Weapon Name- Argus QBZ-95
Round Type- 5.8mm x 42mm - DBP87
Over-all length- 33.8 inches, 29.8 inches, 23.3 inches
Barrel length- 24 inches, 20 inches, 13.5 inches
Weight- 7.5 lb, 6.9 lb, 6.5 lb
Rate of Fire- 600 RPM
Feed Mechanism- Detachable Box Magazine
Round Capacity- 20, 30, 45, 100
Effective Range- 460 meters
Range- 600 meters
Accuracy- 1.5 MOA
Accessories- Picatinny Rails
Quick switch firing mechanism- N/A
Scope/Sights- Picatinny Rails, Red Dot Reflex Sight
Muzzle Velocity- 940 m/s, 895 m/s, 870 m/s - 2209, 2002, and 1892 joules (5 grams)
Firing System- Lever Delayed Blowback
Miscellaneous/electronic information- The weapon is essentially a lever delayed blowback bullpup assault rifle chambered in the 5.8mm x 42mm DBP87, using a slightly modified cartridge.
Basic Information
The weapon is essentially a lever delayed blowback bullpup assault rifle chambered in the 5.8mm x 42mm DBP87, using a slightly modified cartridge. It makes extensive use of high strength polymers and composites, which significantly reduce it's weight. With carbine, SAW, and standard configurations available, it is primarily intended as a general use assault rifle, but can fulfill other roles. With a somewhat unique firing system and cartridge, it is based on the French's FAMAS G2 firing system, albeit lighter, and with a few minor changes. The weapon uses a delayed blowback firing mechanism, which is both designed to reduce the recoil of the weapon during sustained automatic fire, and decrease friction which imposes excess wear and tear on the parts. Blowback mechanisms tend to operate at extremely high rates of fire, which tend to be one of the larger problems associated with the firing systems. Due to the nitrided barrel, inherently accurate firing system, and low mass of the recoiling parts, the weapon is inherently accurate and controllable.
The lever delayed blowback mechanism is similiar to that of the FAMAS G2, however it is ultimately based on the TKB-517. This rifle was similar externally to the AK-47 but based on the delayed blowback mechanism invented by John Pedersen (and refined by Pál Király). It turned out to be more reliable and accurate, and easier to produce and maintain. The weapon was also largely cheaper, but due to it's lack of familiarity with the previous AKM systems, was ultimately abandoned. The weapon also used a lighter and shorter action, which produces less recoil, and makes the weapon easier to control under fire. Since this action uses the principle of leverage, the weights of the levers can be relatively light weight, since the leverage is what provides the resistance to backward movement of the bolt. This means the weapon can be much lighter than one that is using a straight blowback action. Conversely, the weight savings gained from the lighter action can be re-used to make a heavier barrel and chamber and therefore it can fire a much more powerful cartridge than a straight blowback weapon in general.
The barrel is a 1 in 7 inch /254mm (1 in 7 inch / 177.8mm right hand twist 6 groove barrel) free floating hammerforged 4150 chrome moly nitride treated barrel. The barrel is heavy and accurized, designed to increase the range of the weapon and it's resistance to heat, which helps increase it's capabilities in regards to sustained fire. While Chrome Moly barrels typically have a shorter barrel life than equivalent stainless steel barrels, the titanium nitride coating increases the hardness of the steel, and thus it's durability; combined with the hammer forging and polygonal rifling, this gives the barrel a considerably longer life in comparison to standard Chrome Moly barrels, lasting approximately 10,000 rounds in comparison to the generally shorter, 5000 round life, while still maintaining all the advantages of a chrome moly barrel. The barrel uses plasma nitriding to thinly coat the barrel in a corrosion resistant materiel, which is also much harder than the base material, which significantly increases barrel life. Compared to Chrome plating, nitriding is a much more uniform process, which leaves substantially less variation in the barrel surface, or less bumps and imperfections, which means a smoother, more precise fit between the bullet and the barrel, which increases accuracy. The Nitriding proccess is the closest fit to the barrel as possible, which while less accurate than a barrel with no coating at all, provides more corrosion resistance than an untreated barrel (and about as much as Chrome), which is important considering a normal barrel would fail under ordinary environmental conditions, such as exposure to water, which can cause various metals to warp or rust. The nitride finish is also more heat resistant than a standard chrome lined barrel, increasing the barrel's durability to heat and thus it's ability to maintain sustained fire in combat. Being much heavier than an ordinary barrel, it's large size naturally serves as a heat sink, which decreases it's temperature in sustained use. However, while Chrome barrels would start to crack or flake if the temperature of the barrel was increased to only a few hundred degrees, the nitrided barrels are capable of much more rapid sustained fire (which increases the heat of the weapon), making the weapon more suitable to harsh combat conditions.
