Want more Ljungman action? Henry and Josh at 9 Hole Reivews have their Practical Accuracy run with the AG m/42 live today: ua-cam.com/video/7u2FNHJ9Irc/v-deo.html
The automatic shut-off in gasoline pumps is actually kind of a gas tap system, (obviously it works with way lower pressures). The Ljungman company had several patents in this field, so it may not be too far-fetched for them to get some ideas on gas-operated semi auto rifles. An engineer could explain or dismiss any similarities between these technologies better than me but I think it's an interesting bit of info.
But they weren't using automatic shut-off in the 1930s and 1940s. The "pumps" would be filled with the amount of gasoline the customer wanted to buy, then it would gravity drain into the customer's tank. That's why pumps of the time had a big globe at the top. That and it was the most accurate way of measuring the gasoline being dispensed.
@JH-lo9ut Direct impingement was patented by the French by WWI. They also used it on the MAS-38 IN 1938, which eventually entered service as the MAS-49. I wouldn't be surprised if Swedish engineers were aware of the pre-war French selfloading rifle program.
"Ljungman, there's no need to feel down I said, Ljungman, pick yourself off the ground I said, Ljungman, 'cause you're in a new town There's no need to be unhappy..."
Sounds like that kind of thing your grandpa keeps telling you about from time to time, and once, to humor him, you look it up... to see he's telling the truth.
Had a couple of these. Bought the one back in the '80's for a hundred Canabucks. The real expense came when one wanted to buy ammunition. Until surplus ammo came available, the only fodder was Norma at substantial expense. This was further complicated by the M42b throwing empty brass forward and to the right into the next postal code. If you were lucky enough to find any of your three dollar cases, you'd find a hack mark where the ejector beat the poor thing out of the gun and into orbit. These limitations aside, a neat rifle and a cool bit of engineering. And I had no idea the rear sight was swappable. Thanks, Ian. :)
I had a similar complication with the SVD. I had grand plans of reloading brass cases. However even the steel cases were severely damaged by ejection. The ejector would split and peel the rim every time, and bouncing off the dust cover would crush and crease side of the case and collapse the neck into a crescent shape, before launching several metres diagonally forwards.
The Ljungman was inspired by a SVT-38 captured during the Winter War. The bolt, bolt carrier, main spring are basically the same. They simplified disassembly, improved the safety, and used direct gas. This is why an inventor with no firearms design experience was able to complete the project in 9 months. Absolutely unheard of development cycle for a semiautomatic rifle.
@immikeurnot There are ARs with direct gas or short stroke piston, the gas system does not make a different rifle. Look at the dust cover, how the main spring nests in there, the spring guide rod, the shape of the bolt carrier, the bolt. Those are clearly the same. Also, the layout of gas system over barrel, with detachable magazine, and muzzle brake, field strips by removing dust cover, are all features on the SVT. They may seem common now, but in the 1930s were unusual solutions.
FINALLY!! (True story) I'm 63 and have always been into surplus military rifles. When I was 17 and exploring a gun store I came across this "weird" rifle that intrigued me... until it smacked my thumb viciously! Let's just say my interest quickly waned and I bought my first SMLE that day. I never gave the rifle any more thought, even to the point of finding what the hell it was. All I remembered was the strange triangular bolt and how my thumb hurt. Until today!!! I saw the thumbnail (pun intended) and had a 40+ year flashback! Thank you for clearing that up for me.
I found that to be a really smart field expedient method of changing the sights depending on ammunition available. Over time all the round nose ammo would be expended and you wouldn't have to send your rifles anywhere as the Spitzer ammo comes into service.
I had no idea they made round nosed ammo, til this clip.. We only got military surplus nickel jackets in Australia... cheap too. The 'Swedish Mauser' was pretty popular as a feral pig rifle, copper coated, or soft point reloads worked well. Loud bloody report, you knew someone was using one a mile away!
@@baabaabaa-El I ask, are these types of rifles now banned in Australia? I heard that a new wave of anti-gun laws are happening again there. Over here in Canada, we are experiencing many damned prohibitions, no matter the age or caliber, even aimed at museum and historical and film industry.
@peterb22084 Pretty much banned mate.. you can obtain semi auto rifles if you work as a contract culler (pigs, camel, donkeys etc). Farmers can use them, but the govt make you jump through a mob of hoops (courses, mental health checks etc) all at your own expense. Most blokes just stick with bolt actions, you still have to attend the above, but less stringent... some states are making that harder as we speak. Edit: Best of luck with your political circumstances in Canada mate.🤞🏼
I was in the Swedish army 95-96 and our neighboring unit was an airforce base that still sported Ljungmans (AG42 B) for some their troops assigned with protecting the airstrip.
I bought one in excellent condition back in 1990 for $150.00! It was a 1945 with the brass unit disc in the buttstock. 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser is a very accurate cartridge! This is the one rifle I wish I hadn’t sold… ☹️
Common misconception about the pronunciation of "Automatgevär" is that "Gevär" is pronounced with a hard G, but in reality it's pronounced with a soft G or Y. This is the case for Swedish but I know its different in other languages like German.
@jockc0ck yeah, i cant blame anyone for saying gevär with a hard g tho, just cause it makes sense for anyone who speaks english or german (and probably some other germanic languages)
Ian is clearly more familiar with German, he pronounces a lot of Swedish words in a vaguely German manner. I don't particularly blame him, it's a lot of work to try and pronounce every language according to its own rules when those rules are far from consistent _within_ every language, let alone between them.
I got in contact with the Ag42b during my military service 1974/75 (coastal artillery). We even got to know the water-cooled heavy machine guns m36.. The coastal defence forces got the leftovers from the army.
When I did the military service the costal defense force was the jug heads. I was in the staff of the military command and though I didn't have anything to do with tactics or planning you heard the numbers that they had to work with for the exercises. The costal defense force had a calculated life time of less than an hour, 40 minutes I think it was, once they were called to action. I wondered if that was something they told the recruits. I spent a lot of time signing condolence letters for supposed lost people just in the staff defense personell. Even though it was just training and simulated it still made you feel bad about how cheap the life of a soldier were once there's a war on. It was also depressing when you heard something like how the predicted losses tomorrow somewhere was several thousands and how they were sending reinforcements that should be there hours after. It made thigs feel real, and with all the numbers and the paperwork it was rather depressing. And like I said that was just training. I don't want to even think of just how awful it has to be in Ukraine right now. And I'm talking about both the Ukrainians and the Russian soldiers, not to mention the North Koreans. War is awful. I feel Putin should be forced to write condolence letters for every soldier dead in that war, by hand. Just so he has to realize just how many people he has killed just in that war.
1- I was completely unaware of it, thank you very much for showing it. 2- Very interesting, because of its simplicity, the mechanism for the rear sight according to the 2 types of ammunition. 3- That was adopted the Friday before the attack on Pearl Harbor!!! On Thursday none of the warring powers had a full-scale semi-auto rifle in service... On Monday they did. Greetings from Patagonia Argentina.
