Summarises the reason for why Forsvartjenesten uses them. Combat on Norwegian soil could/can vary thanks to Norway being like 80% mountain, with 70% of that having forest. Some parts longer range, some parts closer range, very wide open yet also very tight, and weather that is often cold and rainy, all of that condensed into the same locale.
@@jmdesertadventures803 Great to be able to shoot the eyeballs off a mosquito at the range. High mag scope focus you through them it becomes your reality. Low mag leaves one Mk1 eyeball doing it's situational job. They are all good kit.
@@elijahaitaok8624 sometimes, if you have a modern handgun scope probably, the real advantage is with the scope farther forward is it's easier to correctly align ones eye with it
I think a better translation is: AG3 - serving faithfully in the Norwegian Armed Forces for 50 years. While "forsvaret" translates as "the defense", "Forsvaret" (capital F) translates as "Norwegian Armed Forces" as that is what we call our armed forces.
One of the things I love about Forgotten Weapons is how Ian just does things he finds interesting. He doesn’t ask the audience if they want to hear about Norwegian usage of scout scopes, he just does it because he feels it’s worth covering.
I'd rather stuff like this wasn't completely forgotten and that's definitely sticking with Ian's mission too. Bit of firearms history that we might well have never known without a chance encounter.
If I had a nickel for every time the norwegians customfitted a military rifle to have a scout scope, I would have two nickels. Which isn't alot, but it is weird it happened twice.
"On again off again relationship with the scout scope...." The Norwegian soldier snuck into the hotel, guilty look on his face. "We can't keep doing this, my wife is starting to suspect." he told his 2 power scope. *Scope is silent, lying there on the bed, wearing nothing but a proprietary mounting bracket* "Okay, fine, but this must be the last time." he said, taking off his boots. "Talk dirty to me, darling." "Dansk er det overlegne sprog" said the scope. The soldier is confused. "I said talk dirty, not talk crazy, my love."
Oooo more Norwegian history My own M98k F1 apparently was a "marksman" rifle, though i don't have a scope for it sadly A friend of mine who is active duty often brings his Hk416 to the range, and he's got both a red-dot and scout scope he has for it and practices with, while i didn't get to try out with a scout scope, the red dot was odd to use for someone used to Diopter sights
Probably no problem doing this, but it probably would be courteous asking the author if it's okay first? I've been to his lectures and could put you in contact with him, if you would like.
@@colonthree Askild holder foredrag om den norske AG-3 sin historie for de som måtte ønske det. Jeg har e-posten hans dersom du ønsker å engasjere ham. Mener huske han tar rundt 1500 kroner pluss reiseutgifter for ett oppdrag.
@@AdventureJ Translating a book for personal reading wouldn't be a problem. You would only have to ask the author/publisher if you intended to distribute the translation.
Hi Ian, I'm a Norwegian citizen and part of the Reserves or "Home guard", and quite interested in guns and gun design. If you ever need some translating or just some help with the Norwegian books, I'd be more than happy to help you.
"Hope you liked this little diversionary path into Norway" Definitely not something that is said very often lol. Not many people take a diversion to Norway.
He lives in my Neighbourhood. He actually made the knife blade on the knife that I made for my self from High Speed metal sagbladet from Kongsberg Weapons Factory. A wonderful hard knife blade that keeps Sharp for a long time. 😊
@@averygoodfantasticname4206 No, that's what she said Also, the name of the Norwegian military is "Forsvaret", which *official* English name is "Norwegian Armed Forces". Not "Norwegian Defense Forces".
I feel the ZF-41 on the M1 Carbine was a genius idea, when mounted to a rifle like the Kar98K in 8mm it feels like your holding back its capabilities at long range which is what a bolt action rifle has its greatest advantage in. The M1 really only had a max effective range out to 300 yards so using a low magnification optic will only enhance its performance at those ranges where iron sights will be more difficult to identify and engage a target.
@@VhenRaTheRaptor I feel it fits more for the concept of a LPVO rather than an ACOG but I understand what you mean in terms of an ACOG simplifying aiming a rifle or carbine and increasing effective range. I believe the ACOG extended the range of the M16/M4 family while the ZF-41 improved the close-medium range performance of the M1 carbine by replacing the iron sights of the M1 while improving the soldier's FOV around the target and making observing hits easier. If the ZF-41 had the capability of adjusting zoom between say a 1.5-8x zoom then it would have been a game changer on the battlefield. but I agree with you to an extent.
My grand-uncle had a strong preference for the M1 Carbine (with foldable stock) because it was compact and short. His younger brother picked up an SMLE from one of the British air-drops at some point and offered it to him, but although he liked the rifle, it was far too long, heavy, and bulky for "resistance work". Building on that and some of his other stories, I can easily see why a scoped version of the M1 Carbine would be extremely useful to a resistance force - one that must work in complete secrecy lest they be executed, and spend a lot of time running through the brush, forest, and smuggling their weaponry around. Like a few other people have mentioned Norwegian terrain is a mixture - you can go from tight forest brush to looking across a valley, to being inside the forest again, in 10 minutes of walking. So you might very well want the benefit of a short, lightweight rifle with at least *some* kind of magnification...
Ian: FYI I´m using... Me: Oh yes! He´s going to butcher Norwegian :D Ian: I´m not even going to try to pronounce the name of this thing. Me: NooooOOooOoOO! We missed a truly epic event here, folks, and most of you will never know....
The picture text of the G3 mount translates to about "The mounting of the Leupold M8-sights was very slim and was brazed/soldered to a cylindrical part of on the rear of the barrel"
@@lesley9019 "Smekker" does mean slim, or narrow. But the word have had the meaning of "elegant", "beautiful", or "hot", as a euphemism, but even that usage has become archaic today. The writer most certainly meant that the mounting was slim. The wording is not just archaic, it is archaic bureucratic language.
@@oiartsun If you understand Norwegian, the secret is out early on. The Norwegian personnel say/shout "It's not a Dog!" which would rather spoil the plot ... if anyone understood Norwegian...
He should do a thirty-minute-long video in which he talks in vague terms about a weapon he read about once, but he can't remember any more details, or what it was called, or anything about it other than that it had a straight-pull bolt.
I posted this as a reply in the comments but it's interesting on its own so I'll drop it here as well; My grand-uncle had a strong preference for the M1 Carbine (with foldable stock) because it was compact and short. His younger brother picked up an SMLE from one of the British air-drops at some point and offered it to him, but although he liked the rifle, it was far too long, heavy, and bulky for "resistance work". Building on that and some of his other stories, I can easily see why a scoped version of the M1 Carbine would be extremely useful to a resistance force - one that must work in complete secrecy lest they be executed, and spend a lot of time running through brush, forest, and smuggling their weaponry around. Like a few other people have mentioned Norwegian terrain is a mixture - you can go from tight forest brush to looking across a valley, to being inside the forest again, in 10 minutes of walking. So you might very well want the benefit of a short, lightweight rifle with at least *some* kind of magnification...
Olav Nisi is still round. Legendary gunsmith. He did a lot of re-use of barrels, by drilling them and rifling them anew in a larger caliber. He knows his rifles.
Long eye relief scopes make a ton of sense for armies that rely on "fewer in number but better trained". I routinely shot 198 out of 200 at 300m (longest range we practiced) with my G3 when I was in the army. And it was clear that the rifle had more to give, but the iron sights did not. We went to a Canadian made M16 clone after that, which had a 2x optics. That thing did not improve my accuracy, but it was in the way like hell when on the reaction range. A much narrower forward mounted optic would have been ideal for that. Better field of view where you just pre-aim over the top of the optics, look down, fine adjust if needed, shoot!
@@andersjjensen Wait you lot mounted a 2x sight on a C7 ? That seems entirely unnecessary and slightly over kill. Considering most of us Canadian soldiers ditched the magnified sights in favour of ACOG or holographic sights.
I love this! I have rarely seen Ian get so excited about something. He saw this and it blew his mind. And it also made so much sense to the knowledge that he knows. Beautiful work. So genuine. So showing of the depths that Ian has. And his love for what he does.
As a Norwegian, my uneducated guess for the "scout" scope being popular in the Norwegian armed forces, is that Norway has a lot of hunting, and that's basically the kind of scope we use for hunting. So it's easier for people to transition from a hunting rifle to this sniper rifle, as they're already accustomed to it. That's my guess anyway.
Incorrect, Most hunters use regular scopes, not a long eye relief scope, here in Norway. Scout scopes are not more prevalent here than anywhere else, and are mostly used on guns that dont accept regular scope solutions. Source: Hunter and sportshooter.
@@theterriblepuddle1830 Some guns, mostly older designs, have features that make mounting a regular scope inconvenient, like a top ejection port or such.
As another Norwegian, I rather doubt that. I think it's more, as Ian says, that the AG3 is not really suitable for conventional scope mounts and the M1 carabine, even less so. For the longest time we had guns that were not really condusive to regular mounts. Before that, the M98's with the scout scope were just a function of availability. After the war, m98s were everywhere and these scopes were the most common ones for the m98. When I was in the Army in the late 90s, the scoped AG3's were issued to rather few people, most commonly cavalry storm troops as a squad marksman rifle, or in the army to the second man in a machine gun team. From what I heard the regular claw mounts were notoriously fragile, so it makes sense that other options were attempted. If a good, cost effective mount had been found, maybe more people could have been issued scopes.
@@ReaperCH90 Indeed, but some people still use either old firearms or old firearm design still. Personally, I could consider a long eye relief low power scope in some sport shooting configs, but not for hunting.
