Nordic Cooperation: The Swedish M96 in Finnish Service
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- utreon.com/c/f...
/ forgottenweapons
Cool Forgotten Weapons merch! shop.forgottenw...
One of the significant foreign rifles in Finnish service during the Winter War and Continuation War was the Swedish M96 Mauser. These rifles began arriving in Finland even before Finland's independence, and in 1919 the Civil Guard was given ownership of 1,390 of them. The numbers increased slowly through individual purchases by Finnish sport shooters and Civil Guardsmen in the 1920s, but it was in 1940 that Finland arrange the purchase of a large number. In total, 77,000 more M96 rifles were bought from Sweden during the Winter War, plus about 8,000 more brought and left in Finland by men of the Swedish Volunteer Corps.
About 30,000 of these rifles were returned to Sweden in mid 1940, with the remainder staying in Finnish inventory until the early 1950s. In both the Winter War and Continuation War they saw significant combat service, with the Swedish volunteers, with Finnish forces in northern Finland, and with Costal Infantry and Coastal Artillery units fighting in the south. When they were finally surplussed by Finland in the 50s, they were repurchased by Sweden, overhauled, and put back into service. The Finnish examples found today on the US collector market can be identified by their "SA" Finnish property stamps and (usually) Swedish single-screw stock disks.
9 Hole Reviews Taking the M96 to the 1000-Yard Range:
• Gevär M/96 [Swedish Ma...
C&Rsenal History of the Swedish M94 Carbine:
• History of WWI Primer ...
C&Rsenal History of the Swedish M96 Rifle:
• History of WWI Primer ...
Contact:
Forgotten Weapons
6281 N. Oracle 36270
Tucson, AZ 85740
The motto of the Swedish Volunteer Corps was.
"For Finland's freedom and Sweden's honour"
I'm swedish and I've never heard that one. The one on the propaganda posters is "Finlands sak är vår!"
It was actually: ”För Nordens frihet och Sveriges ära” which roughly translates to
”For the freedom of the nordic countries and Swedens honor”.
Not that I’m nitpicking or anything. Well maybe a little bit.
@@micromange Doh!
Finlands sak är vår 🇸🇪💕🇫🇮
Soome vabaduse ja Eesti au eest ( it was Estonias moto )
I traded my Mosin for an M96 and I’m so glad I did, these guns really are a marvel of engineering. They even hold up surprisingly well to sustained fire and high round counts, I’m approaching 3,000 rounds through mine so far just in my ownership alone and I see no deviation in accuracy from when I first got it, often 200 rounds at a time per range day. For a 120 year old gun, it sure is hard to beat.
>3000 rounds
>sustained
do boomers really
I bought a M96 years before a mosin, talked to a old timer at a gun show looking at his rifles and I saw "Swedish mauser + 80rnds 300$" and seeing mauser and 300$ piqued my interest, got the full info on the gun, and he mentioned that 6.5 was non corrosive, and he said it's a tack driver, he wasn't wrong. My M96 is 105 years old
uuggrrgghh! You what? :-D jk, man. You could not have made a better choice! The M96 is superior, IMO, to all other bolt rifles of it's era and many that came after. Next on my wish list, in fact, is an M96. I'll never part with my dear old moist nugget, however.
@@teammosin9999 I bought my Garbage Rod for $50 back in 2013 and it came with 200 rounds of ammo, the metaphorical profit I made on it with the trade was too good to pass up! If I had the money I woulda just bought the Mauser, but I had just spent a lot of money on moving across the country and my Mosin was so dogshit inaccurate, I just couldn’t have fun with it nor justify putting money through it via ammo. Compared to my Garands and Enfields, it really felt like a waste of space and money. Had I gotten a better one I maybe woulda kept it, it was definitely fun to wield and show off to new shooter friends, but between the 10 MOA grouping and having to smack the bolt on the table to open it, I felt it would be enjoyed more by someone else!
@@reesetompkins7987 sustained is the wrong term, I’ll admit. But not much else to describe 200 rounds in a span of about 10 minutes through a 120 year old bolt gun lol
6.5x55 is probably the most ballistically accurate military cartridge. Almost no recoil, flat trajectory, but still kills anything between a man and a moose.
If that is the case, one would question why everyone else didn't adopt it.
edit* The number of people who somehow thinks I am asking why it was not adopted is pretty surprising... I thought it was clear my point was retorical, as in, the round was/is great, but not that much better.