The cleaning rod is so much simple genius that you'd think everyone would have done it, so it's hard for me to understand why they didn't? Solidly beats the usual half rods usually issued. Some of the best (and worst) ideas come from people who are not in the field of work where their ideas are to be found because they have no preconceived ideas limiting them.
For the same reason the ramrod on an H&R huntsman seems really cool, until it eats itself. It’s too weak and flimsy to push a tight patch through, and way to weak to remove a stuck case or bore obstruction. I’m sure the designer asked someone why it wasn’t common practice, and then ignored them when they gave him a reason.
I'm guessing it's the cost. There's no real reason to make a tube that slots a rod inside for a cleaning rod. Just chop it, thread it, and stick it on the gun. This is a neat solution but it's in search of a problem.
Telescoping rods tend to bend and break a lot more than solid-rod designs, especially a very thin and long tube like the one we are talking here. It is clever insofar as it saves space, but it is inherently less durable than solid-rod designs which is a major reason you don't see them widely used on military arms.
What I found a little disconcerting when you fire one. First of all you're a little scared of that bolt flying back and forth. It looks flimsy. Then you get that puff of gas in your face and wonder if everything held together. It surprising he didn't mention the gain twist rifling you don't see very often.
I was unaware of this beauty, such a fine example of form following function. The adjustable sight meant to deal with older round nosed ammo is particularly clever, as is the nested cleaning rod. The fit and finish of everything is typically Swedish, beautiful and precise. I am hoping to read comments from people who used these as part of their military service.
Bought 4 with slings, bayonets and frogs and spare parts kits. Sold 3 to pay for the one I kept. Never knew about the cleaning rod. By trial and error we figured out the breech block carrier slamming forward, fortunately no loss of digits. LOL. Also how to field strip it down. Never fired it, ammunition cost a fortune as only commercial ammunition existed. Sold it off many years ago, wish I still had it even if the Canadian government says it is now a prohibited firearm. Never heard of anyone being shot with one of these, ever. Thank you, Gun Jesus.
I had an M42 in the 80s (we called them Swedish Mauser's) the bolt cover had two knobs (like the 2nd rifle). They were pretty common in Australia for some reason, and cheap at the time..the nickel coated 6.5mm military rounds weren't that great on feral pigs, unless they struck bone... copper coated reloads or soft points had the desired effect. They spat flames 50cm from the muzzle, quite a display at night!! Loud report too, kept clean they weren't a bad semi auto. You brought back a few memories.. thanks mate.
Perhaps my favourite ever semi-auto rifle. We had heaps of AG42B's here in Aus(pre1996) and I had never seen an original AG42, so this was very interesting. I found my rifle to be very accurate(almost as good as an M96 Mauser in 6.5) but only in strings of 20-30 rounds letting the rifle cool down. It was a better shooting rifle than the SLR L1A1(FN Fal) IMHO
I'm retired from submarines, but I've never served in an SS. SSN? Yes. SSBN? Yes. SSGN? Yes. Separately, I keep correcting people who call the Secret Service SS. The correct abbreviation is USSS.
I own two AG42b rifles. They are fun to shoot, and accuracy is pretty good as well. I learned a few things today that I didn't know before. Thanks for a great video!
The AG-42 Ljungman is simply a fantastic gun, despite its flaws at the very least it was a far simpler design than the others. I'm glad you got your hands on one of these scarce guns.
Rather than Garand Thumb, this thing would give you Ljungman thumb amputation if you had your thumb in the wrong place. Yes it does hit that hard, just try it and prove me wrong.
If you always put the safety on, you never have the problem. The biggest thing I see is the extraction is very violent, almost half the spent casings are creased even with the pad. It takes Mauser bayonet! The Hakim was made from this rifle, and the standard trick where people use MG13 magazine modified works as well!
Actually the manual of arms would have the weapon on SAFE and after filling the magazine from stripper clips the SAFE/FIRE lever would be placed in the fire mode and that would move the action forward a few millimeters and then you would pull rearward on the top cover to actuate the bolt.
Had no idea that so (relatively) few were made. Back in the heyday of cheap surplus rifles they seemed readily available... even here in Australia. And the 6.5 x 55 has a dedicated following here (for good reason IMO)
Yes mate, they were pretty common out here. I bought one from a workmate for $80 in about '84 (?).. 3 mates had them, mainly for pigs. Military surplus ammo was $5 a box (from memory!). 6.5mm wasn't a bad round, accuracy wise for a semi auto. I think my old man sold mine, part exchange for a Win .22mag l/a.. the bugga!
@@efleschner I was looking at Suzuki Burgman 650 prices a few weeks after the video dropped, and holy shit, people were raising prices all over the map.
Check out Empire Arms. His website looks old and not legit but I got an AG-42 from him a couple years ago. I assure you, the guy that runs the website is awesome and the rifles I've got from him over the years almost look brand new!
Clever on that rear sight in regards to the spitzer vs round nose. Thank you for discussing this detail. The action, is this similar to the Egyptian Hakim?
You actually don't have to snap the action shut on an empty gun like that when you want to close the action. If you bring the action cover completely forwards and then press the rear button it will release the action cover but keep the bolt carrier in the closed position.
Sweden has two rifle cartridges in service during WW2, the 6.5, and a 8x63mm. The later of which they would go and develop a tungsten core AP bullet for together with the importation of mauser rifles chambered for it. Only being able to penetrate 20mm of armour at point blank and with accuracy problems this didn't go very far, but at least the machine gun crews now got a rifle with interchangeable ammo with their MG.
The gas tube vents into a cylinder while the cylinder is shrouded by the receiver. That double envelopement takes the place of gas rings, this is not true impingement as the gas has to travel backwards then forward to escape. True impingement means the gas strikes a flat surface and then changes direction by 90 degrees. This system forces 2 direction changes of 180 degrees. Therefore it is a piston but with a moveable cylinder instead of a moveable piston.
Elklund describes it as a piston action in his patent. Direct impingment doesn't exist. Both this, the direct derivate Hakin/Rasheed and the MAS 49/56 are piston actions.
I love it when a company working in a different area enters a spas we often get game changing designs. The one I like is that an oil field explosives company (zero hour bomb company) had an employee that invented one of the first spin cast reels in the early 1950s. That company became Zebco.
I have waited a long time for you to finally cover the further development of the Ljungman system and the GRAM carbines! By the sounds of things it’s not too much more of a wait!
When I first saw it, I thought wow, I got to have this. I made an offer and the seller agreed. It was not cheap, but they are getting scarce today and definitely not getting cheaper. So not sorry at all about it. Amazing stuff you sometimes buy on a whim.
I really enjoyed this video. Swedish engineering at its best! 🇸🇪💪 I'm really excited about the coming video about Swedish AK4 trials rifles. I saw a picture of a AK4 ( G3 ) in 6,5x55 swede caliber with a curved magazine. I think it's a shame our Swedish defence forces didn't adopt that and kept that excellent cartridge.