The weapon uses a slightly modified, improved version of the DBP88 heavy cartridge at 5 grams. The DBP88 “heavy round” cartridge has a 5 g (77 gr) bullet and a muzzle velocity of 870 m/s (2,850 ft/s) from a standard barrel (Type 95 / QBZ-95, 463 mm barrel length), and 940 to 960 m/s (3,080-3,150 ft/s) from the Type 95 LSW / Type 95 SAW / QBB-95 (557 mm barrel length), and 895 m/s (2,935 ft/s) from the Type 88 / QBU-88 (620 mm barrel length). It has an effective range of 800 meters and can penetrate 3 mm steel plates at a distance of 1000 meters. It is reported to have very good accuracy at 600 meters. Major improvements include a streamlined shape, non-corrosive primer, a reduction in the diameter of the steel core, and a copper-coated steel case with a copper alloy bullet jacket. It has a cleaner burning propellant so as not to leave residue inside the weapon after firings. The original cartridges used corrosive powder and paint as anti-corrosive coatings, which lead to unnecessary fouling. The differing barrel lengths produce 940 m/s, 895 m/s, and 870 m/s, resulting in 2209, 2002, and 1892 joules from a 5 gram cartridge.
The weapon utilizes magazines similiar the magpul magazine, although fitted to fire 5.8mm x 42mm cartridges. The magazines can comfortably hold approximately 30 rounds, or the same as 5.56mm magazines, despite being slightly heavier at approximately 13.5 grams, compared to 12.3 grams. In addition, a redesigned bolt catch notch in the rear of the magazine provides increased bolt catch clearance, while an over-travel stop on the spine helps ensure the magazine will not over-insert on compatible weapons. Low profile ribs and new aggressive front and rear texture gives positive control of the GEN M3 in all environments, and a paint pen dot matrix has been added to the bottom panel of the body to allow easy marking by the end user for identification. The new, easy to disassemble flared floorplate aids extraction and handling of the magazine while providing improved drop protection, but is slightly slimmer than before for better compatibility with tight double and triple magazine pouches. An included pop-off Impact/Dust Cover can optionally be used to minimize debris intrusion and protect against potential damage to the top cartridge during storage and transit. Durable dual-side transparent windows allow for quick determination of approximate number of rounds remaining in the magazine. Utilizing a high visibility indicator coil on the spring and numerical markers on the magazine body, the MagLevel™ system provides positive verification without affecting the durability or reliability of the magazine.
Each barrel possess a muzzle break designed after the surefire muzzlebreak. Though there are numerous ways to measure the energy of a recoil impulse, in general a 10% to 50% reduction can be measured. Besides reducing felt recoil, one of the primary advantages of a muzzle brake is the reduction of muzzle rise. This lets a shooter realign a weapon's sights more quickly. This is relevant for fully automatic weapons. The weapon also possess a hydraulic recoil buffer similiar to that in the M249. The, the design of the weapon and it's straight back recoil impulse, as well as the tighter, more steady grip on the weapon, combined with the impact gel recoil pad, makes the weapon very easy to use and relatively comfortable. The weapon uses a Blackbox round counter that can be hooked up to an LCD screen to show the rounds remaining. The magazines are generally color coded, which provides indication of how many rounds are within each magazine, although loading in another magazine that does not meet the criteria can result inaccurate round counting predictions; the round counter mechanism itself, however, will not falter. The weapon is made from composites and polymers similar to the P90 and XM8, to both reduce the cost and weight as of the weapon, as well increase the durability. The weapon fires from a closed bolt for both maximum accuracy and reliability. The weapon has picatinny rails, and thus an array of different sights are available for the weapon.