@@MrBandholm Because on common belief that rifle should kill to +1200metres and caliber must be at least 7,5mm
Today we have learned that lesson and 6-6,8mm cardridge has proven to be most balanced size
It's why the 6.5 creedmoor is so popular today. Basically a modernized version of the same cartridge with similar bullets
@@TheOriginalFaxon and available for short action semiautomatic rifles. There arent that many long action semis available for 6.5x55 (apart from the Ljungman)
@@werre2 maybe
My grandfather was one of the swedish volunteers. He got injured in battle and returned with what was most likely ptsd and turned to the bottle and passed way too young.
@@MrFYGY read the room
Mine too
@@AH-ni2kl😂😂😂
My best friend used to have one of these 6.5 swedes and omg it was so damn smooth and accurate...its been nearly 20 years since he sold it and I still give him shit for doing that
here in Norway i can get you a mint one for around houndred dollars. But they are great rifles,we used our Krag Jørgensen. But we used captured German Mausers after the war. The g33/40 went to the police together with rhe US carbine. The Army picked the best Mausers and Kongsberg Våpenfabrik changed out the sights,barrels and stocks and small changes innternal to acomedate the longer 30-06. Undercut front sights,a bulletproof rifle(allmost) and 30-06 it is great rifles. Mine is made Mauser in 1937 and is mint,not a scratch. They shoot great,i have many expensive firearms,really expensive,but this is my favorite rifle and the g33/40 in 8mm. The Swedish Mausers did not really got any popularity here in Norway,probably because of the war. Everybody saw them as cowards,they just did buisness and made money with the Germans, The hate for Germans is strong in Norway and maybe some of the reson we are not in the EU. Dont want to be ruled by the Germans again,Nrway,Denmark an Finland dont like the Swedes to much to these days. But they make good steel,allways had a good reputation,and it really is.
Speak for yourself. A lot of finns, Norwegians and danes like Sweden and the feeling is mutual.
9 Hole Reviews and Forgotten Weapons is the best bromance/crossover on RUclips.
I love how the M96 shoots. That is what I used in my Remote Brutality entry last year. I wonder how many of these Finn marked M96s made it to the US...
I had a SA marked m96 barreled action land in my lap last year. Sourced a stock set and bottom metal from various distributors and currently putting it back together.
My father, uncle, and grandfather each have one of these rifles, with the oldest being stamped 1900.
I'm not sure if Ian loves finns more than we love him. Always honored to see someone put our small country on the map
Almost as much as he loves the french
@@ulvschmidt7174 Oh, i dont recall him ever visiting france yet alone every year ;)
@@Thekossiable Just wait until Ian starts his spin-off series "Forgotten Ingredients" that is about cuisine.
The Finnish people are some of the most hardy people the world has ever seen. The Soviets paid a high price to conquer Finland. As an American interested in the history of WW 2, I've got nothing but admiration for the fight you all put up.
In Oberndorf am Neckar, where Mauser factory formerly was, is still the Schwedenbau/ swedish building. It was build for producing the first swedish Mauser rifles. Today there are two museums ( firearms museum and homeregion museum) and a number of semiofficial indtitutions.
I've been metaldetecting in Lapland near locations used by the Germans during the war. One place is quite odd... It used to be a German camp and vehicle shelter, but the whole area is littered with 6.5x55 rounds and casings, clearly blown up or otherwise destroyed on purpose. Most of the rounds date between 1904 and 1942. I haven't yet found out why they are there, if they were used by the Germans (or Finnish troops under German command) in the area, or if they we're gotten rid off after the war, and a German camp was a good place to blow them up...
Are the primer cups blown out?
The Germans destroyed much of their materiel when they were forced to retreat from Lapland, typically by blowing up the depots.
The Germans used Norwegian weapons and ammo for second line units, Ian has a video on it.
ruclips.net/video/HPpNMfLabaw/видео.html
@@gunnermurphy6632 Some were, but not all. Many look more like they have been crushed with something, with even the bullets getting smashed
@@Tekdruid That specific place didnt seem to have any large craters left, so at least no heavy weapons ammo was blown up. Also, I'm not sure if the Germans were ever supplied with 6.5x55 ammo or rifles
Minor detail, but in addition of 77,000 rifles bought by Finnish military from Sweden and about 7,900 brought by volunteers, there was also third source. About 2,000 were bought by Finnish businessman Ragnar Nordström in December of 1939 and handed over to Finnish reserve units being trained in northern Finland at the time. Nordström was pretty interesting person - Jaeger-officer and Lieutenant-Colonel of Finnish Army, who had lost his right hand in Finnish Civil War and retired from military to become business tycoon, who was able to able to finance political groups he liked and sort of "gray eminence" in 1930's. During Winter War he bought not only those rifles, but also 100 light machine guns and eight 37-mm antitank-guns from Sweden and supplied them to very poorly equipped Finnish troops fighting in northern Finland. SA-in-a-box property stamp was introduced in June of 1942.