I bought one of those back when I had an FFL, being a Swedish American, I love all things Swede. I cleaned her and took her out hunting Shite Tail, we were hunting some land next to land owned by a fellow who allowed no hunting on his acrage, in fact he patrolled his land during hunting season to insure nobody crossed on to his property. Well we saw him sitting on a hill overlooking the area where we had permission to hunt, a small herd of white tail had just crossed the road off his property and onto the legal hunt zone, so I raised my old swede and let go with 2 shots. To my surprise two of the doe's that were about 140 yards out dropped. That was how my deer tag and that of my brother-in-law who was with me were filled by the old veteran of a rifle. Wish I had kept the gun but another dealer knew I had it and called me a few days later wanting to add it to his collection so I let it go with intentions of ordering another for myself. Of course by the time I decided I wanted the replacement another gun had taken my attention and I went with that purchase, I think I bought a Virginia Dragoon in .44 Mag with the money.
This weapon was rechambered in 7,62 mm and used as an aiming rifle for the 90 mm recoilless rifle PVPJ1110. The latter has seen action during the Russo-Ukrainian war.
I was expecting a re-upload of the fantastic Le Youngman video, but this is new material! Ian even pronounces 'Ljungman' correct. None of the other names or cities, but Ljungman is near perfect. Looking forward to part B.
Sweden WAS an active participant in the war. Its just that it was on the side of Sweden. Had they been passive, they might have ended up like Denmark, Norway or... Finland
Sweden sold ball bearings and steel to both sides of the war, but also had enough of a defense that the germans decided it wasn't worth invading as long as they could buy what they needed. Not really a very nice way to handle the war. And there were a a lot of people who wanted Sweden to join the Germans. My father told me that it was really a common opinion until it was obvious that the Nazis were going to be defeated. Then suddenly you couldn't find anyone who admitted to be a Nazi sympathizer. But this was not only a thing in Sweden. WW2 really was a study in horror.
The grandfather of my highschool girlfriend was a resistance fighter during the war. He later became one of the first Danish spec ops guys (Jægerkorpset). He never spoke of his resistance days to me, but my girlfriend relayed a few stories. Apparently he torched a SS troop transport with a molotov at age 15. He was also very unimpressed by the behavior of his countrymen during those years. We like to lionize the resistance fighters now, but back then they were few and far between - far more sympathizers than insurgents. There were thousands of Danish volunteers fighting for Hitler on the eastern front.
By the Ljungman definition of DI, the Ruger Mini 14 is also DI. It isn't a short stroke piston as people claim. Ruger simplified the M14 gas system by removing the piston. Gases are just sent into a blind hole in the operating rod and push it rearward. The difference is just the hole is near the muzzle and the op rod pushes the bolt while the Ljungman uses a tube to direct the gases to the hole in the receiver and doesn't need the op rod extending to the gas block.
That's not the Ljungman definition. Elklund clearly describes it as a piston action in his patent. Direct impingment doesn't exist. Both this, the direct derivate Hakin/Rasheed and the MAS 49/56 are piston actions. The term "direct impingement" had been used for the Ljungman by Stoner, in his patent, to artificially differentiate his "internal gas piston" system to the previous "direct impingement" ones.
I have a 1943 4-digit serial number with no cut out for a stock disk, carbon steel gas tube, (one of the updates was going to stainless steel) and the 2-piece cleaning rod. Once you see how flimsy the 2-piece is you'll know why they went to the latter one piece.
I never knew this weird rifle exists until Anton Hand added it the VR game H3VR due to its odd operations and now finally get to see footage of its operations which is a treat!
Its easier to disassemble if you leave the bolt locked to the cover , remove the safety block and then push the little lever to separate the bolt and cover , then slide both out
15:23 Counter arguement in the DI debate. The flat end face of the gas tube is a fixed piston & the blind hole in the bolt carrier is a cylinder. We are used to seeing the piston move and the cylinder stationary but engine designes with fixed pistons and moving cylinders also exist.
Nor this, nor the directly derived Hakim/Rasheed, nor the MAS49/56 are "direct impingment" actions. Direct impingment doesn't exist. No rifle action ever was actuated simply by the "kick" of the gasses. In Elklund's patent (mind that the guy's main job was to design hydraulic pumps, he knew a thing or two about pressure) this is clearly described as a PISTON action. The "open tube" is actually a piston, and it has the diameter of a piston, because a piston works thanks to pressure X surface area. That's why the external diameters of the "open tubes" of the Ljugman and MAS49/56 are so much larger than the gas key of an AR15 (despite the internal gas pipe being practically the same). Because they need surface area for the pressure to work. The only difference between this, or that of the MAS49/56, action, and that of the Mini14, IE, is the location of the piston and cylinder. "direct impingement" is how Stoner described Elklund's action in his own patent, to artifically differentiate it from it's "internal piston" action. In reality, the ONLY thing that's patented in Stoner's patent is that, in his design, the gasses are in direct contact with the bolt (while, in Elklund's patent, they are in contact with the bolt carrier, not the bolt).
Wasn't this the basis for the Egyptian Hakim and Rasheed rifles? I remember Hakims (8x57) being advertised for sale in the early 1990s - they looked much like this. A friend had one, I remember seeing it at the range once, and I remember it was tricky to operate.
That has got to be one of the coolest rear sights I've ever seen. Leave it to the Swedes to apply common sense to the design of a standard issue rifle *before* it goes into service.
Gotta love the Swedish way: "Ey boss, there is this biggest war in human history all around us. Might need one of those rifle thingys ?" "Well okay...if we really have to. But let's have a year or two off first." "Uhm okay, I guess ?" "We should come up with something which is technically very simple but freaky as hell to build together !" "And that's a valid sales strategy ?" "Yes...use a lot of cheap wood and sale it with some hot dogs." "Ok Ingmar."
Really love both the overall aesthetics and unique action on this one. The optics with options for spitzer or ball really tops it all off. Hooray for old battle rifles!
Sweden weren't just building rifles but up-arming on a massive scale. New tanks, new airplanes, new ships, new howitzers, new AA-guns, new everything. There was a huge demand for high-spec steel, and a lot of the skilled workforce were mobilized into the military. There used to be this saying that you should never buy a house or a boat or a machine that was built during the war years, because the quality of materials and workmanship went down significantly.
Until 1943, Sweden was not self-sufficient in steel - it exported iron ore and imported steel. The war cut off some of that trade, and the efforts to remedy that meant that high-quality steel became scarce and some attempts at small-scale production resulted in shoddy steel. Sweden also had a huge bottle neck in armour production, and actually rolled out the armour used on the old armoured ships HM P Oden and HM P Thor from 1897 were roleld to be thinned out (and larger) and put on the light cruisers HM K Göta Lejon and HM K Tre Kronor.
@@mikaelanteskogadler9568 I didn't know any of that. Thank you. I had just always heard of "Swedish steel" and wasn't aware it should have been Swedish iron.
Could Eugene Stoner have been familiar with the gas tube issue of this obscure rifle or was he just clever enough to recognize that a floating gas tube would be a more forgiving design? It seems a very small issue to overlook, but as you pointed out, could cause quite the problem. Thanks for these videos, really cool insights as always!
