.

I laughed so hard when all those pickles spread so nicely on the ground. :)

I bet he had PTSD for about an hour

Interesting! Thanks for sharing.

I love that ar15 bazooka reference. I hope he didnt get ptsd

Haha, my it looks like my 3d nuke slug :)

Nice reference to the guy who got "ptsd" from a Ar15

HAHAHH!!! LARS!!!! I follow him on social media and watch all his vids!! AWESOME AWESOME CHANNEL!!!!

Every shooter Geoff finds has the coolest tattoos

Hello! I'm from Russia. This bullet is called "Vyatka". With these bullets we hunt moose and bears.

I like the classy tetris theme playing in the background.

This is why I subscribed years ago. Blowing shit up with random projectiles. What more you want? lol

Despite it being a dummy your shooting at, you still see the pain in its face! :D

That awkward moment when an Ar-15 bazooka gives you PTSD

I think the slug was a type of testing to see what it would be like to shoot a fin stabilised round from a hand held gun, just by looking at it, I'm probably waaaaaay off

russian guy here, these slugs are still being sold, they are used for hunting big game like wild pigs and bears.

This video gave me a temporary form of PTSD. Made me anxious and irritable for hours after watching it.

In Soviet Russia gun laws were very strict, that slug was most likely for hunting, since the main military weapon was an AK, and the shotgun ammo was most likely a spread, since they needed effectivity, as in take one shot and 7 enemies down.

Not to be America-centric, but those projectiles remind me of the "Fatman" (nuke).

These were part of an experimental Soviet space program where they wanted to test the aerodynamics of the Sputnik. So they would shoot these slugs into the air until they left the atmosphere. The idea being only the most aerodynamic shape would b capable of this.

because of the roughly spherical shape my guess would be hunting. maybe they could be military issue hunting rounds for survival during war time, as rationed supplies would only go so far. There is no way to identify them as military slugs other than asking someone who served back then, this is just my guess.

Imagine Buzz Lightyear saying, "Pickles... Pickles everywhere!"

I swear, I hear tetris in the background...

Very impressive slug. Lots of stopping power.

A very interesting design with the tail fin stabilizers. Ask for some more and maybe file the fins off to make a round ball. I bet it would be one hell of a knuckle ball affect.

He may not have hit center on the pickles but the still blew up

when the slug hits the led ingot. u can see the spark

heins really makes everything don't they?

The slug is called the zodka. It's made by Putin's bears and it can fly over 2km/h. It was often used to show the puny Americans that Russia is the best country during mammoth hunting competitions.

those Sputnik slugs are awesome

“Slugnic” the Russian 12 gauge slug-shuttle

Boris and Natasha touch...perfect! That is coming from some one born in USSR!

If this slug hit you in the solar plexus you are never going to breathe again

I think the reason the LED slug did not well it's up to the other slug is because there was a different metal in either one

"Sputnik"(Спутник) is a round bullet with special shoulder to go through full choke. This bullet is Vyatka (Вятка - a small town in Russia). This bullet is still produced by a number of firms in Russia, it is still popular among hunters because it is one of the cheapest. Slugs are popular in Russia because there are some law limitations on rifled barrel weapons. All this Russian bullets, that you test are for civil hunting use, this stuff is not military

Hi Jeff! Wow strange behaviour from the last slug you tested. As for me, I've always shot them no problem, clean holes at 50 meters in the paper, with a proper fast charge. Be sure to test them in a fully smoothbore/no choke, as I seem to see a mangled wad behind it.

When the Pickle can came toward you, thats called the "JFK effect"

whoa, these soviet slugs are brutal...

Temporary case of .223 PTSD

Lol "line of truth" love it!

Those was never for military those slugs are for big game hunting

good stuff

fun fact tetris was invented in soviet russia

Is that a stain boy tattoo on Matt's arm!? ^o^ if so that's awesome!

look at boris' face at the first shot kinda looks like "the fuck just hit me"

Yes, those are certainly Russian slugs. My father had a shotgun lying in the garage when I was a child. He had a terrible temper, and when he was angry he liked to break things. Someone had thrown out a broken dishwasher and left it in the alley behind my house, and my father dragged it into our backyard. When angry, he would load up his shotgun and shoot holes through the dishwasher to satisfy his destructive urges without causing any real harm. He used to keep boxes full of ammunition that look identical to these "Sputnik" slugs you have here in the video.

Characteristics of a bullet for hunting "Vyatka" (Вятка), author G.G. Vorobiev. Purpose - large hunting objects in the form of a bear, elk, big boar and the like. The material is lead. Two components: the bullet itself is drop-shaped, reminiscent of an air bomb, with six ribs that center the bullet in flight. Inside the hole and the central rod for attaching the stabilizer; a stabilizer made of polyethylene, which is rigidly attached to the tail of the bullet and does not separate from it during its flight. The stabilizer does not function as a wad of the obturator, which makes it unacceptable to mount the bullet directly on the powder or powder gasket. Installation of a wad is required. Felt is recommended in the literature. Normally loaded, this bullet gives good accuracy and expansiveness (stopping action). An example of the equipment of this bullet: a cardboard powder gasket is placed on the gunpowder, then two felt wads cut into 4 parts, on top of them Vyatka and the twist of the sleeve of the sleeve follows. Gunpowder is used in a variety of ways, from the traditional and common Falcon to more modern ones. The capsule is matched to the gunpowder. If Sokol, then this is Zhevelo, 209, CX-2000, etc. The bullet is caliber, it definitely goes half way, the use with stronger muzzle constrictions (choke - 1 mm) is not recommended due to the large deformation of the bullet and the threat of a strong increase in pressure in the bore. Acceptable accuracy is provided at distances up to 50 meters. For shooting at large ones, other bullets are needed, for example, Poleva (produced by the same manufacturer) and which has no equal in this. The disadvantage is the tendency to ricochet (however, like any arrow-type bullet). Produced by - KZORS (Kirov factory of hunting and fishing equipment). He is the patentee for this model and the only manufacturer. Produced since 1975. kwsp.ru/knowledge/base/enciklopedija-ohotnika/p/pulja-vjatka

3:30 Yes. That is the 'Tetris Theme'. But before it was, it was a Russian Folk Song. So yeah.

why do i feel like you guys live in central California haha, the back grounds look so familiar to some of the places i have traveled by on my way to work haha

That slug almost looks like a James shell!

I think we need a rule for these mystery slugs from the other half of the world. They're ALWAYS big game rounds. ALWAYS. ALWAAYSSS

Those were interesting slugs. I would have been tempted to make a mold of one so more could be cast.

Plumbum, the old name for lead. Just slip it into a video occasionally to add that bit of "Je ne sais quoi" lol Kudos on the grams, it's a small world.

You should make casts whenever you get these rare slugs, so they can be replicated later..

Love the subtle tetris music

Hey Jeff, would you be able to do a comparison between having a full vest strapped onto your target dummy versus just having a piece of Kevlar taped to its chest. I have a feeling there would be significantly less material damage with the vest properly held in place.

Just a suggestion; you could have perhaps applied some sort of lacquer or varnish to one or two of the slugs to negate some of the chips and blemishes. That way, you could have shot 2 of them in their original state and compared their flight patterns to the ones you had 'smoothed up' as it were. This is something I suggest you do with any physically compromised mystery slugs you get in the future.

jeff you're slowly creeping up on 1mil subs mate

It's considered riot control non-lethal(for the shooter) slug in Soviet Russia.

LOVES the Tetris music!

Should have made a cast of it before shooting so you could remake them if needed.

This + Saiga 12 = power of God

The song at the beginning is called Russian Winter