Those Swedish volunteers were probably the most useful of all the volunteers who rushed to Finland during winter war. Here in Finland we don't recognize enough their effort.
By the way, Swedish government was really supportive to Finland and those volunteers. Volunteers brought with them 12 fighters from Swedish Air Forces. And some other planes too.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Regiment_19,_Finnish_Air_Force
Swedish goverment was supportive to us Finns , until french troops wanted to come help us , then Sweden really wasn’t helpful
@@Lowkicksfordayz
Even swedes didn't want french to come and drop their rifles. You could stumble at those when changing positions...
@@Lowkicksfordayz If you look passage of French and UK troops through Sweden and Norway it was rejected for a good reason. The path would be from Narvik along the railroad to the coast of Bothnian Bay and to Finland. This is an area with lots of iron mines. The suspicion was if the troops were let in they would not leave but occupy the area. Then you risk an attack from Germany because they need Swedish Iron ore. So it was a way to move the conflict with Germany to Scandinavia. We know today that the suspicion was correct and the occupation of northern Sweden was planned.
So if the goal is to stay out of the war the best option for Sweden was to reject the passage of allied troops to Finland.
The alternate history with allied troops let through and fighting Soviet troops in Finland is interesting. Not primarily because of German invasion and combat in Scandinavia but what will happen when Germany attacked the Soviet Union. What will happen with lend leas and other allied support of the Soviet Union? Will they forget the direct combat in Finland or would there be no lend-lease and what is the effect on the Geerman invation`?
10.000 Swedish soldiers volunteers went to Finland and extensive arms donations were made by Sweden despite shortages of everything.
Almost 25% of the Swedish airforce participated as well (volunteers).
@@target844 shure , if french troops have plans to occupy these places then it’s a smart defensive move for Sweden to not allow them in . But you could also play it aggressive and force them out if They tried to occupy these places . You could warn them about direct conflict if they try to occupy . Maybe then they would go to Finland . Who knows . But I rather take the risk for our neighbours in need , and then if they would try to occupy you slaughter them . It’s all about mindset .
If I don't remember it wrong, Sweden wasn't neutral in The winterwar they hade declared themself "non combatant " which gave them more room for support to Finland.
I just saw a documentary on Finnish tv where they said that Sweden as a state didn't officially support Finland and that's how they got away with it.
We sent them tons of anti-tank shit pretty much helping them dome the commies thankfully. Finns are strong survivors
Hitler supported Finland as well.
@@fridolfmane1063 Hitler supported Soviet Union in winter war 1939-40. Hitler and Stalin made pact known as Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. This agreement defined the borders of Soviet and German spheres of influence across Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland
@@mountainside5978 From what i know it was a nonaggression pact during the invasion of Poland and had nothing to do with the baltic states or the winter war.
Western allies Britain and Usa on the other hand with their lend lease programs funded the soviet unions war efforts on a humongous level.
A small note here, Sweden were neutral in the second world war, but were not neutral in the Winter War. Sweden instead declared itself a "non-warring nation" (direct translation, not sure what the english term is) which allowed Sweden to supply Finland with A LOT of materiel, volunteers and work as a middleman for finnish arms purchases abroad, Sweden would for example assemble about 200 fighter aircraft that Finland had ordered before they were flown to Finland (including the (in)famous Brewster Buffalo which arrived too late to take part in the Winter War but did splendid service in the first years of the Continuation war).
Oh, should also be added that the swedish Home Guard used a lot of the m/96 as well, both during WW2 and during most of the Cold War, the last ones leaving service in 1995.
This is just nit-picking, but the Finnish Brewsters were never known as "Buffalo" in Finland.
the proper translation is "non-belligerent"
@@janiilola5810 An export version, B-239 if I recall.
@@meanmanturbo Thanks =)
Every time I watch one of Ian's videos about military bolt guns, I feel a little sick that I didn't buy a stack of them in the early 90's when one could buy just about every variety for $100 or less each :(
Many of them unissued and still packed in cosmoline.
Which makes me wonder if Ian has ever covered the CZ-52, which was a roller-locked 7.62x25mm pistol from Czechoslovakia that was cheaply available back then. It had an unusual operating mechanism was the most normal of the former Eastern Bloc pistols (e.g. it had a safety).