I don't know why the AG42 always gets my heart pumping - I don't even have a gun license but I always thought they were cool (and can be excellent shooters from what I've heard)... also love the 6.5x55 cartridge, being an avid air rifle shooter I love flat shooting bullets...
Learned something new, had one pretty long time. They accuracy is pretty good, reliability excellent. Interested to see if the group opens up for 9 Hole Reviews,
I found an Ag m/42B a few years ago, I already love 6.5x55mm, but it's even more pleasant to shoot with a semi-auto. I have a few other battle rifles, an M1A, a Garand, an SVT, and an FN-49, so it's always kind of funny how simple stripping down the m/42 is, even more now that I know it was the work of someone who designed gas pumps
I owned one of those a long time ago before we Australians were all labelled 'mass murderers in waiting' and had to hand our semi autos in. I did like it as it shot flat and certainly ejected the cases! The biggest problem was the action itself as I had to store the rifle in the work armoury which was checked every fortnight and the number of times I went in to discover the action was locked back as 'someone' decided to play with the rifle and didn't know how to close the action. I also owned an SVT-40 which was not the greatest rifle as far as I was concerned but that could have been helped with a replacement spring.
In the early 1980’s, Ljungman’s were quite inexpensive in BC Canada. I had a few of them over time, and found them to be very accurate with Norma 6.5x55 commercial ammo. They were soft shooting, and trouble free in my experience. Those were the days before Canada’s RCMP decided to make laws to prohibit Semi Auto’s with 10 round mags. I hunted with mine and it would still be an excellent rifle for that purpose.
The Swedish rifle breaking because of "bad steel" is pretty funny to me, as a metallurgist, because today Sweden is well known for being the home of Ovako Steel, industry leader in "ultra clean" (chemically pure) steel for things like high speed bearings.
I’m a big fan of when Ian covers the development series of firearms. The SMLE, sten and I forgot what the one from Canada was called. But I find it really cool from an engineering and manufacturing standpoint on the different iterations. Looking forward to the upcoming videos.
That is one of those designs that just looks so cool and with neat little features that you kinda wonder why you don't see it. Then, you think about it for more than five seconds and realize why. Imagine changing the sight, at night, in the snow, below freezing, with that little clip. Or, if any moisture gets into the cleaning rod, you ain't getting that thing apart in the field unless you have a fire going.
But there is pressure built up inside the cupped section of the bolt carrier, otherwise why make it cupped in the first place instead of just a flat surface? Eklund even refers to the end-piece of the gas tube as a piston, because it is fit and finished to provide a gas seal, albeit a very inefficient one. Bloke on the Range has a great video about the ARs gas system that explains this more. I highly recommend it as there are still a lot of misconceptions about the way DI works.
Elklund describes it as a piston action in his patent infact. Direct impingment doesn't exist. Both this, the direct derivate Rasheed and the MAS 49/56 are piston actions. That's also why the "gas tube" has the external diameter of a standard rifle gas piston (and way larger than the diameter of the internal gas pipe). Because in a piston action what moves the carrier is pressure for surface. A smaller piston, (thus with the same internal diameter of the gas pipe, and so the same pressure) wouldn't have had enough force to move the carrier.
Great review, good to hear the correct pronunciation of the name. I have owned an AG42B and appears unfired from its B upgrade. I also have a new spare magazine. It's a favourite of mine.
Want more Ljungman action? Henry and Josh at 9 Hole Reivews have their Practical Accuracy run with the AG m/42 live today: ua-cam.com/video/7u2FNHJ9Irc/v-deo.html
Did y’all coordinate that ahead of time?
Really like 9 Hole Reviews
@@crackmonkeynet i don't like them.
The automatic shut-off in gasoline pumps is actually kind of a gas tap system, (obviously it works with way lower pressures). The Ljungman company had several patents in this field, so it may not be too far-fetched for them to get some ideas on gas-operated semi auto rifles.
An engineer could explain or dismiss any similarities between these technologies better than me but I think it's an interesting bit of info.
That's kind of a cool theory. Fluid dynamics in both cases. Different pressures, and far different fluids, but there's overlap.
This is what the internet is meant to be. Bravo. ❤
what I like about firearms is that they are mechanically , cognitively challenging.
But they weren't using automatic shut-off in the 1930s and 1940s. The "pumps" would be filled with the amount of gasoline the customer wanted to buy, then it would gravity drain into the customer's tank.
That's why pumps of the time had a big globe at the top. That and it was the most accurate way of measuring the gasoline being dispensed.
@JH-lo9ut Direct impingement was patented by the French by WWI. They also used it on the MAS-38 IN 1938, which eventually entered service as the MAS-49. I wouldn't be surprised if Swedish engineers were aware of the pre-war French selfloading rifle program.
"Ljungman, there's no need to feel down
I said, Ljungman, pick yourself off the ground
I said, Ljungman, 'cause you're in a new town
There's no need to be unhappy..."
😂😂😂👍
Sssstaaahhhpp it😂😂😂😂😂
It took me a second to pick up on the Village People tune.
Noooooo you beat me to it nooooo
Bro… 😂😂😂
Worthwhile to be noted, that Eklund not only has never developed a gun prior to the Ljungman, but also never again. It was an one-hit-wonder.
Sounds like that kind of thing your grandpa keeps telling you about from time to time, and once, to humor him, you look it up... to see he's telling the truth.
The Ljungman in the YMCA song wasn't a one hit wonder
Had a couple of these. Bought the one back in the '80's for a hundred Canabucks. The real expense came when one wanted to buy ammunition. Until surplus ammo came available, the only fodder was Norma at substantial expense. This was further complicated by the M42b throwing empty brass forward and to the right into the next postal code. If you were lucky enough to find any of your three dollar cases, you'd find a hack mark where the ejector beat the poor thing out of the gun and into orbit.
These limitations aside, a neat rifle and a cool bit of engineering. And I had no idea the rear sight was swappable. Thanks, Ian. :)
I had a similar complication with the SVD. I had grand plans of reloading brass cases. However even the steel cases were severely damaged by ejection. The ejector would split and peel the rim every time, and bouncing off the dust cover would crush and crease side of the case and collapse the neck into a crescent shape, before launching several metres diagonally forwards.
The Ljungman was inspired by a SVT-38 captured during the Winter War. The bolt, bolt carrier, main spring are basically the same. They simplified disassembly, improved the safety, and used direct gas. This is why an inventor with no firearms design experience was able to complete the project in 9 months. Absolutely unheard of development cycle for a semiautomatic rifle.
Maybe copied, but the weirdest cocking system ever!
Disassembling them side by side really illustrates just how similar they are.
I was hoping this would come up in the video. Taking an svt apart a couple months ago it's like- holy cow, I know this system
In what ways was it inspired? The gas system is completely different.
@immikeurnot There are ARs with direct gas or short stroke piston, the gas system does not make a different rifle. Look at the dust cover, how the main spring nests in there, the spring guide rod, the shape of the bolt carrier, the bolt. Those are clearly the same. Also, the layout of gas system over barrel, with detachable magazine, and muzzle brake, field strips by removing dust cover, are all features on the SVT. They may seem common now, but in the 1930s were unusual solutions.
