There were lots of exciting firearms at SHOT Show 2026, but few as show-stopping as the Roswell Rifle Works SR-3M design, a copy of the Russian Vikhr design. 

Soviet Subsonics

People might think that the subsonic culture was created by the West, but the Soviets were actually very into subsonic suppressed shooting in modern platforms. In the early 1980s, the Soviets developed the 9x39mm cartridge, which is a 9mm bullet pressed in the famous Soviet 39mm rifle casing. 
 

The new cartridge fired a projectile that was around 250 grains at about 1,000 fps. This slow cartridge was perfect for suppressed shooting, which was growing in popularity with special operations units. In the 1980s, the most prominent Soviet rifles developed were the VAL and VSS. 

Although the Soviet Union fell, the Russian 9x39 program continued to grow. However, the 9x39 phenomenon has been pretty much restricted to the East, with few 9x39 designs in the United States. 
 

Roswell’s SR-3M

The RRW SR-3M is a 95-percent clone of the original Vikhr rifle. The only difference in the designs is that the new Roswell copy uses a more common thread pitch for Western-manufactured suppressors. This design operates on a short-stroke gas piston and feeds from AS-VAL-pattern magazines, which RRW also manufactures. 

The design does have some backward compatibility with Russian-made parts, but Roswell is manufacturing its own parts domestically. The company plans to sell the design as either a braced pistol or an SBR. 
 

The SR-3 Vikhr

The recent conflict between Russia and Ukraine has surfaced a plethora of Russian-designed firearms that have not had much exposure in the West. One of those designs is the Russian SR-3 Vikhr, a compact rifle designed for special operations units. Unlike the VSS and VAL, the Vikhr is not integrally suppressed and just houses a Soviet suppressor mount. 

Again, like most Russian designs, there is no real opportunity for people in the United States to shoot or own these rifles. That fact did not sit well with the folks at Roswell Rifle Works, so they have introduced the RRW SR-3M. The company already manufactures the elusive 9x39mm cartridge, and now Roswell has this new Russian-pattern firearm available as a rifle and a pistol. 

For somebody who loves old military surplus designs and has great envy for people who get to shoot Russian vaporware, this is probably one of the most exciting things I’ve seen at SHOT Show in years.