Hit up estate sales. Boomers hoarded them and their offspring are usually happy to pawn off anything that has historical significance
Buy a Carcano carbine. Certainly not as good of a deal as what you could get in the 90s, but a great deal compared to what you can get today.
You can still get them in Sweden for very little money. If you can get someone to export it that is.
I am wondering if you are working on a book covering Finnish military service small arms. It seems they are a subject if high interest to you, not that they shouldn't be but you seem to have good Finnish resources. As always very excellent work.
Yes, I am :)
@@ForgottenWeapons There were also Swedish M/21 and m/37 BARs used in Finland based on SA stamps. I have one of the machine gun sleds for my Kg m/37. The sleds were used by ski troops in the war as well. Contact me if you need the info for your book.
@@ForgottenWeapons Info on the SA stamp I have found puts it's 1st use in May of 42. Most weapons were stamped after WWII ended, when put into inventory. Captured Mosin's were stamped "41" in 1941. Since the M96 was never captured that didn't apply, but if the SA stamp was used in 1941 it would have been used on Mosin rifles, and not the 41. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks
@Forgotten Weapons Ian if you need pictures of a Tikka 91/30 that was captured by the Russians in the Continuation War and refurbed by the Russians after capture... I have one. (But I know there were at one point also 2 of them in AZ).
Finally, a Swedish Mauser review! I've had several for years and they're of superb quality with a very cool history. Great caliber too.
I have a sporterised Swedish m96 (not done by me) that i use mainly for for seal hunting. As seal hunting is mostly head shots at 50 to 150 m, a flat shooting caliber is preferred. There are other smaller cartridges who are flat shooting and can do the job, but the regulations for seal hunting in Norway are the same as for moose and deer when it comes to the "power" of the bullet. That is why 6.5x55 is perfect for the job. With a silencer the rifle is a dream to shoot , sound and recoil is equal to a 22LR. The 6.5x55 is not only common for big game in Scandinavia. Many hunters in Norway and Sweden also use it for bird hunting (with FMJ bullet). Mostly for goose and other larger birds, but i know people that even have used 6.5 for ptarmigan (type of small grouse) hunting.
Not only is the precision of the M96 good, but the overall quality is also impressive. There have been incidents where both gun and shooter have ended up in the water (salt water that is). The replaced newer parts of the gun have then started rusting almost the same moment as it is out of the water while the original blued parts are to this day still spotless.
I’m glad I bought my M96 a couple years ago before the prices started skyrocketing. Love your videos. It’s always a good start to the day when I see a new forgotten weapons video.
I love hearing this type of information, I got to hand it to the volunteers they really stepped up for Finland.
it's interesting that rifles ended up in the coastal areas where there are alot of swedish speakers and in the north where the border with sweden is. maybe they where sent to where people could understand the manuals.
In the north the only place where they speak "Swedish" is Närpes. And Swedish-Swedes do not understand them much.
Or the locals had contacts to Sweden and could buy ammo from private vendors.
The action in the north was along our eastern border though and there are no Swedish speakers there.
@@janiilola5810 weren't the swedish volunteers primarily deployed there?
@@CandidZulu That's just no true. We have native Swedish-speakers in Uleåborg, 400 klicks north of Närpes.
Good presentation. Some Swedish volunteers helped in the Finnish Civil War of 1918 also. Not in large numbers, but fighting and taking casualties nevertheless. Close to 1500 men fought (on the white side, naturally), with around 100 killed in action. They took part in the Battle of Tampere, the heaviest battle of the war.
Olof Palme the elder, the uncle and namesake of Swedens maybe best known prime minister actually died while serving as a volunteer in the civil war.
@@henrik3291 True. I believe he was killed at Tampere. The Swedish "Brigade" (battalion size unit really) was later engaged in action around Lempäälä and Valkeakoski as well.
The M96 is great rifle. It has special place for me and I have even taking it deer hunting. I got pictures of my Great Grandfather who was a professional soldier with this rifle. Grandfathers also used M96s. My father was a Swedish Army junior artillery officer so mainly carried an M45 but he got to shoot every small arm in inventory including the M96. Many of these rifles sat in Swedish Military inventory for a very long time with the last big batches not coming to the states until the mid 1990s.
My dad worked as an apprentice gun smith in the early 60,s. He did a restore on a m94 carbine. Everyone loved that carbine. It shot so good and recoil was nothing like the 30-06 he used.