I served in the Home Guard in Oslo in the 80'ies and we mounted Leupold M8 2x and 4x pistol scopes with custom BDC turrets on the cooling jacket on some MG34s in 7.62NATO for long range use around the main airport in Norway. One of the scopes came off a Colt Python Hunter :-). The reason for LER scopes mounted forward was to clear the top cover. We also experimented with Weaver T10, Leupold M8 10X rifle silhouette scopes and Kahles ZF69 scopes in different custom mounts extending over the top cover and using starter extentions on the ammo belts. We "tuned" MG34s for accuracy with custom 308 barrels and sub 1moa 5 shot groups in semi and sub 1.5moa full auto 5 shot groups over sandbags were not uncommon with selected ammo. (RANO 185gr FMJ matchammo was a heavy hitter with great accuracy). The "sniper barrels" were spared from regular MG shooting. A special unit also had HK21s with scopes We also experimented using conversion kits, old 8mm feeding trays, new barrels and nozzles, for 6.5x55. Using RANO 144gr FMJ "Mauser" match ammo range was increased a lot. (2650fps/.550bc bullet) Only short bursts due to barrel life but these scoped MG34s were used as "sniper rifles", not as MGs. "First burst hits" was much more effective than a "first round hits" from the period sniper rifles. Myrvang&Co, of MG34/42 book fame, served in a neighboring unit but they are pistol shooters with short range focus :-) We were the long range guys shooting rifle silhouette and other long range military and civilian bolt actions events. That's how the interest in precision shooting with MGs at long range came about. Till this day I do not understand why people want to drag a 20 pound, 5 shot, bolt action 338LM in the field when you can use a 20 pound belt fed HK21 in 6.5CM/260rem and scope shooting "first burst hits" at the same ranges as the 338 bolt rifle. Add environmental green(!) Warner Flatline bullets in the HK21 and you have 1moa, full auto, 1600m+ supersonic range. (3000fps with 0.63bc bullet)
Apparently the book is unavailable in Norway as well, which is a shame since your book recommendations are usually quite good. Also quite an interesting subject, personally I ended up using the HK416 in my year of service, even though I always wanted to try the AG3.
Does everyone get issued the HK416 or is it possible to be issued something else, depending on your branch or role? Asking so I'll be prepared when the time comes.
@@LordJuz Medics and truck drivers usually get issued MP7. You can also be issued machine guns or other weapons depending on your role, but you usually always have access to the 416 in some way. Everyone gets issued one during boot camp atleast
@@LordJuz The personal weapons that I can think of off the top of my head that are currently in use in either the army or the home guard are the AG-3 (only home guard, being phased out), MP-5 (also in the process of being phased out afaik, albeit not as quickly as the AG-3), HK-417 (DMR), MP-7 (replacing the MP-5) and the Glock P-80 pistol. Most regular troops get the 416. Vehicle crews, some rear area personnel, military police etc. typically get machine pistols or pistols. There are some other weapons in small scale use by special forces as well.
I remember shooting with an infrared "sniperscope" in 1966. Lacking range, and went out of use as detection gear got more in use - that made the shooter very, very vulnerable. As I see it, the AG3 (introduced when I was an officer in the norwegian army) never was å precice enough gun to really be a snipers weapen. However, I had the pleasure of shooting with quite a few very interesting, norwegian sniperrifles based on mausers system. Aming them a single experimental where the scope was sidemounted on the rifles left side. Correctly adjustede, you could use the scope with your left eye, or switch to the dioptersight by shutting the left eye and open the right - .
from what i can imagine scopes with short eye relief are super impractical in battlefield scenarios where there is no comfy shooters table or time to properly grip your rifle when reacting to enemies also with wider peripherals target acquisition and personal space awareness are better. great explanations ethan love it!
I know you’re talking about the M1 Carbine in the video, but as a side note, if I remember correctly, I saw Ian using an M1 Rifle with a scout scope mounted in an early Forgotten Weapons or Inrangetv video. I thought it was pretty neat, if I had two Garands I think I would fit a scout scope to one.
Great video! I`m a Norwegian career soldier (and sniper back in the days), the consept of snipers si not very "old" in our military. But marksmen is something the Norwegian armed forces has "always" had. By that I mean that it has since guns got in use, the armed forces has always put units of hunters and shooters togeter in units, Jeger we call it, and given them better wapons. Like rifled weapons insted of smoothbore and so on. But until the last few decades Norway was poor, so we made do in a cheap way. Like reusing K98`s and german "scout scopes. My fater was a "sniper" in the home guard (Heimevernet), he had a slightly modified copetition Mauser rifle in 7,62x51 with a left mouted scope, so he had to use his left eye to aim the gun. Again modify something in a cheap but efficiant way. The Germans had already done this of course, so it was a copy of that due to the top feed of Mauser rifles. On the topic of marksmen, one of the biggest sports organiziations in Norway is rifle shooting "The wolenteer shooting organiziation" (Det frivillige skyttervesen). It was started in the 1880 (or before) as a way to train Norwegian civilians in the art of precision rifle shooting. It was closely linked to the armed forces, and even as the sport has moved on in modern times into non- military rifles, and specialized shooting equiptment, it is still linked to the armed forces. And to this day, part of the aim for this shooting organiziation is to provide the armed forced with competnt shooters (or marksmen). So we have a very strong tradition of marksmen, and I think that is refected in your find in our "intrest" in these scopes. My last note; when German paratroopers tried to captuer our King in a place called Elverum in 1940, they where stopped by a mixed force of The King`s Guard (Kongesns Garde) and shooters from Det frivillige skyttervesen, that is civillians who came to fight and who was trained and armed in markmenship through the Frivillig Skyttervesen. And this band of conscripts and civilian shooters stopped the crack nazi paratroopers at Midtskogen from capuring or killing our King. So don`t mess with trained marksmen I guess:) I`m sorry for any wrong spelling or bad grammar in this text.
Well if you are interested, Norway before the war didn't have a large army, but we did have quite a large volunteer shooting clubs. There they mainly used huntingweapons.so that might be why.
Yeah, because of the fucked up 1920s, where people were thinking about communism, and the military about a coup if labour won. Then labour denounced communism, came into power, and the military was quite nervous. So labour gutted the military budget to afford social reforms, because well, they had threatened a coup. Then the thirties happened, and military and civilian realized that OH FUCK we have to bury the hatchet, but by 1939 it was too late. It's not as exciting as the Finnish civil war for example, but still pretty interesting.
If I remember correctly you can actually see, in the movie The Thing, a Norwegian arctic researcher using a G3 with a scout scope as he attempts to kill the Husky-Thing
@@TheCoffeeSquirel the bv206 is magical on snow. Unfortunately the ones in Norwegian service had a poor combination of engine and transmission ratio, resulting in an otherwise good Mercedes diesel engine always being run near redline rpm or the transmission always hunting between third and fourth gear. Those engines last forever in a Mercedes-Benz car but keep blowing out head gaskets and suffering other failures in the bv206. Incredible fun to drive off-road though. And takes forever to clean afterwards...
This is pretty cool. I remember when i joined HVU (The Norwegian Home Guard Youth) in 1992 we had the Mausers with the proper German markings. In 1994 we got the AG3 with the red safety selector (single shot only). In a military biathlon event i perticipated in 1997, one of the shooting instructors had a scope mounted on his AG3. I think it was the scope from the MSG90 and it was very accurate at 200 meters. By the way, I finished second to last in the biathlon race after emptying my magazine on the wrong target on the final lap. The last place was a guy that forfitted...hehe..
@@co.1157 I mean if I recall correctly, the british polish still use SMLE's as sniper rifles.. so it's not like old firearms don't get reused a lot if they're good at what they do.
Yes, I liked this 'little diversionary path into Norway'. By the way - I haven't heard of the guy, but your pronunciation of the name Nisi seems spot on. Greetings from the cold
Like bubsnicket mentioned, the long eye relief is probably less likely to fog. That can easily be a problem in cold climates. Also Norway is mostly woodlands which limits visual range, so a low magnification scope with good peripheral visibility is a really good choice.
I have a leupold 2.5 power fixed scout scope and like the concept. Had it for years mounted on the same .308 platform forward of the action. Easy to use both eyes open from point to several hundred yards. What peaked my interest in this asked no one? Well Gun Jesus and Forgotton weapons did my friends! Thanks Ian
I have an M8-2X on my Ithaca model 37 16 gauge deerslayer. Those early pistol scopes very quickly became popular slug gun scopes because they could handle the recoil of a slug gun.
In the Danish homeguard I had a modified G3 but with a larger scope; I was called a marksman back then. Called M/66 in Denmark but could be the or similar
The info card for the M1 carbine was as follows: M1A1 Carbine presented to Major General Sir Colin Gubbins after the war by members of the Norwegian Resistance. IN 1940, Gubbins had commanded the 'Independent Companies' - a forerunner to the Commandos - in Norway. Later he oversaw the successful raid on the Vemork heavy water plant in 1943 (WM (FIR 6251)
Sir Collin Gubbins was the driving force, and eventual commander of the Special Operations Executive. As such he backed the development of special weapons including the Welrod, De Lisle Carbine and silenced Sten Guns. As a keen shooter and hunter himself I'm sure Gubbins appreciated the scoped M1.
I have a 670 winchester that I mounted a 2.5X leupold scout scope to about 25 years ago for deer hunting. I also have an AR15 (7.62x39) that wore a red dot for half a season. It now wears a 2.5X leupold forward on the handguard. I hated the red dot, and won't likely give them another chance. It just didn't deliver under the conditions I hunted, and cost shot opportunities for more than one reason. The scout gives just enough magnification to ID legal targets along with the speed and precision required in aspen tickets.
As an old sniper from the Jeger-troup @Aasegarden garrison, no longer in use, in Harstad back in 90-91, having the AG3 with a mounted (scout) scope, I didn't know any of this. Very interesting, thank you very much for this video.
For anyone wondering what is written on the book covers: First book: "AG3 faithful servant of the Norwegian army for 50 years" Seccond book: "Fire arms used by the Norwegian army after 1859" ps: If you see old "war trophy" or heirloom rifles in Norway there is a high chance it has a scout scope. For some weird reason we seem to like it a whole lot. Even the first 22 cal rifle i shot with in a youth gun club had one of these things smacked on top of it.
Before clicking play button i know this video is about EYE RELIEF... i love my eye relief hensoldt 3x on my HK G36 you can scope as a red dot and it is always focused, nice video Ian, is not all about sniper scopes, intuitve shooting is better with eye relief scopes since ww2 ZF4 as you can see outside scope and no tunnel effect... G36 1.5x is much the same as ZF4 was on STG44.