FINALLY!! (True story) I'm 63 and have always been into surplus military rifles. When I was 17 and exploring a gun store I came across this "weird" rifle that intrigued me... until it smacked my thumb viciously! Let's just say my interest quickly waned and I bought my first SMLE that day.
I never gave the rifle any more thought, even to the point of finding what the hell it was. All I remembered was the strange triangular bolt and how my thumb hurt. Until today!!! I saw the thumbnail (pun intended) and had a 40+ year flashback! Thank you for clearing that up for me.
@@buckgulick3968 Might also have been an Egyptian Hakim.
@@iskandartaib which is just a Ljungman Copy
@@larsjansson6924Curb your racism, it's licensed from Sweden and the Egyptians bought the original tooling too.
I forgot about those being biters worse than a Garand probably.
@@iskandartaib Upon reflection I think it was a Hakim.
The 2 sets of holes in the sight drum is a pretty neat visualization in the difference in ballistics of a round nose vs spitzer bullet.
I found that to be a really smart field expedient method of changing the sights depending on ammunition available. Over time all the round nose ammo would be expended and you wouldn't have to send your rifles anywhere as the Spitzer ammo comes into service.
Aye, that rear sight is a fascinating engineering fix.
I had no idea they made round nosed ammo, til this clip..
We only got military surplus nickel jackets in Australia... cheap too.
The 'Swedish Mauser' was pretty popular as a feral pig rifle, copper coated, or soft point reloads worked well.
Loud bloody report, you knew someone was using one a mile away!
@@baabaabaa-El I ask, are these types of rifles now banned in Australia? I heard that a new wave of anti-gun laws are happening again there.
Over here in Canada, we are experiencing many damned prohibitions, no matter the age or caliber, even aimed at museum and historical and film industry.
@peterb22084
Pretty much banned mate.. you can obtain semi auto rifles if you work as a contract culler (pigs, camel, donkeys etc).
Farmers can use them, but the govt make you jump through a mob of hoops (courses, mental health checks etc) all at your own expense.
Most blokes just stick with bolt actions, you still have to attend the above, but less stringent... some states are making that harder as we speak.
Edit: Best of luck with your political circumstances in Canada mate.🤞🏼
I was in the Swedish army 95-96 and our neighboring unit was an airforce base that still sported Ljungmans (AG42 B) for some their troops assigned with protecting the airstrip.
It will make Garand thumb look like a paper cut.
Iunno man, paper-cuts are still pretty gnarly depending on where they occur.
Hakim Stump's daddy.
I had my Hakim catch the web of my hand between thumb and pointer, almost hole punched it. Did not repeat that mistake
I know it was big a mistake
@@eddarling1871 Pain is a good Teacher !!
Hello from Canada
Owned a 42B (and a Hakim, and Rashid) for decades, but only today saw the nested cleaning rod!!!!!
Yes, me too!
Same here. Had mine for years and never noticed that
I bought one in excellent condition back in 1990 for $150.00!
It was a 1945 with the brass unit disc in the buttstock. 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser is a very accurate cartridge! This is the one rifle I wish I hadn’t sold… ☹️
Not just accurate, but it's incredibly soft shooting as well.
Never fired a bolt action 6.5 x 55, but the accuracy wasn't bad for a s/a... loud as buggery!
Common misconception about the pronunciation of "Automatgevär" is that "Gevär" is pronounced with a hard G, but in reality it's pronounced with a soft G or Y. This is the case for Swedish but I know its different in other languages like German.
It is a really common misconception but to be fair the Swedish and german languages have quite a bit in common
@jockc0ck yeah, i cant blame anyone for saying gevär with a hard g tho, just cause it makes sense for anyone who speaks english or german (and probably some other germanic languages)
Interesting
Ian is clearly more familiar with German, he pronounces a lot of Swedish words in a vaguely German manner.
I don't particularly blame him, it's a lot of work to try and pronounce every language according to its own rules when those rules are far from consistent _within_ every language, let alone between them.
like greta thunberg... in german, it's just the 'j' that gets pronounced as a 'y:.
I got in contact with the Ag42b during my military service 1974/75 (coastal artillery). We even got to know the water-cooled heavy machine guns m36..
The coastal defence forces got the leftovers from the army.
When I did the military service the costal defense force was the jug heads. I was in the staff of the military command and though I didn't have anything to do with tactics or planning you heard the numbers that they had to work with for the exercises. The costal defense force had a calculated life time of less than an hour, 40 minutes I think it was, once they were called to action. I wondered if that was something they told the recruits. I spent a lot of time signing condolence letters for supposed lost people just in the staff defense personell. Even though it was just training and simulated it still made you feel bad about how cheap the life of a soldier were once there's a war on. It was also depressing when you heard something like how the predicted losses tomorrow somewhere was several thousands and how they were sending reinforcements that should be there hours after. It made thigs feel real, and with all the numbers and the paperwork it was rather depressing. And like I said that was just training. I don't want to even think of just how awful it has to be in Ukraine right now. And I'm talking about both the Ukrainians and the Russian soldiers, not to mention the North Koreans. War is awful. I feel Putin should be forced to write condolence letters for every soldier dead in that war, by hand. Just so he has to realize just how many people he has killed just in that war.
In fairness, even the army used the m/36 water cooled machine guns on vehicles well into the 1980's, and the m/39 is still used in the CV90.
I have an AG42B, and it is my favorite rifle in my collection. It shoots like a Mauser and is more reliable than my Garand. It is an awesome rifle.
Beautiful rifle. The Swedes have style.
They really do. Just look at their aircraft, like the Saab Viggen. Whoo that's a good looking plane. The Gripen is beautiful too.
1- I was completely unaware of it, thank you very much for showing it.
2- Very interesting, because of its simplicity, the mechanism for the rear sight according to the 2 types of ammunition.
3- That was adopted the Friday before the attack on Pearl Harbor!!! On Thursday none of the warring powers had a full-scale semi-auto rifle in service... On Monday they did.
Greetings from Patagonia Argentina.
Sweden was neutral. America had the M1 Garand in service before Pearl Harbor.
@@JohnHughesChampigny For USA the Second World War begun only at 7. December 1941.
@@Ba_Yegu Exactly! That's why I wrote "warring powers." Greetings from Patagonia Argentina.
The cleaning rod is so much simple genius that you'd think everyone would have done it, so it's hard for me to understand why they didn't? Solidly beats the usual half rods usually issued. Some of the best (and worst) ideas come from people who are not in the field of work where their ideas are to be found because they have no preconceived ideas limiting them.
For the same reason the ramrod on an H&R huntsman seems really cool, until it eats itself. It’s too weak and flimsy to push a tight patch through, and way to weak to remove a stuck case or bore obstruction.
I’m sure the designer asked someone why it wasn’t common practice, and then ignored them when they gave him a reason.
I'm guessing it's the cost. There's no real reason to make a tube that slots a rod inside for a cleaning rod. Just chop it, thread it, and stick it on the gun. This is a neat solution but it's in search of a problem.
Hollow rods got crushed by Sven's forest antics.