Great video! The history is becoming my favorite part.
The 6.5x55 is an amazing cartridge for being dang near 130 years old. I have a m96 that was properly sporterized by a gunsmith back in the day. It's glass bedded in a laminate stock with a Lyman micrometer sight. I can easily hit a torso plate out at 650 yards (max available range)every time.
260 Rem is a more modern & shorter version of the 6.5x55 ..
Do you have a picture of yours, send directly? Or post too. I'll try and send one of mine
Replied one space down by accident, lol
It would have been cool to see Sweden adopt a G3 in 6.5x55, or a shortened version of it. Could have changed views of weapon design.
I remember seeing speculation that if the Garand had been adopted in .276 Pedersen, the M1 carbine would not have been adopted.
swedish did make a few 6,5x55 prototypes for trails also made FN FAL in 6,5x55 befor they adopted the G3/ak4 but 7,62 nato also they made browning bars in 6,5x55 in sweden
My M96, K31 and M39 shoot amazingly but… my best shooting Milsurp is actually my M1917 I just can’t miss with that thing
*Laughs in M1 Garand*
@@LUR1FAX the M1 Garand isn’t nearly as accurate as the m96, m39, k31 or M1917 the M1 Garand shoots 3-4 MOA at best
@@rednecksniper4715 bolt guns are just more inherently accurate to auto loaders, generally anyway
Love my M1917. Hands down it has the best combat sights of the era.
@@jameskazd9951 yeah with the loan exception of the Swedish Ljungman it is as accurate as my M96 the Ljungman is my buddies but it will soon be mine
It is the most used caliber in Norway to this date. It has superb BC and SD,just fantastic caliber and the right proportions between bullet and shell.
This is a great idea for a video series where Ian can talk about common rifles being used by other countries and how they were used.
It’s this kind of history that makes milsurps so interesting to me. I picked up an m96 at a local shop a few years ago for a song not really knowing that much about them other than I love 6.5s, it was in great condition, and the quality was amazing. After seeing the video I dug it out of the safe and it could be the twin of Ian’s, how cool, SA marked with all of the later Swedish updates.
I picked one of these up for 250 bucks at a shop near me at the beginning of the riots a year and a half ago. Someone had traded it in for an AR, my first milsurp gun and quite a happy accident. It shoots amazing, gotta go check if it has Finnish markings on it now, that would be the icing on the cake lol!
My dad got a hold of one of these in the 80's. And it still shoots just fine today
9:33 the pronunciation was spot on!
Ian makes studying guns fun tbh... If forgotten weapons didn't have Ian it just wouldn't be the same... All the old folks, the gun nuts, no one feels as safe or reliable as Ian. The respect for the firearms and their power, the calmness, the knowledge and passion. It's amazing. I always watched gun videos and the people showing, operating, or explaining the guns always threw me off quickly. It was always some old know it all, or some hillbilly that you didn't actually know if you could trust them or not with their own firearms that they owned for years.. Ian makes it crystal clear tho after having just met a gun and just feels like a cool dude to know. Someone you could 110% trust with this stuff
One postwar modification made on m/96 rifles used for biathlon (way before that became a .22 sport only). The shoulder stock was replaced by a M45 submachine gun folding stock to make the skiing easier.
Wow. Is there anywhere one can see an example of this abomination?
@@JH-lo9ut Don't know if any still exists, I got to handle one, but not shooting it, at a national shooting contest in the early sixties. It was quickly made obsolete when the .22 rifles took over the biathlon competitions soon afterwards. But it did make the 50" long rifle a bit easier to carry when skiing, though. Edit: I just found a photo of the rifle in the Wikipedia article "Biathlon Rifle".
This is such a great channel it covers two of my favorite subjects, firearms and history. 🍻
To summarise Swedish support for Finland
Equipment:
135.000 rifles
357 machine guns
450 light machine guns
50.000.000 rounds of small arms ammunition
144 field guns
100 AA guns
93 AT guns
300.000 shells
300 sea mines
500 depth charges
83 motorcycles
83 cars
350 trucks
13 tractors
17 fighter aircraft
5 light bombers
1 transport aircraft
3 reconnaisance aircraft
Financial support:
2.000.000.000 Swedish crowns(2-3 finnish defence budgets)
The Swedish state posed as a creditor for Finnish imports of war materials
Volunteers:
Flight regiment 19, including 12 fighters and 6 light bombers. This unit took responsibility for the air defence of northern Finland. It counducted very aggresive missions, including several bombings of russian troops columns and preemptive strikes against russian airfields. The traditions of this flight regiment is still maintained by flight regiment 21.