I love to see that book in the background. I recognize that muzzle. Dear old heavy [beep-beeeep] AG3. My story: Being in the signalcorp, Regiment Jørstadmoen, Lillehammer. I was faffing around in a Volvo 4x4, with a trailer more befitting the old Willys-jeeps from WWII. My task was to establish radio. Fair enough. Lots of fun, but that is another story. Technically we were supposed to have H&K MP-5, since its much more convenient. We didn't get it. We didn't even get the 'navy'-version with retractable stock. We got the +1 meter long rifle. Yes, yes, You can lay downa good amount of supressive fire for over 2km. The issue is: Heavy as satans tail, getting in and out of a tiny vehicle. You literally have to step out, then unhook it from the mount in the door. You have to sling it over your back, like a sword from fantasy-games/movies. Then You'll have to climb on top of the vehicle to fiddle with antennas with liberal estimations of 4.5kg on your back. And now comes the fun part. The camouflage-netting. This gun has so many pointy ends and extremities (cocking-handle and front sight in particular), I several times wanted to use my bayonet to cut myself free. (A little secret: Bayonets are not sharp. Pointy, yes, but You can't filet a fish for the life of you.) (Hence norwegian soldiers carry an equally long, if not longer sami-knife/hand-axe on their belts). What I wanted to say, back then, in the infantry, a squad was 7 men. One(!) soldier were lucky and got glasses on his G3. -He was lucky, he was deemed sniper/specialist, so he/her(?) never had to go front or last. But the sight... ...Nope it never was a proper Zeiss. The same adjustments were equal to that of the clicks You do with iron sights. -It is a small secret, but norwegian sharpshooters are really good to 'see' distance, lick a finger, estimate the wind by watching bushes move, and pray to Odin that the wind will calm before taking a shot. Not to forget. the 7,62 is much, much better for use in norwegian territory than 5,56. -Just had to add that 'small' detail. Why would I need 500 rounds, when 60 is enough to scare the bajeebas off someone not succeeding in surprising me in a car with headphones on. -I'd prefer a tiny 9mm MP5 from within the car.... The car: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Volvo_Feltvogn_(Valp).jpg
This seems like more of familiarity than affinity. There are a lot of places like this where if you're familiar with a LER scope concept it's an obvious choice. So if they had a bunch of these things from WW2 captures and then ran in to situations where they wanted a scope but there was no good place to mount something conventional it's not such a big leap to say why don't we just put it up here then?
Fun fact, when I served as a NCO in the Norwegian Army in 1987 we got the opportunity to buy M98K chambered in 30-06 at USD 35 per rifle. I still have mine, works like a charm as a hunting rifle still, 83 years old.
The germans feared the Krag's accuracy, the krag shot differently when it got wet, so norwegians would even train with wet ammo. This is what i've been told, it Doesnt sound that crazy
Jeff Cooper like all senior Officers would have discovered that a lot of tactics and weapons were passed down later from German doctrine, hence the reason he decided to visit Austria and rebirth the Scout rifle with some new innovations mixed with old .. If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it !
I used this set up in the army. At kirkenes. We also had the Mauser, modernized. They stop using the g3 sniper and now they got the crappy hk416. The workers party used a strategy called: brukket gevær taktikk ( broken arms strategy) to make the army week. Therfore the nazis just walkd in to Norway. Loved the g3. Heavy as hell
Wait, wait, wait. Ian, did you just say that when the Germans were pulling out of Norway, the goal the Norwegian resistance had been working towards up to that point, in order to go fight on other fronts, the Norwegian resistance basically went "No, you know what? You're not going anywhere! You wanted to occupy us? Well, you're going to occupy us and choke on it, assholes." and kept themselves under occupation just to speed up the Germans losing the war? Damn, that's ballsy.
That is exactly what they did. They kept sabotaging ships that were transporting personnel and materiel south to Germany, as well as doing little random raids here and there to make the Germans feel they needed to maintain a strong presence here. The Soviets also helped with the same tactic, invading a short distance into Norway up north in the Arctic at the very upper bit of the Eastern Front. Bitter fighting up there until the very end, which made the Germans feel they couldn't just pull everyone out and let the Soviets take Norway. Interestingly, northern Norway was the only area occupied by Soviet troops where they pulled out afterwards instead of camping out and claiming it for the communist block.
@@Kaboomf 1: The soviets also occupied danish Bornholm and eventually pulled out, the same goes for northern Iran and Manchuria. 2: In the north there was not much fighting AFTER the germans retreated to the Lyngen line, the soviets stopped at the river Tana and only crossed in force at a small place called Rustefjelbma. Between those lines skirmishes took place between patrols, and there was no real front line, the whole population was evacuated by force by the germans after the finnish turned in september-44, and almost every building was burned.
@@welfarebeast8576 I didn't know about Bornholm. As for Finnmark, my paternal grandfather was among those "cave men" civilians who stayed behind there instead of evacuating. Everyone thought the Germans were going to withdraw, so anyone who managed to sneak away could then join the allied forces via the Soviet Union. They were prepared for up to a couple of weeks in summer, then of course the Germans didn't pull out so they got stuck having to survive outdoors the whole winter of 44-45. He had nightmares for the rest of his life, untreated PTSD is a bitch.
@@welfarebeast8576 And the same applies to Northern Finland (Petsamo area) and Eastern Austria... . Now, if we look at the western allies (re)claiming territories... .
@@hildoschutte6200 Petsamo was taken by the Soviet Union, renamed Petschenga and is today part of the Russian Federation, before the war Finland had access to the Bering sea, not after. Austria was under occupation by the 4 «great powers» until 1955 and had to promise to be a neutral country before regaining independence. Your last sentence makes me think of Madagascar, who used the opportunity of ww2 to get rid of french rule, but then France insisted on getting it back in another bloody war that is little known today outside the island.
My favorite part of scout type scopes is the amount of situational awareness they allow the shooter to keep. Great for a DMR in a target rich environment!
The second book is a great overall reference for the Norwegian Army. Especially when combining with a trip to Akershus festning /fortress Museum. Some really neat and interesting pieces from way back when all the way up to the creepy cold war and beyond!
Ian just wanted to say thanks for getting me through my Covid. Keep up the good work you are bar FAR the greatest weapons UA-camr your knowledge and attention to detail is awe inspiring 👍🏻
I remember playing war with my friends fathers AG3 when we were kids. People in the home reserve, used to store them (without bolt) at home in their closets. And regarding Mausers: "Everyone" here had one of those stored, somewhere in their house, when I grew up...
Up til 2002-2003 all had fully functioning guns, as a panic measure to deal with a media storm it was decided to remove the fireing pins pins and store then in depot.
Being an American of primarily Norwegian and Swedish descent, this is really interesting because I've been looking into building an M1 Garand with a Criterion barrel in 6.5x5mm Swedish Mauser with a scout scope on an Ultimak mount
My granpa had Kar98 from the war And he used it to hunt (not with a scout scope) but iv seen a few of these scops around Alot of people Likes them for ther weight and Size and use it for hunting :D
Hey!!The AG-3 was my service weapon in my service back in 91-92!!A superb weapon,and i actually loved to shoot it in automatic mode,and with some practise some of us shot itvery well in full auto!!My gun was from 1971,and was the most acurate semi auto i has ever shot!!My three first sight in shots from 300 meters resulted in two bullseyes and a 9!!That was before adjusting the sights at all!!Lovely weapon that NEVER failed me,and i probably shot a few thousand shots through mine,as i had more trips to the range than most conscripts did!!A time of my life i never forget,shooting MG-3s and MP-5s and glock's aswell!!
I wonder how this (lowish power, long eye relief) compares to red-dots (once they became a thing) in terms or balancing the benefits of optics with maintaining situational awareness, target acquisition, etc.
Thank you I’ve been a fan forever, I think this is my first comment. This sort of thing is why I love your stuff. Listening to your extemporaneous replies to Q&A’s is a treat. You rule. Thanks again J
I was in an arctic ranger unit in the Norwegian army in the early 2000s, we used the AG3-F1 (collapsible stock), two per 8 man squad had the HK79 grenade launcher that mounts in place of the barrel shroud (made an already pretty heavy rifle even more cumbersome). None had the scout scopes then, but we had an MN149 (rechambered mauser) in the squad with a pretty decent scope as sort of a "town bicycle"-marksman's rifle and the actual trained sharpshooter had an M82A1 with some pretty baller optics.
A question/proposal to Ian: since I/we have noticed you brought up two Norwegian books ("Kongsberg-Colten" and the book in this video), which you could not read since, well, they're in norwegian, would it be a solution for you to maybe ask some of your norwegian Patreons to translate the books for you? Or, better yet, scan the books with a translate software and ask the norwegians to translate check the translations? I think it would be nice for you, the Norwegians and the rest of the viewers to know a lot more about the firearms and history from an insider :)
I can remember some guys using this scope. I was in the stormpanzer battalion. But i spotted several times guys walking around with those sights. As i was always curios on them as they looked off. Compared to a normal larger scope. Believe they where the ones produced at the kongsberg weaponsfactory as they also produced on lease the AG3 between 67 to 74. Cool to see these videos. brings me back to those days.
Our family have a long military history, at least as far back as to the late 1800s, and we had a "family collection" so to speak, old rifles, military memorabilia etc. It got sold off by one of our family members which caused a lot of anger. Aaaanyways, I remember being there as a kid, this was my grandfather that kept it and he was in the royal guard back in the day, and I remember 2 rifles (there was a shit ton), and I think one of them was a Mauser, the second one was Krag Jørgensen, and I remember both of them had a sight on them like this, I never thought much more about it before I saw this. Think the Krag was modified in some way (It was shorter if I remember right), but the Mauser if I remember right looked like a normal Mauser. I remember thinking it was odd, because we used a Krag for hunting and such back home, but that was with just a plain old iron sight, nothing special (which was later modified as well because the stock got destroyed). I cannot say that my father which served in the military in the 70-80s had anything like that with the AG3 he served with. And neither did my brother after him. It is always so interesting to see lesser known ideas/innovations on weapon systems and wether it failed or not and why that is. I didn't known about the top issue with the AG3 at all, so that was very interesting to me.