Telescoping rods tend to bend and break a lot more than solid-rod designs, especially a very thin and long tube like the one we are talking here. It is clever insofar as it saves space, but it is inherently less durable than solid-rod designs which is a major reason you don't see them widely used on military arms.
Makes me wonder if the skinny end wasn't intended to clean the gas tube...
These are terrifying when the bolt snaps shut with incredible force...
You heard about Garand Thumb.
Now ready yourself for Ljungman No-Thumb.
@@vicarus2728 In Swedish we call it "Ljungmantumme" - Ljungman Thumb 😀
What I found a little disconcerting when you fire one. First of all you're a little scared of that bolt flying back and forth. It looks flimsy. Then you get that puff of gas in your face and wonder if everything held together. It surprising he didn't mention the gain twist rifling you don't see very often.
yep ... if you want to maintain a workable hand keep it clear of the bolt ... the bolt closes like a mentally unhinged express train
When enemy sees what terrifying weapons they are facing, they run away.
I was unaware of this beauty, such a fine example of form following function. The adjustable sight meant to deal with older round nosed ammo is particularly clever, as is the nested cleaning rod. The fit and finish of everything is typically Swedish, beautiful and precise. I am hoping to read comments from people who used these as part of their military service.
Bought 4 with slings, bayonets and frogs and spare parts kits. Sold 3 to pay for the one I kept. Never knew about the cleaning rod. By trial and error we figured out the breech block carrier slamming forward, fortunately no loss of digits. LOL. Also how to field strip it down. Never fired it, ammunition cost a fortune as only commercial ammunition existed. Sold it off many years ago, wish I still had it even if the Canadian government says it is now a prohibited firearm. Never heard of anyone being shot with one of these, ever. Thank you, Gun Jesus.
I always enjoy when an individual like the inspector can be identified in connection to these old weapons. Thanks for the content.
I had an M42 in the 80s (we called them Swedish Mauser's) the bolt cover had two knobs (like the 2nd rifle).
They were pretty common in Australia for some reason, and cheap at the time..the nickel coated 6.5mm military rounds weren't that great on feral pigs, unless they struck bone... copper coated reloads or soft points had the desired effect.
They spat flames 50cm from the muzzle, quite a display at night!!
Loud report too, kept clean they weren't a bad semi auto.
You brought back a few memories.. thanks mate.
Perhaps my favourite ever semi-auto rifle. We had heaps of AG42B's here in Aus(pre1996) and I had never seen an original AG42, so this was very interesting. I found my rifle to be very accurate(almost as good as an M96 Mauser in 6.5) but only in strings of 20-30 rounds letting the rifle cool down. It was a better shooting rifle than the SLR L1A1(FN Fal) IMHO
The swappable detent plate on the rear sight sent me that was such a good idea
As a qualified submarine sailor, I can sympathize with the remark about the abbreviation ss.
I'm retired from submarines, but I've never served in an SS. SSN? Yes. SSBN? Yes. SSGN? Yes.
Separately, I keep correcting people who call the Secret Service SS. The correct abbreviation is USSS.
I own two AG42b rifles. They are fun to shoot, and accuracy is pretty good as well. I learned a few things today that I didn't know before. Thanks for a great video!
The AG-42 Ljungman is simply a fantastic gun, despite its flaws at the very least it was a far simpler design than the others. I'm glad you got your hands on one of these scarce guns.
Rather than Garand Thumb, this thing would give you Ljungman thumb amputation if you had your thumb in the wrong place.
Yes it does hit that hard, just try it and prove me wrong.
Cardboard backdrop = max minimalist Ikea vibe
Question is, are they filming in front of a cardboard box, or inside one ?
7:31, You're right, that's not a 'Garand Thumb Injury', that's a 'Where I Previously HAD A Thumb'. 😳
Can confirm.
Ljungman: “m1 thumb, ha hold my Akavavit”
haha xD
If you always put the safety on, you never have the problem. The biggest thing I see is the extraction is very violent, almost half the spent casings are creased even with the pad. It takes Mauser bayonet! The Hakim was made from this rifle, and the standard trick where people use MG13 magazine modified works as well!
The only other rule is to not take the bolt and bolt carrier off together, at best launched across the room at worst into your eye!
Actually the manual of arms would have the weapon on SAFE and after filling the magazine from stripper clips the SAFE/FIRE lever would be placed in the fire mode and that would move the action forward a few millimeters and then you would pull rearward on the top cover to actuate the bolt.
Had no idea that so (relatively) few were made. Back in the heyday of cheap surplus rifles they seemed readily available... even here in Australia. And the 6.5 x 55 has a dedicated following here (for good reason IMO)
Yes mate, they were pretty common out here.
I bought one from a workmate for $80 in about '84 (?).. 3 mates had them, mainly for pigs.
Military surplus ammo was $5 a box (from memory!).
6.5mm wasn't a bad round, accuracy wise for a semi auto.
I think my old man sold mine, part exchange for a Win .22mag l/a.. the bugga!
I really like the look of the triangle design.
Another rifle I'll never be able to afford. Goodbye decent AG42 prices!
I feel the same way when FortNine posts a video praising a vintage motorcycle.
@@efleschner I was looking at Suzuki Burgman 650 prices a few weeks after the video dropped, and holy shit, people were raising prices all over the map.
Check out Empire Arms. His website looks old and not legit but I got an AG-42 from him a couple years ago. I assure you, the guy that runs the website is awesome and the rifles I've got from him over the years almost look brand new!
I have both a Swedish M96 and AG M42 have to say both of these rifles are incredible.
Clever on that rear sight in regards to the spitzer vs round nose. Thank you for discussing this detail.
The action, is this similar to the Egyptian Hakim?
YOUNG MAN there's no need to get down
Young man..
Pick your thumb off the ground!!
This will soon be worse than rickrolling.
You actually don't have to snap the action shut on an empty gun like that when you want to close the action. If you bring the action cover completely forwards and then press the rear button it will release the action cover but keep the bolt carrier in the closed position.
Sweden has two rifle cartridges in service during WW2, the 6.5, and a 8x63mm.
The later of which they would go and develop a tungsten core AP bullet for together with the importation of mauser rifles chambered for it.
Only being able to penetrate 20mm of armour at point blank and with accuracy problems this didn't go very far, but at least the machine gun crews now got a rifle with interchangeable ammo with their MG.
The gas tube vents into a cylinder while the cylinder is shrouded by the receiver. That double envelopement takes the place of gas rings, this is not true impingement as the gas has to travel backwards then forward to escape. True impingement means the gas strikes a flat surface and then changes direction by 90 degrees. This system forces 2 direction changes of 180 degrees. Therefore it is a piston but with a moveable cylinder instead of a moveable piston.
Elklund describes it as a piston action in his patent.
Direct impingment doesn't exist. Both this, the direct derivate Hakin/Rasheed and the MAS 49/56 are piston actions.
I love it when a company working in a different area enters a spas we often get game changing designs. The one I like is that an oil field explosives company (zero hour bomb company) had an employee that invented one of the first spin cast reels in the early 1950s. That company became Zebco.
