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Last updated: 20-May-2016 |
            
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About this site
WANTED! ALL LIVE FIRING ANTI-TANK
RIFLES AND ACCESSORIES. BETTER PRICES OFFERED THAN YOUR LOCAL DEALER! 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 verging on small artillery
pieces that were usually towed or trailered into position. They were
intended to be crew served as they were far too heavy for one man to carry. 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, section 1 rifles should bear proof marks - proving
that the rifle is safe to use. The biggest risk is from flying debris
raised by the expanding gasses that are vented back towards the spectators
from the muzzle break. Swiss shooters have recently been having fun
reloading for the PTRS with good results, they claim that the recoil "isn't
too bad at all.....", and over in Australia Peter Meyer at Somatech has
been reloading .55 brass with
solid
copper projectiles, machined to a match the original wartime projectile
profile (should have some pictures of this ammunition soon).
In the UK most anti-tank rifles are held as collectors items and are seldom 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, or have adequate insurance.
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This site was last updated 20-May-2016