My dad is farsighted and hates wearing his glasses while shooting. If he's using one of my conventional scopes he can't hit the blind side of a barn at 50 yards but if he's using his Leopold fx-2, Leopold vx-3, Nikon force xr or vortex crossfire 2 he can hit a playing card at 1000 yards. I don't know how there's such a dramatic difference but hey if it works it works lol
Goas a long way to consider that Norway is for the most part steep forested terrain. mid or 3rd quarter 2010 is when the HK416 was introduced, so my group that came in early that year was among the last to be trained with the AG3. (diopter "iron sight") With a lethal range beyond 3000m, "effective" range of 600m and regular use range of 30m-200m I was convinced the label "Norwegian hand cannon" to be a deserving nickname. As I was barely 120-125lb (60-63KG) rapid fire semi was challenging and the ban on using auto fire was quite reasonable. Our leading officer demonstrated a full magazine (20) full auto standing assault, and it was clear he had to work hard to stay on his feet. (unstable footing due to knee height snow).
It was more a weight challenge. If I remember correctly, you could bring a fully loaded AG3 (weights 4,7 kg incl. a loaded mag), and then 4-5 additional magazines each weighing around 700 grams. With the HK416 (5.56 caliber) which superseded the AG3, one could bring upwards of 12-14 magazines for the same weight. It's been many years since I heard these numbers, so I could be wrong about the amount of 5.56 magazines. But granted, the AG3 was powerful with a barrel length of approx. 19 inches (48,5 cm) and the NATO 7.62x51.
what a rifle the AG3 is with 7.62 ammo. Wow, it could penetrate anything. I never forget my rifle during my military service during the cold war. It is a rifle very much lethal yes, but why in earth did they replaced it. I mean, it is the best all-round rifle there is. It's too heavy? That's totally BS! In a war situation I would definitely prefer a rifle that truly penetrate the enemy than start feeling unsure. Especially with the now days wests. The light rifle of today (with smaller calibre) can NOT penetrate a securiry west from 200 meters. You guys all know that! Do the same with an AG3 and 7.62 ammo. Lol 😆
@@michaumichauowski5531 Home guard used them for a bit. I think they are all phased out now. Some might be stored away, but a fair bit was destroyed as keeping them all would be a possible security nightmare.
In Denmark we had some of those HK rifes with clamp on scopes. I was for a period issued one that came from HJV (Homeguard) for a short loan. Wasn't really a sniper-rifle, but had the possibility of greater accuracy at longer distances, than the standard G3. Also hauled around a complete and bulky IR-kit...
I like the idea better in my late fifties than I did when BSA was fitting long eye-relief scopes to shortened Airsporters in my youth. It has something to with taking my glasses off to see some things, which my optician says is age-related.
@@matthewspencer5086 yep. Exactly so. When I was young, iron sights and/or conventional scopes were fine. Now, I want to be able to leave the glasses on, grab a quick view, then line up to take the shot.
A double UA-cam dose of Norway back to back. First, the new Will Ferrell Super Bowl commercial where he goes to Norway, then scout scopes. I feel like digging out a tin of kippered herring and make a sandwich. With good mustard.
Hi, Ian. I agree. That setup is very clever and is suitable for those rifles with an action that interferes with a scope. That presentation rifle looked very nice. Thanks for sharing! Stay healthy!
I too have a mosin m44 with a scout scope setup. Its a newer 2-7x with a decent fov. Its great for white tail deer and the likes. Easier to identify and get on target if they're moving.
the AK-12 (and by extension most other official kalashnikov produced dust covers) have had a load of work done during the years to get them to a reliable enough level... Most aftermarket parts like the Zenit ones require extremely heavy reinforcement or just mount the scopes very poorly, losing zero every time you disassemble the gun... thats actually why the dust cover on the AK-12 isnt the same type compared to older AKs, the fact its more firmly attached to the rest of the gun with the hinge
@@Tallmios Not exactly. Yes, AK12 has something like a hinge, yet you take the cover off by sliding it rearward after removing a pin: ua-cam.com/video/k36JwjAQW5c/v-deo.html
The German forces in Norway surrendered to the British. They initiated a large scale operation to scrap as much as possible of the German equipment. After some time and heavy protests to this destruction of modern equipment Norway were allowed to take possession of what was left (and it was still plenty..).
Germany: "(conquers norway) hah, you are stuck with us now" Norway: "(Pulls out no u card and destroys their transport ships) hah, suck it. you're stuck with us now"
@@MartinTraXAA I mean i suppose. It was also troops that could have caused a lot of damage on the western front, even if it wouldnt have won germany the war
@@TheArrowedKnee Exactly! The German troops would have killed and been killed only to delay the inevitable for a little bit. Trapping them in Norway (which was considered a 'dream-stationing' reward by Germans who'd rather not go to the Eastern Front as punishment) was probably not unwelcome at the time.
Long eye relief:
Less likely to fog.
Garbage fov but better peripheral.
Sounds like a great solution for cold weather combat in complex terrain?
Summarises the reason for why Forsvartjenesten uses them. Combat on Norwegian soil could/can vary thanks to Norway being like 80% mountain, with 70% of that having forest. Some parts longer range, some parts closer range, very wide open yet also very tight, and weather that is often cold and rainy, all of that condensed into the same locale.
You forgot poor magnification
@@jmdesertadventures803 maybe any magnification is better than no magnification?
@@jmdesertadventures803 Great to be able to shoot the eyeballs off a mosquito at the range. High mag scope focus you through them it becomes your reality. Low mag leaves one Mk1 eyeball doing it's situational job. They are all good kit.
@@elijahaitaok8624 sometimes, if you have a modern handgun scope probably, the real advantage is with the scope farther forward is it's easier to correctly align ones eye with it
title of the book translates to "faithful servant in the defense trough fifty years" if anyone wondered
Second book on screen at 5:40 translates to "firearms used by the defense after 1859"
Thanks :)
@@CebCine armed forces is probably a better translation than defense yes
I wondered. Tusen takk :)
I think a better translation is:
AG3 - serving faithfully in the Norwegian Armed Forces for 50 years.
While "forsvaret" translates as "the defense", "Forsvaret" (capital F) translates as "Norwegian Armed Forces" as that is what we call our armed forces.
*Norway gets mentioned*
Norwegian people: Allow us to introduce ourselves
That's what we usually do... :-p
Føkk yeah!
We crawl out of the sea
@@Monster3Games True story, just ask the munks at Lindesfarne :P
You called?
One of the things I love about Forgotten Weapons is how Ian just does things he finds interesting. He doesn’t ask the audience if they want to hear about Norwegian usage of scout scopes, he just does it because he feels it’s worth covering.
I'd rather stuff like this wasn't completely forgotten and that's definitely sticking with Ian's mission too. Bit of firearms history that we might well have never known without a chance encounter.
and it is!
If I had a nickel for every time the norwegians customfitted a military rifle to have a scout scope, I would have two nickels. Which isn't alot, but it is weird it happened twice.
Is that a Phineas and Ferb reference?
@@collinculberson202 No, this is a Jojos reference!!! (Yes it is ;) )
@@bliblablubb9590 I see another person of culture, lol
@@bliblablubb9590 Life is a jojo reference.
"On again off again relationship with the scout scope...."
The Norwegian soldier snuck into the hotel, guilty look on his face.
"We can't keep doing this, my wife is starting to suspect." he told his 2 power scope.
*Scope is silent, lying there on the bed, wearing nothing but a proprietary mounting bracket*
"Okay, fine, but this must be the last time." he said, taking off his boots. "Talk dirty to me, darling."
"Dansk er det overlegne sprog" said the scope. The soldier is confused.
"I said talk dirty, not talk crazy, my love."
lol. Trying to poke at your neighbors, I see ;)
Haha
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
morsomste på lenge :D
Bokmål er bare dansk for begyndere ;)
Hvad skal man sige!
Oooo more Norwegian history
My own M98k F1 apparently was a "marksman" rifle, though i don't have a scope for it sadly
A friend of mine who is active duty often brings his Hk416 to the range, and he's got both a red-dot and scout scope he has for it and practices with, while i didn't get to try out with a scout scope, the red dot was odd to use for someone used to Diopter sights
Surely didn't expect to see you here, Norden.
What types of firearms do you own If you don't mind me asking?
@@Acidic-ue2ml same
Ahh, a fellow Norwegian Mauser owner. Good to see you here, Nordern! Godt å se flere videoer om norsk materiell fra Ian.
Served back in 2007. Still had the German 98k boltactionw ith swastica on it :) MN149 fun ol rifle
As a Norwegian viewer, I could help you translate some of those books if you would like.
Probably no problem doing this, but it probably would be courteous asking the author if it's okay first?
I've been to his lectures and could put you in contact with him, if you would like.
@@AdventureJ Hvor og hvordan kan man få høre på? ;w;
@@colonthree Askild holder foredrag om den norske AG-3 sin historie for de som måtte ønske det. Jeg har e-posten hans dersom du ønsker å engasjere ham. Mener huske han tar rundt 1500 kroner pluss reiseutgifter for ett oppdrag.
@@AdventureJ Translating a book for personal reading wouldn't be a problem. You would only have to ask the author/publisher if you intended to distribute the translation.
Same but Sámi
Hi Ian, I'm a Norwegian citizen and part of the Reserves or "Home guard", and quite interested in guns and gun design. If you ever need some translating or just some help with the Norwegian books, I'd be more than happy to help you.
Ey;),what district?
@@Ulyssestnt 16, What about you?
"Hope you liked this little diversionary path into Norway"
Definitely not something that is said very often lol. Not many people take a diversion to Norway.
Probably, although I do remember once taking a diversionary path out of Norway into Finland once.
The Germans did once.
People should, it's awesome!
@@HrHaakon haha Blücher goes boom :DD
All paths in norway is divrsionery...
Olav Nisi is still around and reachable Ian, if you want to get some details on the G3 and other stuff. He have a lot of history.
He lives in my Neighbourhood. He actually made the knife blade on the knife that I made for my self from High Speed metal sagbladet from Kongsberg Weapons Factory. A wonderful hard knife blade that keeps Sharp for a long time. 😊
2nd book title means: "Firearms used by [Norwegian] Defense Forces since 1859".