An anti-air battery in Vasa.
Several units of nurses and doctors.
The Swedish Volunteers Corps that relieved finnish troops at the Sala front.
8000 volunteers reached the front, including some Norwegians(eg the Norwegian resistance hero Max Manus)
Another 4000 volunteers was on its way when peace was announced.
The Corps had concducted aggresive reconnaisance missions and probing attacks against russiand positions and was preparing for an infiltration assault against these positions.
Conclusion:
The amount of equipment sent from Sweden to Finland did mean alot for the war effort. For example, the rifles that was supplied to the finnish army was delivered by Swedish trucks driving day and night over the icy gulf of Bothnia. These arrived just in time to arm approximately 100.000 finnish reservists being called up frontline. At the same time Swedish defence capabilites was clearly diminished through this, approximately a third of the Swedish army's equipment was sent to Finland, and Swedish bases in the north basically posed as finnish supply bases.
If Sweden would have gone to war directly with the USSR a lot of this equipment would have had to stay with the Swedish armed forces. Especially the fighters and AA guns (that was already scarce in Sweden) would have had to defend Sweden against air attacks from the baltics states. It would have taken time for the Swedish army to deploy in Finland, it is easier to move equipment than soldiers. Also the Swedish conscripts was less well trained than their Finnish counterparts, for example, winter training had been suspended for those all units except those based in northern Sweden(because of budgets cuts). Problem with lacking winter training would later be evident with the Swedish volunteer corps as they were delayed when several volunteers got frostbites, and the corps had to stay back for extra winter training.
AND:
Sweden was not neutral during the Winter war, it is a flagrant breach of neutrality to supply weapons, and allow volunteers to go to a belligerent nations.
Therefore Sweden had declared itself as non-belligerent.
EDIT: While reflecting on how Sweden would have done to transfer a substantial amount of troops to and in Finland and supplying them I realise that it would have been a logistical nightmare.
One of the reasons for this is that Finland and Sweden had different rail guages. Large bottlenecks would have been created on the the Swedish and finnish border. Also therefore Sweden could not transfer trains and train engines to Finland for further transport.
Great summary.
I grew up deeply ashamed of Swedish lack of action during the winter war, and our Finnish brothers still hold Sweden in contempt to this day.
Now I'm a little bit older and wiser, I can definitely see the common sense behind the decisions taken by the government at the time.
It really was a pretty clever way of supporting Finland quite substantially, whilst maintaining a defensive posture. I'm pretty sure the Swedish government expected the Red Army to continue to Sweden and Norway if the Finns had put up less of a fight, which meant that Finland essentially provided defence in depth for the Scandinavian peninsula, whilst retaining a reasonably strong border area.
The Swedish volunteers never got enough credit for what they did. They left their families behind, believing Sweden was next for the Soviet wear machine.
Who cares about the lack of neutrality? It was an evil war of aggression on the part of Russia.
@@isaac6705 I am trying to say it was a good thing that we did not declare ourselves neutral during the winter war
Swedish support to Finland was very substantial if we look how big percentage of Swedens resources was sent to Finland. That big percentage sent to Finland weakened Swedens defence within Swedish borders. As a Finn I really appreciate Swedish thinking: Finlands sak är vår!
@@mountainside5978 I remember the first time I watched the finnish movie "the winter war" about the brothers thate are sent to the isthmus, and about the horrible situation they were in and the gory deaths of ordinary men. I remember getting so emotional and so angry at Sweden for not helping Finland and sharing the hardships of war.
However when looking in to it even more, I do realise that sharing the blood sacrifices with the finns, how noble it might seem, was not an efficient way to help.
As I have added in an edit to my original comment, already the deployment and supply of Swedish troops in Finland would have been a logistical nightmare.
It is sad that a lot of finns are still bitter over how Sweden acted during the winter war. However I am happy that some, like you realise that Sweden actually believed that "Finlands sak är vår"
Or to quote Molotov "the finnish war? that was your war!"
Some brilliant info there indeed. Ive an M96 and an M41b. Great rifles.
Really cool video, I always thought they didnt saw much combat use, thanks for the information :)
Thx for showing. Many new infos I didn't know
I'm Swedish and had no idea we sent rifles over there. Thanks for the history lesson as well as showing off this beautiful rifle 🙂❤️
The amount we sent over was about half the entire finnish budget for 1938. The finns had 4 anti aircraft guns at the start of the war. Sweden sent them 100 more...