Bolt can also be used as a makeshift circumcision tool
I didn’t realize Israel issued these…
Let’s not make a mountain out of a mohel here
Careful now.
Just the tip
😂😂😂
You'd wanna be bloody accurate, or you might've been gelded as well!!
@11:00 it would have been nice if you had shown the 2 different Swedish rifle cartridges for comparison while discussing the sighting.
I have waited a long time for you to finally cover the further development of the Ljungman system and the GRAM carbines! By the sounds of things it’s not too much more of a wait!
"way worse than Garand Thumb" a phrase with meaning on so many levels
Wow! One of the first 6.5x55 I purchased is an AG42 (B - I believe) - which I still have, serial number 30***B.
I, as a youngman myself, was a bonehead to pass these by. I did grab a pair of m96's .
When I first saw it, I thought wow, I got to have this. I made an offer and the seller agreed. It was not cheap, but they are getting scarce today and definitely not getting cheaper. So not sorry at all about it. Amazing stuff you sometimes buy on a whim.
I really enjoyed this video. Swedish engineering at its best! 🇸🇪💪 I'm really excited about the coming video about Swedish AK4 trials rifles. I saw a picture of a AK4 ( G3 ) in 6,5x55 swede caliber with a curved magazine. I think it's a shame our Swedish defence forces didn't adopt that and kept that excellent cartridge.
I thought Ian already had a video on this gun. I guess that technically also makes it a forgotten weapon
I bought one of those back when I had an FFL, being a Swedish American, I love all things Swede. I cleaned her and took her out hunting Shite Tail, we were hunting some land next to land owned by a fellow who allowed no hunting on his acrage, in fact he patrolled his land during hunting season to insure nobody crossed on to his property. Well we saw him sitting on a hill overlooking the area where we had permission to hunt, a small herd of white tail had just crossed the road off his property and onto the legal hunt zone, so I raised my old swede and let go with 2 shots. To my surprise two of the doe's that were about 140 yards out dropped. That was how my deer tag and that of my brother-in-law who was with me were filled by the old veteran of a rifle. Wish I had kept the gun but another dealer knew I had it and called me a few days later wanting to add it to his collection so I let it go with intentions of ordering another for myself. Of course by the time I decided I wanted the replacement another gun had taken my attention and I went with that purchase, I think I bought a Virginia Dragoon in .44 Mag with the money.
Excellent. Thank you.
The FNC , Ag 42 and the Nordenfelt videos where the first I saw on the channel , nice to take a trip down memory lane.
I have the "B" model, and it's a wonderful shooter!! Thanks, Ian!! 👍
This weapon was rechambered in 7,62 mm and used as an aiming rifle for the 90 mm recoilless rifle PVPJ1110. The latter has seen action during the Russo-Ukrainian war.
I was expecting a re-upload of the fantastic Le Youngman video, but this is new material! Ian even pronounces 'Ljungman' correct. None of the other names or cities, but Ljungman is near perfect. Looking forward to part B.
Sweden WAS an active participant in the war. Its just that it was on the side of Sweden. Had they been passive, they might have ended up like Denmark, Norway or... Finland
Yea, theyre smart
This.
Sweden sold ball bearings and steel to both sides of the war, but also had enough of a defense that the germans decided it wasn't worth invading as long as they could buy what they needed. Not really a very nice way to handle the war. And there were a a lot of people who wanted Sweden to join the Germans. My father told me that it was really a common opinion until it was obvious that the Nazis were going to be defeated. Then suddenly you couldn't find anyone who admitted to be a Nazi sympathizer. But this was not only a thing in Sweden. WW2 really was a study in horror.
@blahorgaslisk7763 interesting
The grandfather of my highschool girlfriend was a resistance fighter during the war. He later became one of the first Danish spec ops guys (Jægerkorpset). He never spoke of his resistance days to me, but my girlfriend relayed a few stories. Apparently he torched a SS troop transport with a molotov at age 15. He was also very unimpressed by the behavior of his countrymen during those years. We like to lionize the resistance fighters now, but back then they were few and far between - far more sympathizers than insurgents. There were thousands of Danish volunteers fighting for Hitler on the eastern front.
Can you make please make more about Scandinavian fireweapons?
ua-cam.com/play/PL9e3UCcU00TSNzHWvLVIkUjOQ9zPPjnHK.html
By the Ljungman definition of DI, the Ruger Mini 14 is also DI. It isn't a short stroke piston as people claim. Ruger simplified the M14 gas system by removing the piston. Gases are just sent into a blind hole in the operating rod and push it rearward. The difference is just the hole is near the muzzle and the op rod pushes the bolt while the Ljungman uses a tube to direct the gases to the hole in the receiver and doesn't need the op rod extending to the gas block.
That's not the Ljungman definition. Elklund clearly describes it as a piston action in his patent.
Direct impingment doesn't exist. Both this, the direct derivate Hakin/Rasheed and the MAS 49/56 are piston actions.
The term "direct impingement" had been used for the Ljungman by Stoner, in his patent, to artificially differentiate his "internal gas piston" system to the previous "direct impingement" ones.
I have a 1943 4-digit serial number with no cut out for a stock disk, carbon steel gas tube, (one of the updates was going to stainless steel) and the 2-piece cleaning rod. Once you see how flimsy the 2-piece is you'll know why they went to the latter one piece.
I never knew this weird rifle exists until Anton Hand added it the VR game H3VR due to its odd operations and now finally get to see footage of its operations which is a treat!
I had one, I had to sell it for economic reasons. I still regret having to do that. One of the best military rifles I have owned.
Ok that sight nob is genius.
3:30 Ian, do you know what that B marking is? I have a similar making on my Schmidt-Rubin M1911.
What a cool rifle
Yeeeeees, finally! My favorite weapon of all time, psyched to watch this!
Its easier to disassemble if you leave the bolt locked to the cover , remove the safety block and then push the little lever to separate the bolt and cover , then slide both out
15:23 Counter arguement in the DI debate. The flat end face of the gas tube is a fixed piston & the blind hole in the bolt carrier is a cylinder.
We are used to seeing the piston move and the cylinder stationary but engine designes with fixed pistons and moving cylinders also exist.
Nor this, nor the directly derived Hakim/Rasheed, nor the MAS49/56 are "direct impingment" actions.
Direct impingment doesn't exist. No rifle action ever was actuated simply by the "kick" of the gasses.
In Elklund's patent (mind that the guy's main job was to design hydraulic pumps, he knew a thing or two about pressure) this is clearly described as a PISTON action. The "open tube" is actually a piston, and it has the diameter of a piston, because a piston works thanks to pressure X surface area. That's why the external diameters of the "open tubes" of the Ljugman and MAS49/56 are so much larger than the gas key of an AR15 (despite the internal gas pipe being practically the same). Because they need surface area for the pressure to work.
The only difference between this, or that of the MAS49/56, action, and that of the Mini14, IE, is the location of the piston and cylinder.
"direct impingement" is how Stoner described Elklund's action in his own patent, to artifically differentiate it from it's "internal piston" action.
