General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU USSR Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev on a hunt in the hunting farm "Zalesye" (Brovarsky district, Kiev region) with a carbine MC 10-09.

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU USSR Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev on a hunt in the hunting farm "Zalesye" (Brovarsky district, Kiev region) with a carbine MC 10-09. Hunting was a favorite pastime of the rulers of all nations, because among those who took great power, there are no vegetarians. Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, was not averse to hunting either. According to official data, he owned 13 units of rifled and smoothbore weapons. Although one of his contemporaries mentioned almost a hundred guns stored in the collection of the leader. He had more than one and a half hundred hunting rifles, and the reason for that was not even his passion, but the reaction of his colleagues and subordinates to this hobby. He received 2-3 guns for each of his birthdays. Only at Brezhnev's neighboring dacha in Zavidovo there were three huge safes, which contained more than 90 smoothbore hunting rifles. But MC 10-09 was one of his favorite. The Tula factory also made gifts to the head of state. The fitting MC-10-09 had a 9x optical sight PIC 9x39. This weapon was decorated with engraving and gilding. The MC-10-09 had horizontally positioned barrels for a 9x53 hunting cartridge. The butt and forearm are made of walnut wood. The length of the barrels was 600 mm, the weight of the rifle without an optical sight was 3.8 kg. All guns of the MC10 series, made according to a single scheme, were supplied in smooth calibers 10, 12, 16 and 20, as well as in rifled 9x53R. Depending on the type of ammunition used, the designation of the model combines the name of the series with their caliber: MC10-10, MC10-12, MC10-16, MC10-20 and MC10-09. The length of the chambers of all smoothbore models is 70 mm. All guns of the MC10 series are one-piece, exclusive weapons of the highest class. This line has never been in mass production, being made exclusively to order. Their owners were representatives of the top leadership of the countries of the socialist camp, the party nomenclature, and the generals. Among high-ranking hunters, the MC10 rifles were appreciated for their low weight, exceptional balancing and excellent fit, combined with a high working resource and sharp, close combat.