You should know this. What do they teach in history class nowadays?
@@TheSlyngel If you want to see something cool, google "forest brothers". I didn't hear that word in school or in media (went to school in the 70s).
Another example is "Polish deluge".
A third is that the Swedish communist party (now V) supported Hitler. At least until Stalin told them that Hitler wasn't good anymore. (They at least stopped being Stalinists early, directly Moscow told them to.)
When you see a few of those, you wonder how much of your world view is gaslighting from school/media...
@@bernhardb4711 No wonder, Hitler and Stalin were allies until 1941. No honour among thieves.
@@peabase The point was that no one mentioned that in Swedish school or in media. I gave more examples.
Is it a democracy if unpleasant history for a political party is cleaned up...?
My great grandfather aquired a Swedish Mauser and used it during the civil war and we still have the rifle as an heirloom.
I have a professionally sporterized one ( circa 1960’s) that Seems to like sierra 107 gr. Bullets. They are great guns and well made. The k-31 is something marvelous too!
Really enjoyed the video. Looks like a great rifle to shoot.
Having bought one of these last week ( just awaiting delivery ) I did check your channel for any info but couldn't find it. I have also been researching the Winter War the last few days. Well happy that this brilliant video has just appeared today ! Can't wait for it to arrive now !
You do know Your history on how things went over here in the 40's. Respect that. Thanks.
I've several old classic rifles, but the m96 is my top shelf.
I can't believe how good these rifles were made, with such good triggers, no play at all from side to side, the quality of the steel is superb, and mine was made in 1899! Came with a threaded barrel. Won it on gun broker for 600 bucks, not bad for these times, considering most M1903's are in the 1000's, and by now those M1903 Springfields are not all original components. I would say my M1903 NRA Sporter made in 1928 is on par with this M96 made in 1899!
Thank you Ian, a true treat to watch your videos. Keep up the good work!
I have a m96/38 made in 1916 and it's a beautiful rifle that shoots amazingly for being over 100 years old.
Those rifles weren't sold to Finland, they were lent out, we got a good chunk of them back after the winter war.
I love the collaboration between you all. Its lovely see such neighbourly behaviour.
It was more than helping a neighboring country. Finland was part of Sweden for almost 700 years
I have a 1916 built M96. My old eyes and those iron sights can still put down nice groups at 100 yards from prone. Like the round so much, I built a 6.5 Creedmoor AR.
Interesting learning about the Swede's support for Finland. All that Viking blood still runs deep up there in the north.
Very cool coordination or whatever. Having the the 3 different perspectives on the content. Very very cool. Now all we need is Karl walking a battlefield. 👍👍👍
This is my favorite bolt action rifle. Thanks for the great video!
that 6.5 cartridge rocks, I had a Tikka back in the 90s in 6.5 and it was an absolute tack driver, fingernail groups
got one of these from my grandfathers old weapon locker. for some reason he refurbished the weapon and put a lighter weapon stock on it that made it look like any other hunting weapon. Otherwise pretty much the same weapon. Super comfortable to shoot with.
Man, that gun is in beautiful condition! And the design aesthetics are nice and clean too. What a looker!
It's a bonus that my favourite channels compliment each other so well.
The SA property mark was applied to everything in Finland possession after the war, and was used during the Continuation War on rifles that needed repair, or went through an arsenal. Likely most got the SA stamp after the war. There was a longer mark in 1941, and shortened to SA in 1942.
I have a Swedish m/94-14 carbine with Finnish "SA" property markings, it is by far my favorite military Mauser of all time
My 6.5x55mm Swedish Mauser is one of my favorite milsurp rifles. It is a tack driver. The Finns were well served by these rifles.
THE MAUSER M96 RIFLE WAS GREAT SUCCESS IN JAPAN. THE COPIED EDITIONS, TYPE 30 AND TYPE 38 RIFLES WERE THE MAIN RIFLES OF THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE MARINE AND ARMY
Make deer shooting an olympic sport again
This looks like a pretty fun rifle to shoot
@@SonsOfLorgar you lucky man
Vortex Nation Podcast did an episode on 6.5 Swedish ammo earlier this month if anyone is interested.
ruclips.net/video/tUwPn7eS_l4/видео.html
What a great story behind these rifles! Thanks.
I purchased one more than 20 years ago. Like yours mine was made in 1925. I use it in competition, very accurate.
Bolt guns. Obsolete? Yes. Useless? No. Fun? Hell yes!
Obsolete? LMAO 😂
It depends on who you ask. The Canadian Rangers use them, and so does the Danish Sirius Dog Sled Patrol that operates in Greenland.
