PTRS 41: The Soviet Semiauto Antitank Rifle (aka an SKS on Steroids)

I'm pretty sure PTRS thumb would also be categorized as an amputation.

4 years after the PTRD, Ian finally talks about the MEGA SKS.

Since this rifle has basically the same inner workings as the SKS, does that mean it also shares the SKS's occasional habit of becoming an unintentional machine gun when the firing pin gets stuck forward? Boy howdy, that would be an adventure.

I still remember being a teenager playing CoD: World at War for the first time and laughing at how the PTRS-41 was the M82 Barret stand-in with the player capable of running around with it and hip-firing it. But I never thought this thing is just this much of a monster, it's huge.

Wouldn’t a “PTRS-thumb” be simply just “no-thumb”?

"Sergei I'm feeling a crosswind, go walk out to the front sight to adjust windage "

I like how everything about this gun is just summarized as "Well I guess that's reasonable for that size."

Now, if World at War is to be believed, this is the ideal weapon for a sick 360° no scope.

Now I want to see one used in a brutality match.

Didn't know lightposts were considered firearms? I learn something new here everyday 😁

I have been to that museum many times and it is a fantastic place - not only is entry free but because Beligum has been invaded/liberated by just about everyone they have kit from all sides and their stuff goes back before WWI. They also have an aircraft and tank section which is not to be missed. Also because the museum is not commerical and quite you can get really up close to the exhibits like you just cannot in other busy museums. I would highly recommend going there and as a plus the car museum is at the other side of the square you can do 2 for one.

During the battle of Stalingrad at Pavlov’s house, one of the reasons why they were able to last so long against tank assaults was due to a PTRS41 put on the roof. The top of the tanks were fairly thin and the PTRS had no problem penetrating it.

I love how most games depict this rifle similar to the Barret or M200 that's barely 1½ meters long, when in reality it's longer than you are taller!

It's always funny in video games when the devs want to make you believe a single dude could shoulder and fire this thing accurately while standing.

I love the rough surface finish. It doesn't need to look pretty, as long as it does the job it is designed to do.

As for it's anti-tank capability, the 14.5x114mm was so effective it was the real reason the Germans started using Schürzen aka side skirts or "Bazooka Plates" not the Bazooka and PIAT as commonly claimed. Though as a happy coincidence for them it worked well against those too, it was the later and cheaper to produce mesh skirts that were more specifically for shaped charge weapons. The main 14.5x114mm round in WWII the "BS" API could penetrate around 30-32mm of RHA steel at 500m angled at 90°, with 40mm penetration at 100m. Making all the Pz IIIs, Pz IVs, and their derivatives vulnerable with only 30mm of flat side armor. Even the mighty Panther only had 40mm of side armor with the lower half unsloped, the Soviet gunners were apparently quite proficient and ballsy as it was still enough of a threat that Panthers were eventually equipped with 5mm Schürzen plates to cover the flat armor between the road wheels and sloped upper hull. It's even claimed to be one of the reasons the canceled Panther II, among other various upgrades, had its side armor increased to 60mm as the improvements to its protection were primarily designed for and inspired by lessons learned on the Eastern Front. Turns out all they needed were 5mm RHA steel plates, and that was enough to destabilize the penetrator enough to stop or at least severely limit its penetration. Might be old, but it's a nasty piece of kit. While not this semi-auto behemoth, the "Also kinda semi-auto but not really" PTRD-41 with the same round is still occasionally run into in the Middle East, with it even making some appearances in the current Ukraine conflict. I'd hate to be on the other end of a full auto 14.5 KPV (Almost twice the muzzle energy of an M2 and a little more than a 20mm ShVAK). Light armored vehicles could still be shredded from the sides, or even the front depending on the model. For instance the armor on the LAV-25(Modified LAV III/Mowag Piranha) is only designed to protect against light rounds like 7.62x39 ball. The Stryker(An LAV-25 derivative) has frontal protection against 14.5, but the sides and rear are just armored against 7.62x39 ball, only reaching full all around 14.5 protection if its bolt on ceramic armor or 3mm steel plates are installed. Even the Bradely which is the "Heavy" US IFV only has 25.4mm of armor on all sides, with the slope of the front hull pushing it to about 40-50mm effective, and the turrets sloped front to around 37-45mm effective; and that's a hardened aluminum alloy, so it's even less effective considering the 14.5's 40mm of penetration at 100m is against RHA. At close range or getting engaged from a hill or roof top... In the Gulf War just the 12.7mm NSVT was able to penetrate multiple Bradleys, injure some crew, and even knock one out by destroying its transmission. Though newer/upgraded variants have spaced laminate belts and high hardness steel skirts, there's no added protection to the front AFAIK. There's also HEI(High Explosive Incendiary) and the Chinese have made 2 new, somehow even scarier rounds. An APIDS-S, basically an API-T with discarding sabot like a SLAP round for even more penetration. And an APHEI(Armor Piercing High Explosive Incendiary) for when you want to shoot at a bit of everything I guess. A ZPU-4 with any of these rounds would be an absolute nightmare. Anyways, long post over and the 14.5 has my respect.

5 shots, perfect for a backup gun match. I like that Ian apologizes for showing historic firearms most of us will never get to see in person in the background. Cool even if out of focus.

Ian, your humor is exactly what I needed this morning. The gradual zoom out joke made me snicker. I never realized just how large the PTRS was. Thank you for keeping firearms history alive and getting more people interested in firearms history and development.

This gun is so big, chunky and powerful that it feels like something from Warhammer 40k

I'm assuming a three man crew: a shooter and a loader carrying the gun and the barrel respectively and a third guy carrying replacement shoulders for the shooter...