One of the significant foreign rifles in Finnish service during the Winter War and Continuation War was the Swedish M96 Mauser. These rifles began arriving in Finland even before Finlandâs independence, and in 1919 the Civil Guard was given ownership of 1,390 of them. The numbers increased slowly through individual purchases by Finnish sport shooters and Civil Guardsmen in the 1920s, but it was in 1940 that Finland arrange the purchase of a large number. In total, 77,000 more M96 rifles were bought from Sweden during the Winter War, plus about 8,000 more brought and left in Finland by men of the Swedish Volunteer Corps.
About 30,000 of these rifles were returned to Sweden in mid 1940, with the remainder staying in Finnish inventory until the early 1950s. In both the Winter War and Continuation War they saw significant combat service, with the Swedish volunteers, with Finnish forces in northern Finland, and with Costal Infantry and Coastal Artillery units fighting in the south. When they were finally surplussed by Finland in the 50s, they were repurchased by Sweden, overhauled, and put back into service. The Finnish examples found today on the US collector market can be identified by their âSAâ Finnish property stamps and (usually) Swedish single-screw stock disks.
9 Hole Reviews Taking the M96 to the 1000-Yard Range:
Todayâs article is not about âassault riflesâ as you might think of them.
Youâll hear nothing of Stonerâs first black rifles designs, the STG-44, or the M1 Carbine. No, today we discuss firearms that will take the angst and ire of gun-hating hoplophobes and safe-space needing liberals to an entirely new level.
Yes, today weâll be talking about the high-capacity weapons in use in the days before Jamestown was settled in Virginia and Shakespeare was still alive.
Weâre talking about the so-called âLewis and Clark Air Rifleâ (Girandoni Air Rifle), Kalthoff Repeater, and the Belton Flintlock. And for the record, âsuperposed loadâ is not a category or tag on naughty movie sites.
These are guns that do not quite fit the idea of a Second Amendment written âjust for single-shot firearmsâ.
The RPK is a gas-operated air-cooled weapon capable of both semiautomatic and automatic fire. Its heavy chrome-lined barrel is unable to be changed, severely limiting its sustained rate of fire. The RPK fires from a closed, rotating bolt. The stamped steel receiver is similar to that used on the AKM. The RPK can even interchange many parts with the AKM. This squad automatic weapon is fitted with a built-in bipod of steel.
You must be logged in to post a comment.