Didn't notice in which moment this became Forgotten Finnish Weapons.
At 6:14 sweden was not neutral in the winter war it declared itself a noncombatant and supported Finland whit volunters and materiell, there is a distinction. Sweden was neutral as to the worldwar going on though. Just a detail very good and intresting video like always much love.
More specifically, Sweden declared itself neutral in the conflict between Germany and Great Britain/France like many other nations including Norway, Denmark, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium etc.
Used to have an M/96 myself marked with an [SA] stamp. Very nice rifle. Gave it up because I shoot more than I collect and wanted someone with more historical care to have it.
I saw the 9 hole shooting video, and WOW was it impressive. A 121 year old rifle destroyed the record for the course. The guy said that he was not even using the ammunition that the sight was set up for and he still shattered the course record. The secret is the steel from Sweden. Sweden actually sent the steel to Germany to make those rifles.
Henry proved what all of us owning these rifles have known for years. One of the best milsurp shooters out there ☑️
9:32 your pronounciation of "Suomi" was perfect! 10/10
A few years ago at a gun show, a dealer had five M-96s for sale. Having read "Rifles of the White Death", you know the one with the "SA" went into my collection.
Thanks, Ian. I didn't realize M96s were used by the Finn's until recently.
I need to find a good book on the Winter War, and not just the usual couple of paragraphs crammed into a book on WW2 and the Soviets
My first firearm was a 1905 M96 Still have it and it´s still my favourite.
Othias and Mae have some really good videos. I like the partner channel that does the gun repairs.
Thank you , Ian .
🐺
Love your content Ian, but a bunch of your videos suffer from audio distortion, like this one. Consider experimenting with mic placement, gain settings, sound check before hitting record or trying out a different microphone or audio recording setup. A little goes a long way for significant improvement over the audio quality in this video.
Just compare the audio quality of this video (or the hellion video ruclips.net/video/933flAYW4Z4/видео.html or M16 video ruclips.net/video/uqjBP6nm2o0/видео.html) to the quality of similar formats at other channels (e.g. techmoan ruclips.net/video/GXMtaZTBMzw/видео.html or Scott manly ruclips.net/video/pLeXbkFGQN8/видео.html). I'll keep watching either way, please take this as constructive feedback.
Very nice rifle and really interesting history lesson.
That was fantastic and so what Henry's feat. That man can shoot.
My fathers old homeguard M96 is SA marked and now I know why.
I've used a swede carbine for 25 years. Very fine rifle.
👍😊 I saw the 9 hole, Hickok 45 and now you the 96 is a good rifle.
I hunt with a Steyr Mannlicher-schönauer in 6.5x55 Swedish.
It works just as well on African big game as it does on moose.
Like shooting 9mm from a carbine except everything within 800m just dies.
I got one of these swedish mausers, 1907. Complete with 13 cut notches on the forward stock, love to know the story behind that as they are not evenly apart but delibrate
@@jensstolt1656 the mind boggles why the notched, was it people or deer
"I'm getting a little off topic here" That should be your catch phrase... :)
6:14 Sweden wasn't neutral in the Winter War, but a non-belligerent state on Finlands side.
In practice it meant Sweden as a country did not take part in any fighting, but officialy supported Finland with provisions and weapons.
Also there were no restrictions for swedes to enlist in the Finnish armed forces, many Swedish soldiers and conscripts were actually encouraged to enlist.
M96 and it’s equivalent cartridge is phenomenal. The CG63s and CG80s are even better
Swedish motto. "Finlands sak är vår!" In english; "Finlands cause is ours!"
"Do not underestimate (...) the Winter War". Oh no, I would never. Like no jokes. Never.
Never realized how old these rifles are. That's kind of funny since I have one as my huting rifle and been actively using it with good performance
I actually have a SA marked m/96. Love the rifle despite some fudd bending the bolt and drill in it for a scope.
when i saw the name of the company, this rifle suddenly came very close to me. Because the head of the factory that made this rifle during the time it was made was my great-grandfather, Harald Lundström.
the only swedish mausers used in combat inside sweden were used against striking workers
I had one of these. I brought it on a pawn shop rack in the early 1990s because it cost $99. The stock was pretty hammered but metal work and finishing was worn but immaculate. That sucker would put a bullet in the same hole at 100 meters...... no joke! I sold it 20 year later for a 250 smiling because of 150% profit. Now kicking myself for being such a damn fool. It just wasn't that interesting to me back then.