It's actually "Firearms used by Norwegian Armed Forces since 1859" since Forsvaret's official name in English is "Norwegian Armed Forces"
@@heno02 thats what he said..
@@averygoodfantasticname4206 No, that's what she said
Also, the name of the Norwegian military is "Forsvaret", which *official* English name is "Norwegian Armed Forces". Not "Norwegian Defense Forces".
@@heno02 oh
@@heno02 Well, "Forsvaret" literally means "the defence", so it's not completely wrong.
I feel the ZF-41 on the M1 Carbine was a genius idea, when mounted to a rifle like the Kar98K in 8mm it feels like your holding back its capabilities at long range which is what a bolt action rifle has its greatest advantage in. The M1 really only had a max effective range out to 300 yards so using a low magnification optic will only enhance its performance at those ranges where iron sights will be more difficult to identify and engage a target.
Honestly feels like an early stab at the same concept as modern day ACOG for assault rifles.
@@VhenRaTheRaptor I feel it fits more for the concept of a LPVO rather than an ACOG but I understand what you mean in terms of an ACOG simplifying aiming a rifle or carbine and increasing effective range. I believe the ACOG extended the range of the M16/M4 family while the ZF-41 improved the close-medium range performance of the M1 carbine by replacing the iron sights of the M1 while improving the soldier's FOV around the target and making observing hits easier. If the ZF-41 had the capability of adjusting zoom between say a 1.5-8x zoom then it would have been a game changer on the battlefield. but I agree with you to an extent.
Seems like a scout scope would be similar in function to a red dot or prismatic sight.
@@maydaverave It definitely feels like its an early proof of concept and arguably better than a red dot since it doesn't require batteries
My grand-uncle had a strong preference for the M1 Carbine (with foldable stock) because it was compact and short. His younger brother picked up an SMLE from one of the British air-drops at some point and offered it to him, but although he liked the rifle, it was far too long, heavy, and bulky for "resistance work". Building on that and some of his other stories, I can easily see why a scoped version of the M1 Carbine would be extremely useful to a resistance force - one that must work in complete secrecy lest they be executed, and spend a lot of time running through the brush, forest, and smuggling their weaponry around.
Like a few other people have mentioned Norwegian terrain is a mixture - you can go from tight forest brush to looking across a valley, to being inside the forest again, in 10 minutes of walking. So you might very well want the benefit of a short, lightweight rifle with at least *some* kind of magnification...
The only conclusion we can draw is that every "Norwegian" was actually a very cleverly disguised Jeff Cooper.
Other way around. Jeff Cooper was a cleverly disguised spy, sent to spread scout rifle propaganda.
Would that it were true.
Ian: FYI I´m using...
Me: Oh yes! He´s going to butcher Norwegian :D
Ian: I´m not even going to try to pronounce the name of this thing.
Me: NooooOOooOoOO!
We missed a truly epic event here, folks, and most of you will never know....
*_Æ Ø Å!_*
The picture text of the G3 mount translates to about "The mounting of the Leupold M8-sights was very slim and was brazed/soldered to a cylindrical part of on the rear of the barrel"
Just being picky, but I'd say "smekker" is more like elegant than slim
@@lesley9019 "Smekker" does mean slim, or narrow. But the word have had the meaning of "elegant", "beautiful", or "hot", as a euphemism, but even that usage has become archaic today. The writer most certainly meant that the mounting was slim. The wording is not just archaic, it is archaic bureucratic language.
@@Taeerom just ask the author, he's on facebook :p
This reminds me of john carpenter's The Thing, when the Norwegians where using a g3 with a sniper scope to hunt for the dog.
it was a Hk93 apparently
Good memory... now I have to go watch the opening scenes of The Thing and pay close attention to the shooter in the helicopter.
@@oiartsun If you understand Norwegian, the secret is out early on.
The Norwegian personnel say/shout "It's not a Dog!" which would rather spoil the plot ... if anyone understood Norwegian...
@@PWARHOLM I'd argue it made the film better for me, the sense of dread hit right away with all the mystery and none of the answers!
"Maybe we at war with Norway?"
"I was reading a book in a language I don't understand and found something cool". This is why we keep coming back. That is interesting stuff.
“Ian McCullom’s interesting series of unusual firearms” could basically be the subtitle for this channel!
So unusual that many of them are, ahem, forgotten?
He should do a thirty-minute-long video in which he talks in vague terms about a weapon he read about once, but he can't remember any more details, or what it was called, or anything about it other than that it had a straight-pull bolt.
For any fellow Norwegians, Hanevik Våpen has the book in stock.
Hehe, own it, signed by the author, since release :)
@@brokkur7629 got it from him at a NVS meeting
@@norwegianwiking Samme her!
Sier du det.. ;)
@@VikingNorway-pb5tm829 men ta gjerne turen innom og støtt din lokale bokhandler
I posted this as a reply in the comments but it's interesting on its own so I'll drop it here as well;
My grand-uncle had a strong preference for the M1 Carbine (with foldable stock) because it was compact and short. His younger brother picked up an SMLE from one of the British air-drops at some point and offered it to him, but although he liked the rifle, it was far too long, heavy, and bulky for "resistance work". Building on that and some of his other stories, I can easily see why a scoped version of the M1 Carbine would be extremely useful to a resistance force - one that must work in complete secrecy lest they be executed, and spend a lot of time running through brush, forest, and smuggling their weaponry around.
Like a few other people have mentioned Norwegian terrain is a mixture - you can go from tight forest brush to looking across a valley, to being inside the forest again, in 10 minutes of walking. So you might very well want the benefit of a short, lightweight rifle with at least *some* kind of magnification...
As a person of Norwegian descent who has put a long eye relief scope on his three-line rifle I definitely am encouraged and interested in this video!
I`ve done the same with my M1 Garand as a polar bear protection rifle on svalbard
Yes yes so you say but how did it shoot out there a 400+ arshins/shags ;-)
@@alan-sk7ky Surprisingly Well I'll have to say! 🤠👍
@@worldtraveler930 🍆
Olav Nisi is still round. Legendary gunsmith. He did a lot of re-use of barrels, by drilling them and rifling them anew in a larger caliber. He knows his rifles.
Looking at norwegian guns, I have concluded that we have a strange need to be different from everyone else.
You could shake hands with the French :)
Norwegian and proud to be different.
Surprising people gives me real joy :-)
Sometimes the Norwegian mods are an improvement. Like the slide release on the Kongsberg Colts.
Long eye relief scopes make a ton of sense for armies that rely on "fewer in number but better trained". I routinely shot 198 out of 200 at 300m (longest range we practiced) with my G3 when I was in the army. And it was clear that the rifle had more to give, but the iron sights did not. We went to a Canadian made M16 clone after that, which had a 2x optics. That thing did not improve my accuracy, but it was in the way like hell when on the reaction range. A much narrower forward mounted optic would have been ideal for that. Better field of view where you just pre-aim over the top of the optics, look down, fine adjust if needed, shoot!
@@andersjjensen Wait you lot mounted a 2x sight on a C7 ? That seems entirely unnecessary and slightly over kill.
Considering most of us Canadian soldiers ditched the magnified sights in favour of ACOG or holographic sights.
"What conclusions can you draw from this? pretty much nothing"
Thanks Ian
I love this! I have rarely seen Ian get so excited about something. He saw this and it blew his mind. And it also made so much sense to the knowledge that he knows. Beautiful work. So genuine. So showing of the depths that Ian has. And his love for what he does.
As a norwegian this video made me smile 😊
Me too 😂
As a Norwegian, my uneducated guess for the "scout" scope being popular in the Norwegian armed forces, is that Norway has a lot of hunting, and that's basically the kind of scope we use for hunting. So it's easier for people to transition from a hunting rifle to this sniper rifle, as they're already accustomed to it.
That's my guess anyway.
Incorrect, Most hunters use regular scopes, not a long eye relief scope, here in Norway. Scout scopes are not more prevalent here than anywhere else, and are mostly used on guns that dont accept regular scope solutions. Source: Hunter and sportshooter.
@@theterriblepuddle1830 Some guns, mostly older designs, have features that make mounting a regular scope inconvenient, like a top ejection port or such.
@@Steel_shooter but was that also the case 100 to 80 years ago
As another Norwegian, I rather doubt that. I think it's more, as Ian says, that the AG3 is not really suitable for conventional scope mounts and the M1 carabine, even less so. For the longest time we had guns that were not really condusive to regular mounts. Before that, the M98's with the scout scope were just a function of availability. After the war, m98s were everywhere and these scopes were the most common ones for the m98.
When I was in the Army in the late 90s, the scoped AG3's were issued to rather few people, most commonly cavalry storm troops as a squad marksman rifle, or in the army to the second man in a machine gun team. From what I heard the regular claw mounts were notoriously fragile, so it makes sense that other options were attempted. If a good, cost effective mount had been found, maybe more people could have been issued scopes.
@@ReaperCH90 Indeed, but some people still use either old firearms or old firearm design still. Personally, I could consider a long eye relief low power scope in some sport shooting configs, but not for hunting.
Based AF Ian, olny looking at the pictures in a book.
Ian is the type of guy to use a berthier for home defense
Olav Nisi is sort of a legend, he is a gunsmith and stil active in the firearms community
I served in the Home Guard in Oslo in the 80'ies and we mounted Leupold M8 2x and 4x pistol scopes with custom BDC turrets on the cooling jacket on some MG34s in 7.62NATO for long range use around the main airport in Norway. One of the scopes came off a Colt Python Hunter :-). The reason for LER scopes mounted forward was to clear the top cover. We also experimented with Weaver T10, Leupold M8 10X rifle silhouette scopes and Kahles ZF69 scopes in different custom mounts extending over the top cover and using starter extentions on the ammo belts. We "tuned" MG34s for accuracy with custom 308 barrels and sub 1moa 5 shot groups in semi and sub 1.5moa full auto 5 shot groups over sandbags were not uncommon with selected ammo. (RANO 185gr FMJ matchammo was a heavy hitter with great accuracy). The "sniper barrels" were spared from regular MG shooting. A special unit also had HK21s with scopes
We also experimented using conversion kits, old 8mm feeding trays, new barrels and nozzles, for 6.5x55. Using RANO 144gr FMJ "Mauser" match ammo range was increased a lot. (2650fps/.550bc bullet) Only short bursts due to barrel life but these scoped MG34s were used as "sniper rifles", not as MGs. "First burst hits" was much more effective than a "first round hits" from the period sniper rifles.
