Nordic Cooperation: The Swedish M96 in Finnish Service 

The motto of the Swedish Volunteer Corps was. "For Finland's freedom and Sweden's honour"

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.

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.

9 Hole Reviews and Forgotten Weapons is the best bromance/crossover on RU-vid.

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.

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

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

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...

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

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Thank you Ian, a true treat to watch your videos. Keep up the good work!

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 !

Really enjoyed the video. Looks like a great rifle to shoot.

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.

Thx for showing. Many new infos I didn't know

This is such a great channel it covers two of my favorite subjects, firearms and history. 🍻

Great video! The history is becoming my favorite part.

Really cool video, I always thought they didnt saw much combat use, thanks for the information :)

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.

This is my favorite bolt action rifle. Thanks for the great video!

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.

What a great story behind these rifles! Thanks.

I love the collaboration between you all. Its lovely see such neighbourly behaviour.

I love hearing this type of information, I got to hand it to the volunteers they really stepped up for Finland.

Some brilliant info there indeed. Ive an M96 and an M41b. Great rifles.

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.

My dad got a hold of one of these in the 80's. And it still shoots just fine today

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.

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. 👍👍👍

Othias and Mae have some really good videos. I like the partner channel that does the gun repairs.

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.

Very nice rifle and really interesting history lesson.

Man, that gun is in beautiful condition! And the design aesthetics are nice and clean too. What a looker!

9:33 the pronunciation was spot on!

You do know Your history on how things went over here in the 40's. Respect that. Thanks.

Thank you , Ian . 🐺

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.

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

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.

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!

9:32 your pronounciation of "Suomi" was perfect! 10/10

It's a bonus that my favourite channels compliment each other so well.

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.

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.

My great grandfather aquired a Swedish Mauser and used it during the civil war and we still have the rifle as an heirloom.

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.

I purchased one more than 20 years ago. Like yours mine was made in 1925. I use it in competition, very accurate.

Thanks, Ian. I didn't realize M96s were used by the Finn's until recently.

👍😊 I saw the 9 hole, Hickok 45 and now you the 96 is a good rifle.

That was fantastic and so what Henry's feat. That man can shoot.

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.

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.

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've several old classic rifles, but the m96 is my top shelf.

My M96, K31 and M39 shoot amazingly but… my best shooting Milsurp is actually my M1917 I just can’t miss with that thing

I have a Swedish m/94-14 carbine with Finnish "SA" property markings, it is by far my favorite military Mauser of all time

Henry proved what all of us owning these rifles have known for years. One of the best milsurp shooters out there ☑️

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

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.

I have a m96/38 made in 1916 and it's a beautiful rifle that shoots amazingly for being over 100 years old.

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.

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!

My first firearm was a 1905 M96 Still have it and it´s still my favourite.

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!

I've used a swede carbine for 25 years. Very fine rifle.

This looks like a pretty fun rifle to shoot

Didn't notice in which moment this became Forgotten Finnish Weapons.

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 🙂❤️

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.

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.

wow, those rifles have been passed around more than my ex....cool video Ian

Thank you.

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.

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.

Talking about Swedish weapons. Next time you're over here in the Nordic countries you should do a video about S. A. André's weapons from his failed balloon expedition to the north pole. Some rolling block rifles. (S. A. A. Was criticized for not going with bolt action.) But the combination gun there is really an interesting gem. It’s a Husqvarna rifle/shotgun combi. But in a side by side configuration!!! There is a museum in Gränna (Grenna) you could visit.

Finally M96 video

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

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

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

I actually have a SA marked m/96. Love the rifle despite some fudd bending the bolt and drill in it for a scope.

Bolt guns. Obsolete? Yes. Useless? No. Fun? Hell yes!

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 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.

A handsome and well preserved rifle.

I just bought one yesterday that’s a crazy coincidence mines a 1899 Mauser produced rifle

Id love a video about the cold model 950

I’d be interested in your review of sporting guns of the Olympic Games, specifically the biathlon rifles both men’s and women’s since we’re watching the winter Olympic Games. why they don’t use bolt action, but do use “Fortner action” and Russians developed a something that resembles Lugar toggle action. It’ll really be a treat to get your perspective.

*noted!!*

good looking rifle👍👍👍👍

I just picked up one of these it's a 1915 and I got it for super cheap very nice condition

"I'm getting a little off topic here" That should be your catch phrase... :)

Vortex Nation Podcast did an episode on 6.5 Swedish ammo earlier this month if anyone is interested.

This was the kind of rifle I learned to shoot with.