Yeah you read it right, the Russian TP-82 was carried by cosmonauts on space missions. They actually used the triple-barrled firearm until 2006 and were part of the cosmonauts survival kits. They were taken out of service because the ammo had become unusable over the years. The TP-82 had two upper smoothbore barrels that used 40 gauge (12.5×70 mm) ammo with the lower barrel chambered for 5.45×39mm ammo. The TP-82 also featured a buttstock that doubled as a machete.
[Image source: Mpopenker.livejournal.com]
Yeah, this doesn’t even look remotely practical for anything. 😉
If only U.S. astronauts would take some slavsh- I mean Soviet surplus weaponry to the ISS and have a nice time shooting at – well, nothing, the world below may just get a whole lot smaller.
The machete stock is a nice touch, I’d love to have a Ruger 10/22 pistol with a built in machete stock. Perfect survival rifle.