Myrvang&Co, of MG34/42 book fame, served in a neighboring unit but they are pistol shooters with short range focus :-) We were the long range guys shooting rifle silhouette and other long range military and civilian bolt actions events. That's how the interest in precision shooting with MGs at long range came about.
Till this day I do not understand why people want to drag a 20 pound, 5 shot, bolt action 338LM in the field when you can use a 20 pound belt fed HK21 in 6.5CM/260rem and scope shooting "first burst hits" at the same ranges as the 338 bolt rifle. Add environmental green(!) Warner Flatline bullets in the HK21 and you have 1moa, full auto, 1600m+ supersonic range. (3000fps with 0.63bc bullet)
Neat! Thanks for sharing that :)
Apparently the book is unavailable in Norway as well, which is a shame since your book recommendations are usually quite good. Also quite an interesting subject, personally I ended up using the HK416 in my year of service, even though I always wanted to try the AG3.
Does everyone get issued the HK416 or is it possible to be issued something else, depending on your branch or role? Asking so I'll be prepared when the time comes.
@@LordJuz the ag3 is facing out of Heimevernet wich is the last users now in 2022 and only some hv units still have it so its basicly phased out.
@@LordJuz you'll get an mp7 or mp5 if you go to the navy. Almost everything else you get a 416. Not sure about marksman.
@@LordJuz Medics and truck drivers usually get issued MP7. You can also be issued machine guns or other weapons depending on your role, but you usually always have access to the 416 in some way. Everyone gets issued one during boot camp atleast
@@LordJuz The personal weapons that I can think of off the top of my head that are currently in use in either the army or the home guard are the AG-3 (only home guard, being phased out), MP-5 (also in the process of being phased out afaik, albeit not as quickly as the AG-3), HK-417 (DMR), MP-7 (replacing the MP-5) and the Glock P-80 pistol. Most regular troops get the 416. Vehicle crews, some rear area personnel, military police etc. typically get machine pistols or pistols.
There are some other weapons in small scale use by special forces as well.
I remember shooting with an infrared "sniperscope" in 1966. Lacking range, and went out of use as detection gear got more in use - that made the shooter very, very vulnerable.
As I see it, the AG3 (introduced when I was an officer in the norwegian army) never was å precice enough gun to really be a snipers weapen.
However, I had the pleasure of shooting with quite a few very interesting, norwegian sniperrifles based on mausers system. Aming them a single experimental where the scope was sidemounted on the rifles left side. Correctly adjustede, you could use the scope with your left eye, or switch to the dioptersight by shutting the left eye and open the right - .
from what i can imagine scopes with short eye relief are super impractical in battlefield scenarios where there is no comfy shooters table or time to properly grip your rifle when reacting to enemies also with wider peripherals target acquisition and personal space awareness are better. great explanations ethan love it!
Mounting a scout scope on M1 seems to be a really cool modification indeed.
Saw a video on it. Dude hunts with it. Can't recall the site. Try M1 Garand / scout scope.
I know you’re talking about the M1 Carbine in the video, but as a side note, if I remember correctly, I saw Ian using an M1 Rifle with a scout scope mounted in an early Forgotten Weapons or Inrangetv video. I thought it was pretty neat, if I had two Garands I think I would fit a scout scope to one.
@@jcs8568 neat, I might wanna look it up, thanks!
henryhallward I looked it up. It’s a forgotten weapons video and the exact title is
2-Gun Action Match, July 2013 (M1 and SVT-40)
Yes, already found it thanks to your and Floyd’s suggestions 🙂
Cheers!
Great video! I`m a Norwegian career soldier (and sniper back in the days), the consept of snipers si not very "old" in our military. But marksmen is something the Norwegian armed forces has "always" had. By that I mean that it has since guns got in use, the armed forces has always put units of hunters and shooters togeter in units, Jeger we call it, and given them better wapons. Like rifled weapons insted of smoothbore and so on. But until the last few decades Norway was poor, so we made do in a cheap way. Like reusing K98`s and german "scout scopes. My fater was a "sniper" in the home guard (Heimevernet), he had a slightly modified copetition Mauser rifle in 7,62x51 with a left mouted scope, so he had to use his left eye to aim the gun. Again modify something in a cheap but efficiant way. The Germans had already done this of course, so it was a copy of that due to the top feed of Mauser rifles.
On the topic of marksmen, one of the biggest sports organiziations in Norway is rifle shooting "The wolenteer shooting organiziation" (Det frivillige skyttervesen). It was started in the 1880 (or before) as a way to train Norwegian civilians in the art of precision rifle shooting. It was closely linked to the armed forces, and even as the sport has moved on in modern times into non- military rifles, and specialized shooting equiptment, it is still linked to the armed forces. And to this day, part of the aim for this shooting organiziation is to provide the armed forced with competnt shooters (or marksmen). So we have a very strong tradition of marksmen, and I think that is refected in your find in our "intrest" in these scopes.
My last note; when German paratroopers tried to captuer our King in a place called Elverum in 1940, they where stopped by a mixed force of The King`s Guard (Kongesns Garde) and shooters from Det frivillige skyttervesen, that is civillians who came to fight and who was trained and armed in markmenship through the Frivillig Skyttervesen. And this band of conscripts and civilian shooters stopped the crack nazi paratroopers at Midtskogen from capuring or killing our King. So don`t mess with trained marksmen I guess:)
I`m sorry for any wrong spelling or bad grammar in this text.
Well if you are interested, Norway before the war didn't have a large army, but we did have quite a large volunteer shooting clubs. There they mainly used huntingweapons.so that might be why.
Yeah, because of the fucked up 1920s, where people were thinking about communism, and the military about a coup if labour won.
Then labour denounced communism, came into power, and the military was quite nervous. So labour gutted the military budget to afford social reforms, because well, they had threatened a coup.
Then the thirties happened, and military and civilian realized that OH FUCK we have to bury the hatchet, but by 1939 it was too late.
It's not as exciting as the Finnish civil war for example, but still pretty interesting.
American in Norway here. If you need any translation does on my kroner then glad to help.
If I remember correctly you can actually see, in the movie The Thing, a Norwegian arctic researcher using a G3 with a scout scope as he attempts to kill the Husky-Thing
In the kingsmen 2 they use the bv206, which i personally drove in my conscription period :)
It's actually a HK93, sadly
@@TheCoffeeSquirel the bv206 is magical on snow. Unfortunately the ones in Norwegian service had a poor combination of engine and transmission ratio, resulting in an otherwise good Mercedes diesel engine always being run near redline rpm or the transmission always hunting between third and fourth gear. Those engines last forever in a Mercedes-Benz car but keep blowing out head gaskets and suffering other failures in the bv206. Incredible fun to drive off-road though. And takes forever to clean afterwards...
@@Kaboomf the engines in the military are custom ones that run on a diesel-parafin mixture, v10 engine if i remember correctly
@@TheCrusher72 www.imfdb.org/wiki/File:Thing13.JPG Is this what you're talking about?
This is pretty cool. I remember when i joined HVU (The Norwegian Home Guard Youth) in 1992 we had the Mausers with the proper German markings. In 1994 we got the AG3 with the red safety selector (single shot only). In a military biathlon event i perticipated in 1997, one of the shooting instructors had a scope mounted on his AG3. I think it was the scope from the MSG90 and it was very accurate at 200 meters. By the way, I finished second to last in the biathlon race after emptying my magazine on the wrong target on the final lap. The last place was a guy that forfitted...hehe..
@@co.1157 I mean if I recall correctly, the british polish still use SMLE's as sniper rifles.. so it's not like old firearms don't get reused a lot if they're good at what they do.
@@co.1157 I have a Mauser from 1941 as hunting rifle with scope.. ;) so...
@@co.1157 Waste not want not. We also had horses in our army until january 1st 1985 :D
@@co.1157 And i dont care at all.. ;) the nazi eagle is on it.. so i am evil then? noway! ;) maby the name Viking too? :) hehe..
You have been taught hate i think.. but i can hate them for ruind my country, not you. Have a nice day and not hate me ;)
Yes, I liked this 'little diversionary path into Norway'.
By the way - I haven't heard of the guy, but your pronunciation of the name Nisi seems spot on.
Greetings from the cold
Like bubsnicket mentioned, the long eye relief is probably less likely to fog. That can easily be a problem in cold climates. Also Norway is mostly woodlands which limits visual range, so a low magnification scope with good peripheral visibility is a really good choice.
I have a leupold 2.5 power fixed scout scope and like the concept. Had it for years mounted on the same .308 platform forward of the action. Easy to use both eyes open from point to several hundred yards. What peaked my interest in this asked no one? Well Gun Jesus and Forgotton weapons did my friends! Thanks Ian
I have an M8-2X on my Ithaca model 37 16 gauge deerslayer. Those early pistol scopes very quickly became popular slug gun scopes because they could handle the recoil of a slug gun.
In the Danish homeguard I had a modified G3 but with a larger scope; I was called a marksman back then. Called M/66 in Denmark but could be the or similar
The info card for the M1 carbine was as follows:
M1A1 Carbine presented to Major General Sir Colin Gubbins after the war by members of the Norwegian Resistance. IN 1940, Gubbins had commanded the 'Independent Companies' - a forerunner to the Commandos - in Norway. Later he oversaw the successful raid on the Vemork heavy water plant in 1943 (WM (FIR 6251)
Sir Collin Gubbins was the driving force, and eventual commander of the Special Operations Executive. As such he backed the development of special weapons including the Welrod, De Lisle Carbine and silenced Sten Guns.
As a keen shooter and hunter himself I'm sure Gubbins appreciated the scoped M1.