In reality, the ONLY thing that's patented in Stoner's patent is that, in his design, the gasses are in direct contact with the bolt (while, in Elklund's patent, they are in contact with the bolt carrier, not the bolt).
Wasn't this the basis for the Egyptian Hakim and Rasheed rifles? I remember Hakims (8x57) being advertised for sale in the early 1990s - they looked much like this. A friend had one, I remember seeing it at the range once, and I remember it was tricky to operate.
Yes, it was.
it was called the thumb crusher in the Swedish military. a rifle that never realy became the main rifle of the swedish military.
The dual bdc in the sight cam is actually incredibly awesome. Really clever little design for solving the ammo logistics problem.
y’all think Stoner knew about the issues with this rifle and the attached gas tube?
I really enjoy 'Forgotten Weapons' videos, and especially the self-loading rifle episodes.
They make me love my '57 Russian SKS even more.
That has got to be one of the coolest rear sights I've ever seen. Leave it to the Swedes to apply common sense to the design of a standard issue rifle *before* it goes into service.
Gotta love the Swedish way:
"Ey boss, there is this biggest war in human history all around us. Might need one of those rifle thingys ?"
"Well okay...if we really have to. But let's have a year or two off first."
"Uhm okay, I guess ?"
"We should come up with something which is technically very simple but freaky as hell to build together !"
"And that's a valid sales strategy ?"
"Yes...use a lot of cheap wood and sale it with some hot dogs."
"Ok Ingmar."
Really love both the overall aesthetics and unique action on this one. The optics with options for spitzer or ball really tops it all off. Hooray for old battle rifles!
Despite being somewhat over engineered the sight adjustment and cleaning rod are pretty cool ideas.
Strange that the Swedes were getting bad steel for the extractors when they were known for their steel.
The demand for steel exploded due to the war and quality suffered as quality control could not keep up with the sheer volume of steel being produced.
Might also be a production/refinement issue - maybe they issued the wrong specs to steel mills, or the heat treat was bad
Sweden weren't just building rifles but up-arming on a massive scale. New tanks, new airplanes, new ships, new howitzers, new AA-guns, new everything.
There was a huge demand for high-spec steel, and a lot of the skilled workforce were mobilized into the military.
There used to be this saying that you should never buy a house or a boat or a machine that was built during the war years, because the quality of materials and workmanship went down significantly.
Until 1943, Sweden was not self-sufficient in steel - it exported iron ore and imported steel. The war cut off some of that trade, and the efforts to remedy that meant that high-quality steel became scarce and some attempts at small-scale production resulted in shoddy steel.
Sweden also had a huge bottle neck in armour production, and actually rolled out the armour used on the old armoured ships HM P Oden and HM P Thor from 1897 were roleld to be thinned out (and larger) and put on the light cruisers HM K Göta Lejon and HM K Tre Kronor.
@@mikaelanteskogadler9568 I didn't know any of that. Thank you. I had just always heard of "Swedish steel" and wasn't aware it should have been Swedish iron.
Could Eugene Stoner have been familiar with the gas tube issue of this obscure rifle or was he just clever enough to recognize that a floating gas tube would be a more forgiving design? It seems a very small issue to overlook, but as you pointed out, could cause quite the problem.
Thanks for these videos, really cool insights as always!
I don't know why the AG42 always gets my heart pumping - I don't even have a gun license but I always thought they were cool (and can be excellent shooters from what I've heard)... also love the 6.5x55 cartridge, being an avid air rifle shooter I love flat shooting bullets...
Now I can see where Eugene Stoner got his primary inspiration...
This is one of the neatest rifles I’ve ever seen. The cleaning rod and the rear sight are just awesome.
Bravo, as usual!
Learned something new, had one pretty long time. They accuracy is pretty good, reliability excellent. Interested to see if the group opens up for 9 Hole Reviews,
I found an Ag m/42B a few years ago, I already love 6.5x55mm, but it's even more pleasant to shoot with a semi-auto.
I have a few other battle rifles, an M1A, a Garand, an SVT, and an FN-49, so it's always kind of funny how simple stripping down the m/42 is, even more now that I know it was the work of someone who designed gas pumps
Excellent video
I think I just fell in love with that cleaning rod design!
I owned one of those a long time ago before we Australians were all labelled 'mass murderers in waiting' and had to hand our semi autos in. I did like it as it shot flat and certainly ejected the cases! The biggest problem was the action itself as I had to store the rifle in the work armoury which was checked every fortnight and the number of times I went in to discover the action was locked back as 'someone' decided to play with the rifle and didn't know how to close the action.
I also owned an SVT-40 which was not the greatest rifle as far as I was concerned but that could have been helped with a replacement spring.
In the early 1980’s, Ljungman’s were quite inexpensive in BC Canada. I had a few of them over time, and found them to be very accurate with Norma 6.5x55 commercial ammo. They were soft shooting, and trouble free in my experience. Those were the days before Canada’s RCMP decided to make laws to prohibit Semi Auto’s with 10 round mags. I hunted with mine and it would still be an excellent rifle for that purpose.
Somehow I missed that Captain Pelo got his rifle into Swedish testing and apparently did quite well.
The Swedish rifle breaking because of "bad steel" is pretty funny to me, as a metallurgist, because today Sweden is well known for being the home of Ovako Steel, industry leader in "ultra clean" (chemically pure) steel for things like high speed bearings.
I’m a big fan of when Ian covers the development series of firearms. The SMLE, sten and I forgot what the one from Canada was called. But I find it really cool from an engineering and manufacturing standpoint on the different iterations. Looking forward to the upcoming videos.
the garand thumb she tells you not to worry about
That is one of those designs that just looks so cool and with neat little features that you kinda wonder why you don't see it. Then, you think about it for more than five seconds and realize why. Imagine changing the sight, at night, in the snow, below freezing, with that little clip. Or, if any moisture gets into the cleaning rod, you ain't getting that thing apart in the field unless you have a fire going.
But there is pressure built up inside the cupped section of the bolt carrier, otherwise why make it cupped in the first place instead of just a flat surface? Eklund even refers to the end-piece of the gas tube as a piston, because it is fit and finished to provide a gas seal, albeit a very inefficient one.
Bloke on the Range has a great video about the ARs gas system that explains this more. I highly recommend it as there are still a lot of misconceptions about the way DI works.
Elklund describes it as a piston action in his patent infact.
Direct impingment doesn't exist. Both this, the direct derivate Rasheed and the MAS 49/56 are piston actions.
That's also why the "gas tube" has the external diameter of a standard rifle gas piston (and way larger than the diameter of the internal gas pipe). Because in a piston action what moves the carrier is pressure for surface. A smaller piston, (thus with the same internal diameter of the gas pipe, and so the same pressure) wouldn't have had enough force to move the carrier.
Still have mine. Bought it out of the bargain barrel at the Roses in Cornelius NC in '89.
Great review, good to hear the correct pronunciation of the name.
I have owned an AG42B and appears unfired from its B upgrade. I also have a new spare magazine.
It's a favourite of mine.
Off to watch Henry shoot the B model now, thanks Ian!
5:40 When the boys say NERF or nothing.