I have a 670 winchester that I mounted a 2.5X leupold scout scope to about 25 years ago for deer hunting. I also have an AR15 (7.62x39) that wore a red dot for half a season. It now wears a 2.5X leupold forward on the handguard.
I hated the red dot, and won't likely give them another chance. It just didn't deliver under the conditions I hunted, and cost shot opportunities for more than one reason.
The scout gives just enough magnification to ID legal targets along with the speed and precision required in aspen tickets.
Why would anybody downvote this? Why would you be so petty?
They're probably Swedes :P
(Joking about, of course)
As an old sniper from the Jeger-troup @Aasegarden garrison, no longer in use, in Harstad back in 90-91, having the AG3 with a mounted (scout) scope, I didn't know any of this. Very interesting, thank you very much for this video.
In daylight an LPO is almost as fast as a red dot, an M1 Carbine with a scout scope makes so much sense. Cool stuff Ian, Thanks!
LPO ?
'Long [something] Optics' I guess but Google really, _really_ doesn't wanna help.
@@EggBastion Long Projection Optic would be my guess.
For anyone wondering what is written on the book covers:
First book:
"AG3 faithful servant of the Norwegian army for 50 years"
Seccond book:
"Fire arms used by the Norwegian army after 1859"
ps: If you see old "war trophy" or heirloom rifles in Norway there is a high chance it has a scout scope.
For some weird reason we seem to like it a whole lot.
Even the first 22 cal rifle i shot with in a youth gun club had one of these things smacked on top of it.
Before clicking play button i know this video is about EYE RELIEF... i love my eye relief hensoldt 3x on my HK G36 you can scope as a red dot and it is always focused, nice video Ian, is not all about sniper scopes, intuitve shooting is better with eye relief scopes since ww2 ZF4 as you can see outside scope and no tunnel effect... G36 1.5x is much the same as ZF4 was on STG44.
I love to see that book in the background. I recognize that muzzle. Dear old heavy [beep-beeeep] AG3. My story: Being in the signalcorp, Regiment Jørstadmoen, Lillehammer. I was faffing around in a Volvo 4x4, with a trailer more befitting the old Willys-jeeps from WWII. My task was to establish radio. Fair enough. Lots of fun, but that is another story. Technically we were supposed to have H&K MP-5, since its much more convenient. We didn't get it. We didn't even get the 'navy'-version with retractable stock. We got the +1 meter long rifle. Yes, yes, You can lay downa good amount of supressive fire for over 2km. The issue is: Heavy as satans tail, getting in and out of a tiny vehicle. You literally have to step out, then unhook it from the mount in the door. You have to sling it over your back, like a sword from fantasy-games/movies. Then You'll have to climb on top of the vehicle to fiddle with antennas with liberal estimations of 4.5kg on your back.
And now comes the fun part. The camouflage-netting. This gun has so many pointy ends and extremities (cocking-handle and front sight in particular), I several times wanted to use my bayonet to cut myself free. (A little secret: Bayonets are not sharp. Pointy, yes, but You can't filet a fish for the life of you.) (Hence norwegian soldiers carry an equally long, if not longer sami-knife/hand-axe on their belts).
What I wanted to say, back then, in the infantry, a squad was 7 men. One(!) soldier were lucky and got glasses on his G3. -He was lucky, he was deemed sniper/specialist, so he/her(?) never had to go front or last. But the sight... ...Nope it never was a proper Zeiss. The same adjustments were equal to that of the clicks You do with iron sights. -It is a small secret, but norwegian sharpshooters are really good to 'see' distance, lick a finger, estimate the wind by watching bushes move, and pray to Odin that the wind will calm before taking a shot.
Not to forget. the 7,62 is much, much better for use in norwegian territory than 5,56. -Just had to add that 'small' detail. Why would I need 500 rounds, when 60 is enough to scare the bajeebas off someone not succeeding in surprising me in a car with headphones on.
-I'd prefer a tiny 9mm MP5 from within the car....
The car: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Volvo_Feltvogn_(Valp).jpg
Greeting from Norway, Thanks for the content :)
Another fabulous video Ian! Belated congrats on reaching 2M subscribers 👍
This seems like more of familiarity than affinity. There are a lot of places like this where if you're familiar with a LER scope concept it's an obvious choice. So if they had a bunch of these things from WW2 captures and then ran in to situations where they wanted a scope but there was no good place to mount something conventional it's not such a big leap to say why don't we just put it up here then?
Fun fact, when I served as a NCO in the Norwegian Army in 1987 we got the opportunity to buy M98K chambered in 30-06 at USD 35 per rifle. I still have mine, works like a charm as a hunting rifle still, 83 years old.
The germans feared the Krag's accuracy, the krag shot differently when it got wet, so norwegians would even train with wet ammo.
This is what i've been told, it Doesnt sound that crazy
Thank you for taking up this subject 😊
Jeff Cooper like all senior Officers would have discovered that a lot of tactics and weapons were passed down later from German doctrine, hence the reason he decided to visit Austria and rebirth the Scout rifle with some new innovations mixed with old .. If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it !
I used this set up in the army. At kirkenes. We also had the Mauser, modernized. They stop using the g3 sniper and now they got the crappy hk416. The workers party used a strategy called: brukket gevær taktikk ( broken arms strategy) to make the army week. Therfore the nazis just walkd in to Norway. Loved the g3. Heavy as hell
Fun when i can say that i have fired some if not all the guns in a forgotten weapons video
meh! went south at 6:48
Har du ikke fått skyte us karabin?
Jeg kan hjelpe deg med det😁
Fascinating!! What an eye for detail and memory you must have .... respect!!
Wait, wait, wait.
Ian, did you just say that when the Germans were pulling out of Norway, the goal the Norwegian resistance had been working towards up to that point, in order to go fight on other fronts, the Norwegian resistance basically went "No, you know what? You're not going anywhere! You wanted to occupy us? Well, you're going to occupy us and choke on it, assholes." and kept themselves under occupation just to speed up the Germans losing the war?
Damn, that's ballsy.
That is exactly what they did. They kept sabotaging ships that were transporting personnel and materiel south to Germany, as well as doing little random raids here and there to make the Germans feel they needed to maintain a strong presence here.
The Soviets also helped with the same tactic, invading a short distance into Norway up north in the Arctic at the very upper bit of the Eastern Front. Bitter fighting up there until the very end, which made the Germans feel they couldn't just pull everyone out and let the Soviets take Norway. Interestingly, northern Norway was the only area occupied by Soviet troops where they pulled out afterwards instead of camping out and claiming it for the communist block.
@@Kaboomf 1: The soviets also occupied danish Bornholm and eventually pulled out, the same goes for northern Iran and Manchuria.
2: In the north there was not much fighting AFTER the germans retreated to the Lyngen line, the soviets stopped at the river Tana and only crossed in force at a small place called Rustefjelbma. Between those lines skirmishes took place between patrols, and there was no real front line, the whole population was evacuated by force by the germans after the finnish turned in september-44, and almost every building was burned.
@@welfarebeast8576 I didn't know about Bornholm.
As for Finnmark, my paternal grandfather was among those "cave men" civilians who stayed behind there instead of evacuating. Everyone thought the Germans were going to withdraw, so anyone who managed to sneak away could then join the allied forces via the Soviet Union. They were prepared for up to a couple of weeks in summer, then of course the Germans didn't pull out so they got stuck having to survive outdoors the whole winter of 44-45. He had nightmares for the rest of his life, untreated PTSD is a bitch.
@@welfarebeast8576 And the same applies to Northern Finland (Petsamo area) and Eastern Austria... . Now, if we look at the western allies (re)claiming territories... .
@@hildoschutte6200 Petsamo was taken by the Soviet Union, renamed Petschenga and is today part of the Russian Federation, before the war Finland had access to the Bering sea, not after.
Austria was under occupation by the 4 «great powers» until 1955 and had to promise to be a neutral country before regaining independence.
Your last sentence makes me think of Madagascar, who used the opportunity of ww2 to get rid of french rule, but then France insisted on getting it back in another bloody war that is little known today outside the island.
My favorite part of scout type scopes is the amount of situational awareness they allow the shooter to keep. Great for a DMR in a target rich environment!
The second book is a great overall reference for the Norwegian Army. Especially when combining with a trip to Akershus festning /fortress Museum. Some really neat and interesting pieces from way back when all the way up to the creepy cold war and beyond!
Festning is rather similar to german Festung.
@@brittakriep2938 Same thing afaik. Norwegian and the other scandi languages are all germanic. Except for Finland, but they kinda do their own thing..
Ian just wanted to say thanks for getting me through my Covid. Keep up the good work you are bar FAR the greatest weapons UA-camr your knowledge and attention to detail is awe inspiring 👍🏻
I remember playing war with my friends fathers AG3 when we were kids. People in the home reserve, used to store them (without bolt) at home in their closets. And regarding Mausers: "Everyone" here had one of those stored, somewhere in their house, when I grew up...
..a lot of people actually had the bolts. Depended on where/how you served, and if you were doing sport shooting. Also true with the 416 ;)
Up til 2002-2003 all had fully functioning guns, as a panic measure to deal with a media storm it was decided to remove the fireing pins pins and store then in depot.
@@guttormg1208 that was after one maniac fenrik/ensign killed several soldiers, at Heistadmoen if I remember it right?
@@welfarebeast8576 no, it was after media made a series of articles about murders committed using this guns. Around 20 in 20 years.
@@guttormg1208 Yes, I mixed this up with a swedish case.
At Heistadmoen a private conscript killed another and blinded one more, this was in 1995.
Being an American of primarily Norwegian and Swedish descent, this is really interesting because I've been looking into building an M1 Garand with a Criterion barrel in 6.5x5mm Swedish Mauser with a scout scope on an Ultimak mount
The beauty that would be.
6:18 That is brilliant!
Oh, and Heyja Norge!
That is a very interesting scope setup. Looks very unusual but also very cool. Looking forward to see it covered a bit more.
My granpa had Kar98 from the war And he used it to hunt (not with a scout scope) but iv seen a few of these scops around Alot of people Likes them for ther weight and Size and use it for hunting :D
Hey!!The AG-3 was my service weapon in my service back in 91-92!!A superb weapon,and i actually loved to shoot it in automatic mode,and with some practise some of us shot itvery well in full auto!!My gun was from 1971,and was the most acurate semi auto i has ever shot!!My three first sight in shots from 300 meters resulted in two bullseyes and a 9!!That was before adjusting the sights at all!!Lovely weapon that NEVER failed me,and i probably shot a few thousand shots through mine,as i had more trips to the range than most conscripts did!!A time of my life i never forget,shooting MG-3s and MP-5s and glock's aswell!!
I wonder how this (lowish power, long eye relief) compares to red-dots (once they became a thing) in terms or balancing the benefits of optics with maintaining situational awareness, target acquisition, etc.
Thank you
I’ve been a fan forever, I think this is my first comment. This sort of thing is why I love your stuff. Listening to your extemporaneous replies to Q&A’s is a treat. You rule.
Thanks again
J
5:38 And the title is "Less talking, more raiding!"
I was in an arctic ranger unit in the Norwegian army in the early 2000s, we used the AG3-F1 (collapsible stock), two per 8 man squad had the HK79 grenade launcher that mounts in place of the barrel shroud (made an already pretty heavy rifle even more cumbersome). None had the scout scopes then, but we had an MN149 (rechambered mauser) in the squad with a pretty decent scope as sort of a "town bicycle"-marksman's rifle and the actual trained sharpshooter had an M82A1 with some pretty baller optics.
So they liked it, but military high commands were like: "Nah! We already bought these kits from the germans themselves" - 3 times in history.
Well, we only actually bought them once... The Mauser M98 stuff was left behind after the German occupation
Congratulations on 2M subs!!!
A question/proposal to Ian: since I/we have noticed you brought up two Norwegian books ("Kongsberg-Colten" and the book in this video), which you could not read since, well, they're in norwegian, would it be a solution for you to maybe ask some of your norwegian Patreons to translate the books for you? Or, better yet, scan the books with a translate software and ask the norwegians to translate check the translations?
I think it would be nice for you, the Norwegians and the rest of the viewers to know a lot more about the firearms and history from an insider :)
You can use the camera on your mobile with an appropriate google translation app to provide a reasonable translation these days.
@@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse yes, but it sucks
Just watched the first episode of the 1975 SWAT. It had a scope mounted M1 carbine. I also had an AUG for awhile. I really liked the 1.5 power optic.
This was very interesting to me as a Norwegian. I had no idea this was a thing. :)
I can remember some guys using this scope. I was in the stormpanzer battalion. But i spotted several times guys walking around with those sights. As i was always curios on them as they looked off. Compared to a normal larger scope. Believe they where the ones produced at the kongsberg weaponsfactory as they also produced on lease the AG3 between 67 to 74. Cool to see these videos. brings me back to those days.
I'd be happy to translate a few pages of these books to english, for the low low price of being mentioned in your next video 🤩
Our family have a long military history, at least as far back as to the late 1800s, and we had a "family collection" so to speak, old rifles, military memorabilia etc. It got sold off by one of our family members which caused a lot of anger.
Aaaanyways, I remember being there as a kid, this was my grandfather that kept it and he was in the royal guard back in the day, and I remember 2 rifles (there was a shit ton), and I think one of them was a Mauser, the second one was Krag Jørgensen, and I remember both of them had a sight on them like this, I never thought much more about it before I saw this. Think the Krag was modified in some way (It was shorter if I remember right), but the Mauser if I remember right looked like a normal Mauser. I remember thinking it was odd, because we used a Krag for hunting and such back home, but that was with just a plain old iron sight, nothing special (which was later modified as well because the stock got destroyed).
I cannot say that my father which served in the military in the 70-80s had anything like that with the AG3 he served with. And neither did my brother after him.
It is always so interesting to see lesser known ideas/innovations on weapon systems and wether it failed or not and why that is. I didn't known about the top issue with the AG3 at all, so that was very interesting to me.
My dad is farsighted and hates wearing his glasses while shooting. If he's using one of my conventional scopes he can't hit the blind side of a barn at 50 yards but if he's using his Leopold fx-2, Leopold vx-3, Nikon force xr or vortex crossfire 2 he can hit a playing card at 1000 yards. I don't know how there's such a dramatic difference but hey if it works it works lol
Well he's far sighted, he should be able to see long distance fine
Goas a long way to consider that Norway is for the most part steep forested terrain.
mid or 3rd quarter 2010 is when the HK416 was introduced, so my group that came in early that year was among the last to be trained with the AG3. (diopter "iron sight")
With a lethal range beyond 3000m, "effective" range of 600m and regular use range of 30m-200m I was convinced the label "Norwegian hand cannon" to be a deserving nickname.
As I was barely 120-125lb (60-63KG) rapid fire semi was challenging and the ban on using auto fire was quite reasonable.
Our leading officer demonstrated a full magazine (20) full auto standing assault, and it was clear he had to work hard to stay on his feet. (unstable footing due to knee height snow).
AG3: The Norwegian Handcannon. Taken out of service because it was deemed "too lethal"
It was more a weight challenge. If I remember correctly, you could bring a fully loaded AG3 (weights 4,7 kg incl. a loaded mag), and then 4-5 additional magazines each weighing around 700 grams. With the HK416 (5.56 caliber) which superseded the AG3, one could bring upwards of 12-14 magazines for the same weight. It's been many years since I heard these numbers, so I could be wrong about the amount of 5.56 magazines.
But granted, the AG3 was powerful with a barrel length of approx. 19 inches (48,5 cm) and the NATO 7.62x51.
It is more suited for rural engagements then urban.
Running up a set of stairs with the AG3 was a test in muzzle fencing among friendlies.
What happened to AG3 after taking out of service? Is it possible to buy it in Norway nowdays?
what a rifle the AG3 is with 7.62 ammo. Wow, it could penetrate anything. I never forget my rifle during my military service during the cold war. It is a rifle very much lethal yes, but why in earth did they replaced it. I mean, it is the best all-round rifle there is. It's too heavy? That's totally BS! In a war situation I would definitely prefer a rifle that truly penetrate the enemy than start feeling unsure. Especially with the now days wests. The light rifle of today (with smaller calibre) can NOT penetrate a securiry west from 200 meters. You guys all know that! Do the same with an AG3 and 7.62 ammo. Lol 😆
@@michaumichauowski5531 Home guard used them for a bit. I think they are all phased out now. Some might be stored away, but a fair bit was destroyed as keeping them all would be a possible security nightmare.
In Denmark we had some of those HK rifes with clamp on scopes.
I was for a period issued one that came from HJV (Homeguard) for a short loan.
Wasn't really a sniper-rifle, but had the possibility of greater accuracy at longer distances, than the standard G3.
Also hauled around a complete and bulky IR-kit...
I like long eye-relief scopes. They work better for me and the way I shoot.
I like the idea better in my late fifties than I did when BSA was fitting long eye-relief scopes to shortened Airsporters in my youth. It has something to with taking my glasses off to see some things, which my optician says is age-related.
@@matthewspencer5086 yep.
Exactly so.
When I was young, iron sights and/or conventional scopes were fine. Now, I want to be able to leave the glasses on, grab a quick view, then line up to take the shot.
A double UA-cam dose of Norway back to back. First, the new Will Ferrell Super Bowl commercial where he goes to Norway, then scout scopes. I feel like digging out a tin of kippered herring and make a sandwich. With good mustard.
It's an hour before my shift ends so this'll help pass the time :D
Hi, Ian. I agree. That setup is very clever and is suitable for those rifles with an action that interferes with a scope. That presentation rifle looked very nice. Thanks for sharing! Stay healthy!
My brother has a scout scope on his mosin makes handy in the woods
I too have a mosin m44 with a scout scope setup. Its a newer 2-7x with a decent fov. Its great for white tail deer and the likes. Easier to identify and get on target if they're moving.
Congratulations on 2M subs! It doesn't feel like you hit 1M that long ago
ian : Stamp sheet dust cover is not suit for mounting scope
AK12 : WTF are you talking about????
Laughs in finnish
the AK-12 (and by extension most other official kalashnikov produced dust covers) have had a load of work done during the years to get them to a reliable enough level... Most aftermarket parts like the Zenit ones require extremely heavy reinforcement or just mount the scopes very poorly, losing zero every time you disassemble the gun... thats actually why the dust cover on the AK-12 isnt the same type compared to older AKs, the fact its more firmly attached to the rest of the gun with the hinge
@@domaxltv So they made it more similar to the AKS-74U?
@@Tallmios Not exactly. Yes, AK12 has something like a hinge, yet you take the cover off by sliding it rearward after removing a pin: ua-cam.com/video/k36JwjAQW5c/v-deo.html
AG3, faithful servant through 50 years. Funny that you have a book in Norwegian, but they are correct. The AG3 was our handheld howitzer.
Nei faen, snakke Ian om Norske gevær igjæn?! Dæven han steiki kor artig! Flotters arbeid, håpe du lage fleir videoa om norske greier! 👉🏼
Tipper du må vente en stund til neste gang.
@@barkebaat æ trur nok de desværre, e ikkje akkurat så frøkteli mykje norske våpen/historie og gå over.
The German forces in Norway surrendered to the British. They initiated a large scale operation to scrap as much as possible of the German equipment. After some time and heavy protests to this destruction of modern equipment Norway were allowed to take possession of what was left (and it was still plenty..).
Germany: "(conquers norway) hah, you are stuck with us now"
Norway: "(Pulls out no u card and destroys their transport ships) hah, suck it. you're stuck with us now"
Kinda did the German troops a big favor with that. Must have saved a LOT of lives on both sides to keep them out of the fight.
@@MartinTraXAA I mean i suppose. It was also troops that could have caused a lot of damage on the western front, even if it wouldnt have won germany the war
@@TheArrowedKnee Exactly! The German troops would have killed and been killed only to delay the inevitable for a little bit. Trapping them in Norway (which was considered a 'dream-stationing' reward by Germans who'd rather not go to the Eastern Front as punishment) was probably not unwelcome at the time.
I have an ultimak rail with a Nikon pistol scope on my AK, and I agree that it is quite rapid. Really lines up nicely when shouldering the rifle, too.